Boston College football earns a ‘home away from home’ bowl game at Fenway Park (2024)

College Sports

By Trevor Hass, The Boston Globe

December 3, 2023

Local football fans won’t have to travel far to watch Boston College this holiday season.

The Eagles (6-6) will face Southern Methodist (11-2) in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park, Thursday, Dec. 28, at 11 a.m. The game will air on ESPN.

“We’re excited to be staying close to home for our students and fans to get one more chance to see us play,” BC coach Jeff Hafley said in a statement. “Boston is a great sports town, one that we’re proud to be a part of every day, and now we get to be a part of the growing tradition of postseason football in New England.”

Hafley said it’s a chance to play on a field in their own backyard and compete against “one of the top teams in the country” and a “future conference rival.”

A win could pay dividends from a recruiting standpoint and help the Eagles regain momentum after a roller-coaster year.

BC started the season 1-3, won five straight, then lost its final three regular-season games. SMU, which will join the Eagles in the Atlantic Coast Conference next year, is coming off an American Athletic Conference championship triumph over Tulane.

This is the first time the Mustangs have reached 11 wins since 1982. They’ve faced two Power Five schools this season — Oklahoma and TCU — and lost to both, but have beaten every other opponent.

BC and SMU have only met once, with the Mustangs earning a 31-29 victory in 1986. They’re slated to clash again in 2024 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas and will meet four times as ACC opponents through 2029.

Many on the SMU side feel as though the Mustangs were snubbed from the Fiesta Bowl — a spot undefeated Liberty took instead. Liberty ended up 23rd in the College Football Playoff rankings and SMU took 24th; Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee took umbrage with the pecking order.

“If you watched our game and you watched the [Liberty] game on Friday night, anybody who knows football couldn’t have deduced anything different than who would give Oregon the best game,” Lashlee told reporters.

AAC commissioner Mike Aresco called it “beyond disappointing” for the Mustangs, who are looking for their first bowl win since 2012.

“As proud as we were to celebrate SMU’s first conference championship in nearly 40 years last night, we are stunned and disappointed in the College Football Playoff committee’s egregious decision to exclude SMU from a New Year’s Six bowl,” Aresco shared in a statement.

The Eagles — bowl-eligible for the seventh time in eight seasons — are looking for their first bowl win since 2016, when they outlasted Maryland in the Quick Lane Bowl. They’re also hoping to reach seven wins for the first time since 2018.

BC is 18th nationally at 193.5 rushing yards per game and 30th in the nation with 4.59 yards per carry.

The key for the Eagles will be to establish the run early with quarterback Thomas Castellanos (194 carries, 1,132 yards, 11 touchdowns; 178 for 312 passing, 2,146 yards, 15 TDs, 13 INTs) and running back Kye Robichaux (150 carries, 702 yards, 7 TDs) while sprinkling in enough passes to keep the defense honest.

Doing so will be easier said than done, though, as the Mustangs allow the 10th-fewest yards per carry (3.16) and 18th-fewest rushing yards per game (111.2). Whichever team wins that battle on the ground will have a strong chance to prevail.

Lewis Bond leads BC with 48 catches for 611 yards and seven scores. Vinny DePalma is the top tackler (87), and Donovan Ezeiruaku and Neto Okpala each have two sacks.

The Eagles will likely be up against backup quarterback Kevin Jennings after starter Preston Stone (28 TD passes, 6 INTs) broke his left fibula in the regular-season finale against Navy.

Jennings, a redshirt sophom*ore, completed 19 of 33 passes for 203 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in the 26-14 win over Tulane.

Jaylan Knighton (128 carries, 734 yards, 7 touchdowns) is the top threat out of the backfield, and RJ Maryland (34 catches, 518 yards, 7 TDs) is the top receiver. Kobe Wilson is leading the Mustangs with 74 tackles, Elijah Roberts has a team-high 9.5 sacks, and Isaiah Nwokobia has four interceptions.

SMU has averaged 40.6 points per game, compared to 17.4 for its opponents. Opponents have scored 29.5 per contest against the Eagles, while BC averages 25.

This is BC’s first time competing in the Fenway Bowl, which is in its second year of game action following cancellations in 2020 and 2021 for COVID-19 reasons.

Boston College called Fenway Park its home field for the majority of 21 seasons from 1936 to 1956. BC last played at Fenway in 2017 as the road team in a 39-16 win against Connecticut. In 76 games played at Fenway Park, the Eagles are 55-16-5.

BC bowl history since 2016

2016: Quick Lane Bowl, in Detroit vs. Maryland; BC won, 36-30

2017: Pinstripe Bowl, in New York vs. Iowa; Iowa won, 27-20

2018: First Responder Bowl, in Dallas vs. Boise State, canceled due to lightning

2019: Birmingham Bowl, in Alabama vs. Cincinnati, delayed due to lightning; Cincinnati won, 38-6

2020: BC becomes first team to opt out of bowl game due to mental component of COVID-19

2021: Military Bowl, in Annapolis vs. East Carolina, canceled due to COVID outbreak

2022: Boston College finished 3-9, didn’t qualify

2023: Fenway Bowl, in Boston vs. SMU; Thursday, Dec. 28, 11 a.m.