BC locks down on old rival
Senior guard Chris Lindstrom came to Boston College from Dudley, a small town in Central Mass. where Holy Cross football has a following.
Lindstrom and his younger brother Alec, a backup center, are excited to participate in this once storied rivalry when the Eagles (1-0) host the Crusaders (0-1) tomorrow at Alumni Stadium.
BC opened the season with a 55-21 victory over UMass, another program Lindstrom followed as a youth. His uncle, Eric Lindstrom of Weymouth, played defensive end for BC from 1984-88 when Holy Cross was a meaningful encounter at the end of each season.
“Being from in-state you always look at UMass and I always followed them as a kid,” said Lindstrom. “Having an opportunity to play them was great and with Holy Cross, I’m 20 minutes from Worcester where people still talk about Holy Cross and BC.
“It is kind of cool that now I’m going to have the opportunity to play in one of those games. It’s is going to be a pretty fun experience.”
BC leads the series 4831-3, but the teams haven’t squared off since 1986.
The clash with Holy Cross will be a dress rehearsal for the Eagles’ Atlantic Coast Conference opener against Wake Forest next Thursday.
BC is an FBS program from a Power-5 conference while Holy Cross plays an FCS schedule in the Patriot League. FBS teams are allowed one game per season against an FCS program and BC tends to stay in the Northeast. The Eagles hosted Maine in 2014 and 2015, but Holy Cross is a better fit because of the history.
“Excited to get going in Week 2, a chance to bring our team to 2-0 playing Holy Cross, a traditional rival game back in the day for Boston College,” said coach Steve Addazio.
“Certainly, another geographical game where there is great fan interest.”
Addazio insisted his staff and players are locked down on Holy Cross and not advance planning for the short-week engagement in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Demon Deacons spanked BC 34-10 in the second game last season when the Eagles were in search of an identity.
“We’ve got our game plan solidified here for Holy Cross,” said Addazio. “I still have that mindset and I think it’s important that we are playing a traditional rival game.
“We’re really playing a really good football program, we need to get better and we need to improve. There are areas we need to focus on. Players and coaches all have to be focused right now on Holy Cross.
“It’s all hands-on deck. My job is to make sure that were locked in.”
The match with Holy Cross provides another opportunity for quarterback Anthony Brown to refine the Eagles passing game. Brown completed 15-of-21 passes for a career-high 279 yards and four touchdowns in the first half against UMass.
“We were all on the same page and the fact of the matter is we all have to make sure it is that way every game,” said Brown. “Composure and staying who we are and not feeding into the outside world.”