THE EAGLES HAVE LANDED
Much has been made of the rebuilding work needed at Penn State, first by Bill O’Brien and now by James Franklin in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal.
But Steve Addazio didn’t exactly inherit a program flush with talent and recent success, either, when he took over at Boston College two seasons ago.
The Eagles had won a combined six games in the previous two seasons before the former Temple head coach arrived in Chestnut Hill, after BC finished in the ACC basement the year before.
And while the Eagles haven’t exactly become a juggernaut, they reached the AdvoCare V100 Bowl a season ago, losing to Arizona, and have the opportunity in Saturday’s Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium to get to eight wins for the first time since 2009.
“The goal last year was to get to a bowl,” Addazio said during Friday’s press conference. “The goal this year is to win.”
And he wouldn’t want the game to be played anywhere else.
“Our kids wanted to be here more than anything in the world,” Addazio said. “That moment was as cool a moment as any moment as I’ve been a part of as a head football coach. They just couldn’t stop yelling and screaming and cheering. Our players make up New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, D.C. — they surround New York City. We’re a Northeastern program, just like Penn State.”
Boston College (75), led by the dynamic 12 backfield punch of Tyler Murphy and Jon Hilliman — an impressive freshman from Plainfield, N.J. — nearly upset defending champion Florida State and last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston in Tallahassee, Fla., on Nov. 22, falling 2017. The Eagles stunned USC, then ranked No. 9, on Sept. 13. Of the Eagles’ five defeats, three came by four points or fewer.
Like Boston College, Penn State (66) came agonizingly close to a signature victory, falling to No. 4 Ohio State, 3124, in double overtime on Oct. 25. But this year didn’t surpass the low expectations. Penn State went 26 in the Big Ten, just a game out of the basement of the conference’s East Division. There were some ugly defeats, including at woeful Michigan and a 23point setback to mediocre Northwestern at home.
Sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg, considered an NFL prospect at the season’s outset, struggled behind a porous offensive line, producing just eight touchdown passes compared to 15 interceptions and a 54.4 percent completion percentage.
Yet, Penn State is still playing football this time of year for the first time in three season, a welcome change for the Nittany Lions after the NCAA lightened sanctions from a fouryear bowl ban to two years in September.
“It’s part of the healing process for us,’’ Franklin had said. “The opportunity to be in a bowl game, in the first place, and have extra practices are important. Being relevant at this part of the season is also important, so people are watching you on TV and recruits are being able to see you as well.
“I think our kids are also excited going forward that there’s no limitations on us anymore. We can get back to 85 scholarships eventually and we can play in bigtime bowl games like the Pinstripe Bowl and other games moving forward and I think that’s exciting.”