Eagles’ journey to Ground Zero special
NEW YORK — The Boston College and Iowa football teams made a pilgrimage to Ground Zero in lower Manhattan on Monday as part of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl agenda before the teams square off today at Yankee Stadium.
The Eagles have a personal connection to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. One of the victims was securities trader Welles Crowther, a BC alumni who perished in the South Tower while assisting the evacuation of the building. The Eagles celebrated Crowther this season with Red Bandana Night before beating Florida State, 35-3, on Oct. 27 at Alumni Stadium.
Crowther wore a red bandana around his nose and mouth to protect him from smoke while he saved lives. It became the symbol of his selfless heroism.
“Certainly, it was no more exciting than going down to 9/11 and having our kids have an opportunity to go into the museum and to see where Welles Crowther’s name is and let all of that sink in,” BC head coach Steve Addazio said yesterday at Yankee Stadium. “It was a real moving experience for our program. We are so excited to have this opportunity here and spend Christmas in the city and play a storied program like Iowa.”
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who shared the podium with Addazio, commented on the Hawkeyes’ deep respect for Ground Zero.
“It was very enriching for our organization and very impactful,” Ferentz saids. “The 9/11 observatory (Monday) in itself made the trip worthwhile for myself and everyone involved with our team. It is a real honor and privilege to be here, and I’ve coached long enough to appreciate every opportunity to play in the bowl game. They are hard to come by. They are earned, and both teams have done a great job making it here.”
Record-seeker
Ferentz served as an assistant under legendary Iowa coach Hayden Fry from 1981-89 and now has the chance to tie his mentor as the winningest coach in program history.
Ferentz earned his 142nd career victory in a 56-14 rout of Nebraska, leaving him one shy of Fry’s record. Ferentz became the Hawkeyes head coach in 1999.
“I was very fortunate to be on an outstanding staff with a tremendous head coach, and for me, that is the commonality of this whole thing,” Ferentz said. “I have been around great people in my 21 years at Iowa.”
Ferentz has a pair of New England connections. He played linebacker at UConn and was head coach at Maine from 1990-92.
Special outcome
BC and Iowa are statistically similar on offense and defense, and both Addazio and Ferentz agree the outcome could be determined on a special teams play.
BC was beaten, 31-30, by Penn State in this game in 2014 on a missed extra point in overtime. Senior punter Mike Knoll was the kicker then but switched positions. This year, Knoll was one of the best in the ACC at flipping the field, averaging 40.2 yards on 73 punts.
The Eagles’ best special teams player is return specialist Michael Walker, who led the nation with 1,110 combined kickoff and punt return yards.