INSIDE SLANT
Call this playing with house money for Boston College.
Coming into the season, BC, fresh off another coaching change, was picked to finish last in the ACC Atlantic Division. The Eagles weren't supposed to win more than four or five games.
They won eight. A rousing success by any measure.
On the other side of the Dec. 26 Emerald Bowl matchup, USC was No. 3 in the country coming into the season. The Trojans also won eight games, but they are a disappointing 8-4 heading into the bowl game.
Now BC enters the bowl game as a heavy underdog.
"I think it's good for our program," BC coach Frank Spaziani said. "It's interesting, and I think it's good. Perfect timing. Whenever you play somebody like that, it gets everybody's attention."
The schools had already signed to play in 2013 and '14, but they'll get a jump on that.
An added bonus for BC will be not having to play a Bay Area team in the game at San Francisco. While the Eagles still have to travel across the country for Christmas, they won't be a pure road team playing against a Cal or a Stanford. USC doesn't have to travel as far, but they're not home, either.
"I think we came down on the side of, 'Let's have somebody new that we haven't had.' And it may be the only opportunity we have to get SC," Spaziani said.
The Eagles, who have won eight of their last nine bowl games and are playing in a bowl for the 11th straight year, come into this game healthier than they have been all season, with the time between games helping take care of the bumps and bruises picked up late in the 12-game regular season.
NOTES, QUOTES
--Don't try to tell anyone connected with the Boston College program that there is such a thing as a meaningless bowl game.
Not this year, anyway.
The Eagles are heading to a Dec. 26 Emerald Bowl date against USC after going 8-4 in a season most thought would end 4-8, or even worse.
Think about it. Another coaching change; new coach Frank Spaziani loses the defending ACC defensive player of the year, Mark Herzlich, to a battle with cancer (one he is winning); and the only quarterback on the roster with any college experience was lost. It was a recipe for failure.
Instead, the Eagles are going bowling for the 11th consecutive season.
"This is a great reward for an overachieving team that was picked to finish last in its division in the preseason," BC director of athletics Gene DeFilippo said.
The Eagles saw their hopes for an undefeated home season dashed with a terrible loss to North Carolina in the next-to-last-game but then rebounded to pull out a tough victory at Maryland.
--Boston College had an eight-year bowl winning streak end with last year's loss to Vanderbilt in the Music City Bowl. The Eagles are in their 11th straight bowl game as they head to the Emerald Bowl.
--BC defeated Colorado State 35-21 in what was then called the Diamond Walnut San Francisco Bowl on Dec. 31, 2003.
--Boston College and USC have a two-game series scheduled, in 2013 and '14.
--The Eagles have won at least eight games nine straight years, including the last four under three different coaches.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Boston College has thrived over the years jamming the ball down the throats of opposing defenses, and that's been more important than ever this season with freshman quarterback David Shinskie anything but consistent. Montel Harris is the focus of a BC offense that is 70th in the country in rushing, 94th in passing, 97th in total offense and 71st in scoring. But the Eagles are strong in the red zone, tied for 13th in the country.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: After losing ACC defensive player of the year Mark Herzlich to a bout with cancer (he's doing well and hopes to return next year), and big DTs B.J. Raji and Ron Brace to the NFL, the Eagles needed leadership on defense. It emerged in the form of freshman LB Luke Kuechly. He had 142 tackles and was named ACC defensive rookie of the year. The Eagles are 15th in the country against the run and face a team that was 39th in the country in rushing. BC is 54th against the pass, 23rd in overall defense, 18th in scoring defense and tied for 28th inside the red zone. USC's offense has been anything but scary.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: The freshmen QBs against the opposing defenses -- BC 25-year-old freshman David Shinskie threw 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in his rookie year. USC counterpart Matt Barkley, a true freshman in terms of age, threw 13 TDs and 12 picks, including at least one in each of the last eight games. Shinskie faces the No. 52 pass defense in the country, Barkley the No. 68 pass defense.
OTHER KEY MATCHUPS: Boston College TB Montel Harris against the USC defense -- It's no secret BC loves to run the ball, especially when it has a shaky quarterback, and Harris is a sophomore star. He faces the No. 42 rushing defense in the country.
Boston College LB Luke Kuechly against the USC attack -- BC coach Frank Spaziani talks about how many "athletes" the Trojans have on offense. Kuechly is a true freshman star on the BC defense. He seems to be in on every play.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We're playing a team with a strong tradition, and it looks like it's a good matchup across the board. I know (Boston College coach) Frank Spaziani, and he's done a nice job with that program. Congratulations to him, his staff and his players." -- USC coach Pete Carroll, on his team's opponent in the Emerald Bowl.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
BOWL BREAKDOWN: Boston College vs. Southern California, Emerald Bowl, Dec. 26, San Francisco -- When it comes to the ACC pecking order for bowls, Boston College is always down near the bottom because its fans don't travel well. Now, an overachieving BC team faces an underachieving USC club that opened the season as the No. 3 team in the country and had to settle for a lesser bowl.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
RB Montel Harris -- He's gone over 2,000 yards in his first two years at BC. Harris has run for 1,355 yards this season, the sixth-best total in BC history, and he needs less than 100 yards in the bowl game to move up to No. 4 on the all-time list. With 285 carries, he needs 37 in the bowl game to break Derrick Knight's BC record for carries in a season (321), set in 2003. Harris notched his seventh 100-yard game of the season in BC's win over Maryland in Game 12, the 12th time he's reached the century mark in his two-year BC career.
QB David Shinskie -- He remains a guy to watch on this team because he has been so unpredictable. Even at 25, for the former professional pitcher is a true freshman and has been learning on the job after six years away from football. He had four interceptions and a lost fumble for a touchdown in the loss to North Carolina in Game 11.
LB Luke Kuechly -- The true freshman leads BC in tackles with 142, more than twice as many as any teammate. He has 35 tackles the last two games and would need 24 in the bowl game to break the program's single-season record for tackles, set by Tom McManus in 1991.
WR Rich Gunnell -- He had five catches in the regular-season finale at Maryland, giving him 54 for the season, tied for ninth on the all-time BC list (his 64 in 2007 are No. 4 on that list). His 175 career catches, with one game left, are second all-time to Pete Mitchell's 190 (1991-94).
ROSTER REPORT:
--The Eagles are probably healthier heading into the bowl than they have been all year, with the extra time healing assorted bumps and bruises.
--OG Thomas Claiborne, who suffered a leg injury in the North Carolina game, sat out the regular-season finale at Maryland but was available for an emergency situation. He should be fine.
--While LB Luke Kuechly's 142 tackles clearly lead the Eagles, S Marcellus Bowman is a distant second with 67, and he's 18 ahead of CB Donnie Fletcher, who sits in third.