The 1984 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season .
Doug Flutie gained national attention in 1984 when he quarterbacked the Eagles to victory in a high-scoring, back-and-forth game against the Miami Hurricanes (led by QB Bernie Kosar ). The game was nationally televised on CBS the day after Thanksgiving and thus had a huge audience. Miami staged a dramatic drive to take the lead, 45–41, in the closing minute of the game. Boston College then took possession at its own 22-yard line with 28 seconds to go. After two passes moved the ball another 30 yards, only 6 seconds remained. On the last play of the game, Flutie scrambled away from the defense and threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught in the end zone by senior wide receiver Gerard Phelan , giving BC a 47–45 win. Although many people think that play clinched the Heisman Trophy for Flutie, the voting was already complete before that game.[ 1]
Boston College finished the season with a 10–2 record and a No. 5 ranking in the final AP Poll . The Eagles defeated the Southwest Conference champion Houston Cougars 45–28 in the 1985 Cotton Bowl . The team also captured the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (emblematic of the 'Eastern championship' in Division I FBS).
Flutie left school as the NCAA's all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards and was a consensus All-American as a senior. He earned Player of the Year awards from UPI , Kodak , The Sporting News , and the Maxwell Football Club .
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 1 Western Carolina No. 19 W 44–2432,000 [ 2] September 8 at No. 9 Alabama No. 18 ABC W 38–3167,821 [ 3] September 22 North Carolina No. 10 ESPN W 52–2044,672 [ 4] October 13 Temple No. 4 Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA W 24–1032,000 October 20 at No. 20 West Virginia No. 4 ABC L 20–2160,286 [ 5] October 27 Rutgers No. 11 Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA W 35–2332,000 November 3 at Penn State No. 9 ABC L 30–3785,690 November 10 Army No. 16 Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA KATZ W 45–3132,000 November 17 Syracuse No. 13 Sullivan Stadium Foxborough, MA KATZ W 24–1660,890 November 23 at No. 12 Miami (FL) No. 10 CBS W 47–45 30,325 December 1 at Holy Cross No. 8 W 45–1025,000 [ 6] January 1, 1985 vs. Houston No. 8 CBS W 45–2867,381 Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1984 Boston College Eagles football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
P
Steve Peach
K
2
Kevin Snow Sr
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP 19 18 10 10 5 4 4 4 11 9 16 13 10 8 8 5 Coaches 20 16 9 7 7 5 4 5 10 7 16 13 10 8 8 4
[ 7]
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Army
Passing
Nate Sassaman 4/10, 38 Yds, INT
Rushing
Nate Sassaman
25 Rush, 136 Yds, TD
Receiving
Scott Spellmon 2 Rec, 26 Yds
Boston College
Passing
Doug Flutie 19/29, 311 Yds, 3 TD
Rushing
Steve Strachan 15 Rush, 81 Yds, 2 TD
Receiving
Kelvin Martin 7 Rec, 126 Yds, 2 TD
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
ARMY
BC
1
Army
Doug Black 1-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good
7
0
1
Boston College
Steve Strachan 1-yard touchdown run, Kevin Snow kick good
7
7
1
Boston College
Scott Gieselman 12-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie , Kevin Snow kick no good
7
13
2
Boston College
Kelvin Martin 34-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Kevin Snow kick good
7
20
2
Boston College
Punt returned 45 yards for touchdown by Kelvin Martin, 2-point pass good
7
28
2
Army
Rob Dickerson 5-yard touchdown reception from Jarvis Hollingsworth, Craig Stopa kick good
14
28
3
Boston College
25-yard field goal by Kevin Snow
14
31
3
Army
Nate Sassaman 8-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good
21
31
3
Army
40-yard field goal by Craig Stopa
24
31
4
Boston College
Steve Strachan 1-yard touchdown run, Kevin Snow kick good
24
38
4
Army
Jarvis Hollingsworth 10-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good
24
45
4
Boston College
Kelvin Martin 17-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Kevin Snow kick good
31
45
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
31
45
Boston College at Miami (FL)
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 10 Eagles
14
14 3 16
47
No. 12 Hurricanes
7
14 10 14
45
[ 9] [ 10]
edit
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 8 Eagles
17
14
0
14
45
Cougars
7
7
14
0
28
[ 11] [ 12]
Official 1985 Boston College Cotton Bowl pin given to BC players, coaches, and school administrators. 1984 team players in the NFL
edit
^ "Heisman Trophy" . Heisman.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2009.^ "BC, Flutie get it done, 44–24" . The Boston Globe . September 2, 1984. Retrieved November 15, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "BC's 'greatest comeback' swamps Alabama, 38–31" . The Boston Globe . September 9, 1984. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .^ "BC's Flutie passes Tar Heels dizzy" . Tulsa World . September 23, 1984. Retrieved January 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "West Virginia edges BC, 21–20, on a late TD drive" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . October 21, 1984. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ Thomsen, Ian (December 2, 1984). "Small Wonder, No Wonder; Eagles Wrap Up HC, 45-10" . Boston Sunday Globe Newspapers.com . ^ "Boston College 1984 AP Football Rankings" . collegepollarchive.com . Retrieved November 17, 2018 .^ "College Football Scoreboard." Gainesville Sun. pg. 4F. 1984 Nov 11. Retrieved 2022-Dec-27.
^ "FLUTIE'S PASS ON LAST PLAY OVERCOMES MIAMI BY 47-45" . The New York Times . Retrieved November 17, 2018 .^ "Flutie's Desperation Pass Beats Miami, 47-45" . The Washington Post . Retrieved November 17, 2018 .^ "FLUTIE PASSES FOR 3 SCORES AS BOSTON COLLEGE WINS" . The New York Times . January 2, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2019 .^ "Flutie Short of Miracles but BC Wins, 45-28" . The Washington Post . January 2, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2019 .^ "Heisman Winners" . Heisman. Archived from the original on September 16, 2009.^ "Football" . Archived from the original on January 7, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2008 .^ "1985 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com" . Pro-Football-Reference.com the original on December 21, 2007.
Game highlights