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1983 Boston College Eagles football
Liberty Bowl, L 18–19 vs. Notre Dame
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 20
APNo. 19
Record9–3
Head coach
Defensive coordinator Seymour "Red" Kelin (3rd season)
Captains
Home stadium Alumni Stadium
Sullivan Stadium
Seasons
←  1982
1984 →
1983 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 16 West Virginia 4 1 0 9 3 0
Penn State 3 1 1 8 4 1
No. 18 Pittsburgh 2 1 1 8 3 1
No. 19 Boston College $ 3 2 0 9 3 0
Syracuse 3 3 0 6 5 0
Temple 2 4 0 4 7 0
Rutgers 0 5 0 3 8 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Miami (FL)       11 1 0
Virginia Tech       9 2 0
No. 19 Boston College       9 3 0
No. 16 West Virginia       9 3 0
No. 20 East Carolina       8 3 0
No. 18 Pittsburgh       8 3 1
Florida State       8 4 0
Penn State       8 4 1
Southern Miss       7 4 0
Memphis State       6 4 1
Notre Dame       7 5 0
Syracuse       6 5 0
South Carolina       5 6 0
Cincinnati     4 6 1
Southwestern Louisiana       4 6 0
Temple       4 7 0
Tulane       4 7 0
Louisville       3 8 0
Navy       3 8 0
Rutgers       3 8 0
Army       2 9 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Eagles were led by third-year head coach Jack Bicknell, and played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and Sullivan Stadium (later known as Foxboro Stadium) in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Junior quarterback Doug Flutie threw for over 2,700 yards and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, leading Boston College to their first ranked finish in 41 years. They met their rivals, Notre Dame, in the 1983 Liberty Bowl.

Boston College finished the season ranked No. 19 in the final AP Poll, and captured the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (emblematic of the 'Eastern championship' in Division I FBS).

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 3 Morgan StateW 45–1231,300
September 10 Clemson
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Chestnut Hill, MA ( rivalry)
W 31–1632,000–32,500 [1] [2]
September 17at RutgersW 42–2223,561
September 24No. 12 West VirginiaNo. 19
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Chestnut Hill, MA
ABCL 17–2732,000 [3]
October 1at TempleW 18–157,033
October 8at YaleW 42–731,108 [4]
October 29 Penn StateNo. 19ABCW 27–1756,605
November 5at ArmyNo. 16W 34–1440,749
November 12at SyracuseNo. 13L 10–2141,225
November 19vs. Holy CrossNo. 18
  • Sullivan Stadium
  • Foxborough, MA ( rivalry)
ABCW 47–738,512 [5]
November 25No. 13 AlabamaNo. 15
  • Sullivan Stadium
  • Foxborough, MA
CBSW 20–1358,047 [6]
December 29vs. Notre DameNo. 13L 18–1947,071
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[7]

Roster

1983 Boston College Eagles football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 13 Brian Brennan Sr
RB 32 Jim Browne Jr
QB 22 Doug Flutie Jr
WR 20 Gerard Phelan Jr
RB 23 Troy Stradford Fr
WR 3 Chris Tripucka Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
NG 68 Mike Ruth So
LB 81 Andy Hemmer So
DB 17 Tony Thurman Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

No. 12 West Virginia

No. 13 Alabama

Vs. Notre Dame (Liberty Bowl)

References

  1. ^ "Stradford carries BC past Clemson". The Hartford Courant. September 11, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1984". Clemson University. 1984. p. 0. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  3. ^ "W. Va. Mountaineers blitz Boston College". The Daily Advertiser. September 25, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Thomsen, Ian (October 9, 1983). "BC Scores Early and Often". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ May, Peter (November 20, 1983). "BC Pounds Holy Cross, Expects New Bowl Foe". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. pp. D12, D16 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Turnovers turn back Tide; BC finishes with 9–2 record". The Boston Globe. November 26, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "1983 Boston College Eagles Schedule & Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2017.