The 2016 Boston College Eagles football team represented

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

as a member of the Atlantic Division of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles were led by fourth-year head coach Steve Addazio and played their home games at

Alumni Stadium Alumni Stadium is a football stadium located on the lower campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, approximately west of downtown Boston. It is the home of the Boston College Eagles. Its present seating capacity is 44,500. Offic ...

. They finished the season 7–6 overall and 2–6 in ACC play to tie for sixth place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the

Quick Lane Bowl The Quick Lane Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that began play in the 2014 season. Backed by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League, the game features a bowl-eligible team from the Big Ten Confe ...

, where they defeated

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Background

Previous season

The 2015 Boston College Eagles football team finished the season 3–9 overall and 0–8 in

play. That season was marked by numerous injuries and inexperience at key positions but the result was nonetheless seen as major setback in Steve Addazio’s rebuild of the program, shaking the confidence of many in the Boston College athletics community.

Off-season coaching changes

The one clear bright spot of the 2015 Boston College Eagles football team was the defense under third-year defensive coordinator Don Brown, under whose stewardship the Eagles led the nation in total defense and were top #10 in numerous other defensive categories. But on December 21, 2015 Jim Harbaugh hired away Brown to coach the same position for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

. On the other side of the ball offensive coordinator Todd Fitch, under whom the Eagles finished 126th in total offense and 122nd in scoring offense, was not retained by Steve Addazio. Addazio turned to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

linebackers coach and former Eagles defensive coordinator under

Dan Henning Daniel Ernest Henning, (born June 21, 1942) is a former American football player and coach. A quarterback, he played college football at the College of William & Mary and professional football in 1966 for the San Diego Chargers of the America ...

Jim Reid James McLeish Reid (born 29 December 1961) is a Scottish singer/songwriter and the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid in 1983. Career The Jes ...

, to take over for Brown as defensive coordinator. Addazio hired former Syracuse head coach

Paul Pasqualoni Paul Lucian Pasqualoni (; born August 16, 1949) is an American football coach. He most recently was the defensive line coach for the Carolina Panthers. Pasqualoni has served as the defensive coordinator of the NFL's Miami Dolphins and Detroit L ...

as defensive line coach. Pasqualoni had coached on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL for the previous few years. On the offensive side of the ball Addazio hired former Virginia Tech offensive coordinator

Scot Loeffler Scot Loeffler (born November 1, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Bowling Green State University. He formerly served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College. He was ...

to take over the same position for the Eagles, replacing Fitch.

Off-season player losses

The defense lost three key contributors from the dominant 2015 team, with the graduation of Steven Daniels, Justin Simmons and Connor Wujciak. The offense lost fullback and tight end Louis Addazio.

Off-season player additions

Former Kentucky Wildcat starting quarterback, Patrick Towles transferred to Boston College as a graduate student, to compete with former sophomore starter Darius Wade, whose 2015 season was cut short by injury. Jimmy Lowery, a 4 year starting right tackle at Eastern Illinois transferred to Boston College as a graduate student. Lowery started all 13 games for Boston College at right tackle. Lowery was one of 4 Boston College football players to attain ACC All Academic status graduating in May 2017 with a master's degree in Finance.

2016 recruiting class

Coming off a disappointing 2015 football season, Steve Addazio and the Eagles managed the 74th ranked recruiting class in the nation, ranked last in the ACC by the recruiting services.

Preseason expectations

The 2016 Boston College Eagles football team entered the season with no votes in the Preseason AP Top 25 Poll. During the ACC Media Days, the ACC Sportswriters predicted Boston College to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division. College Football News predicted a 6–6 (2–6) season, good for sixth place finish in the Atlantic Division. Athlon Sports likewise predicted the Eagles to finish sixth in the Atlantic. ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) predicted Boston College to finish with 5.7–6.3 wins.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Schedule

Game summaries

vs. Georgia Tech

at Massachusetts

at Virginia Tech

Wagner

Buffalo

Clemson

Syracuse

at NC State

Louisville

at Florida State

UConn

at Wake Forest

Maryland–Quick Lane Bowl

2017 NFL Draft

Main article:

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

References

{{Boston College Eagles football navbox

Boston College Eagles football seasons Quick Lane Bowl champion seasons

Boston College Eagles football The Boston College Eagles football team represents Boston College in the sport of American football. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of ...