The biggest games at Alumni since expansion

BC has hosted Gameday before and had plenty of road tests. But it has been less common for these big matchups to be home at Alumni Stadium. I decided to look back at the critical home games since Alumni expanded in 1994. The larger venue, the expansion of the Notre Dame series and our transition from independent football to conference allowed more big games to come to Chestnut Hill. As you will see, my list is not always about the ranked team. Sometimes the big games were when our fans were engaged and ready for something special. I also based these on the feeling prior to the game and not the outcome. Here's my Top Ten list.

1. No. 8 Notre Dame, 1994
BC wasn't ranked at the time and the enthusiasm for Dan Henning was limited, but the fanbase was still pumped for Notre Dame's first trip to Alumni. The upset of Notre Dame from the year before was fresh, so people were also looking to continue the celebration and feel of that moment. BC went on to thrash the Irish again. It was probably the best moment of the Henning era.

2. No 2. Clemson, 2018
This weekend is setting up to be a huge moment in BC Football. Although we've had success under Addazio, it could be argued that BC Football hasn't mattered for a decade. That changes if we win this game and win the Division.

3. No. 1 Miami, 2001
There are plenty of parallels between this game and this week's Clemson game. Miami was in the middle of an incredible run and had arguably the most talented team in college football history. For added drama, BC's best playmaker William Green was suspended for this game. BC executed the perfect bend but don't break gameplan and nearly pulled off the upset, until Ed Reed saved the 'Canes' season.

4. Syracuse, 2004
This was supposed to be a formality. It was the final home game of the season against a lame duck Orange team. It was supposed to be wrap up BC's first Big East title and first major bowl since Flutie. It didn't end well.

5. No. 8 Florida State, 2005
This was the first time BC hosted Gameday. One could argue that hosting Gameday was an even bigger deal then (I have an upcoming post on the diminishing profile of Gameday). It was also our first ACC game and the first time Florida State and Bobby Bowden visited Alumni. Bowden was a legend and Florida State was an annual contender. We joined the ACC for this sort of moment.

6. Maryland, 2008
Many of our biggest games under Jags were on the road, but the rollercoaster 2008 season culminated with a home game against Maryland. Win and BC wins the division. They pulled it off in a night game at Alumni and the place was rocking from the opening kick.

7. No. 4 Virginia Tech, 2000
Michael Vick and the Hokies were coming off a Championship game appearance and were a must see team. This was a national game on CBS when CBS still had a Big East deal. Vick would deliver one of the best performances I've seen by a visiting player.

8. No. 8 USC, 2014
Anytime a traditional power comes to Alumni, it is a big deal. The Trojans were supposed to be "back" and ready to reclaim their status as an elite team. At this point Addazio was just trying to prove that his early success was not a fluke.

9. No. 12 Clemson, 2006
While Florida State's first visit was a bigger deal historically, Clemson fans helped this one feel big. There was orange all around Boston and in Alumni. The teams went to OT for the second year in a row and for the second year in a row the good guys won.

10. No. 11 Michigan, 1995
Night games used to be much rarer in College Football and around BC. When Michigan came to town, it was a huge deal and also on a primetime ESPN game.

Honorable Mention: Notre Dame 2003, No. 22 Virginia Tech 2006, Notre Dame 2008, No. 8 Florida State 2013

How many Clemson fans were at Alumni?

BC listed Friday's game as a sellout. The stadium didn't look completely full, but something was noticeable: all the orange.

More orange than maroon and gold tonight. Pathetic crowd and mostly Clemson @bcatleagle pic.twitter.com/bQXOMdWxDB

— Chris Eidt (@cjeidt) October 7, 2016

@bcatleagle pic.twitter.com/7mFEbt8brN

— PanickyFloyd (@PanickyFloyd) October 8, 2016

Clemson fans are known for travelling and I don't begrudge them. They're great people and I've always enjoyed interacting with them. This is also not the first time they've traveled in droves to Alumni. What made this trip different is that they were not limited to the traditional "visitors" sections (Lower East corner on the Beacon St. side, small section of north endzone, and upperdeck endzone). This time they were everywhere. The Tiger fans were sitting in BC fans' seats. This meant that BC fans either resold their tickets like never before, or the season ticket base has dwindled much more than BC has let on and BC sold all those traditional "BC" seats.

I understand why Clemson fans wanted to be there. Boston is a great trip and the team is in the middle of a great run. What Brad Bates and BC should worry about is why didn't more BC fans want to be there. We've been big underdogs at home before (think back to some of those Miami games or during the Spaz years). But big name opponents still brought out BC fans. Now they either don't care or are so turned off by the gameday experience and product on the field that they would rather stay home.

The remaining home games are such that I don't think you'll see visitors take over Alumni again this year. I just hope BC fans start to show up.

Maryland pushing for alcohol sales; when should BC try?

Maryland is the latest college sports program exploring alcohol sales at football and basketball games. Their logic -- like the other schools that have implemented similar programs -- is that the stadium sales increases revenue and decreases binge drinking. Current ACC schools, Miami, Syracuse and Louisville sell alcohol at events. At what point should BC try this?

The limited and restrictive nature of tailgating at BC games is a common complaint. The school also dislikes the late arriving crowd. Would serving beers and wine in Alumni make people happy and get fans to their seats on time? What sort of revenue boost would it provide? BC probably has some preliminary data from the UMass game at Gillette last season.

The local neighborhoods might object to giving BC a liquor license, but any reduction in tailgating might sway the approval boards. We've tried all sorts of other measures. Why not this?

The Bandbox off Beacon Street

I think it is time to appreciate Alumni Stadium for what it is: the surprising House of Horrors for visiting college football teams. It happened again Saturday night when USC players kept mentioning the stadium in their post-game comments. In this Oral History of the 2001 Miami Hurricanes, the greatest team in college football history admits that there is something flukey about playing at Alumni.

Davenport: It's cold, I don't know if it's the Boston chowder that we eat at the hotel, but we're always just sluggish when we come out.
Randy Shannon (defensive coordinator): It was just ... Boston. Even when I (coached) with Dennis Erickson, it was always the same. For some rhyme or reason, we couldn't figure it out.
Coker: What I really think it was, was perception. We didn't perceive Boston College as being a Florida State or Florida or Penn State or one of those types of schools. Right or wrong, that was the perception.
Curtis Johnson: You never stay near the stadium. The bus ride in, it looks like -- this isn't a knock on their stadium, because it's a great stadium -- but it doesn't appear what you would expect it to be as far as a major college football stadium. It's not like you're going into Florida State. You just don't see it as being, that kind of stadium.

All the key ingredients are there. Teams don't take us seriously. The setting and environment are different from other venues. The weather can be an issue too. Obviously the better BC is, the tougher the game at Alumni can be, but even when we are not as good, something about the Stadium can make a difference.

A few of my pet theories are the proximity of the stands to the benches. In other stadiums the team benches are sometimes 20 yards away and 12 feet down from the nearest seat. At Alumni, the benches are closer to five yards away and fans can lean over the railings and practically touch players. If a favored team is frustrated, I am sure the tension is ratcheted up with BC fans breathing down your neck.

Then there is impact Alumni's design has on the opponents. We know Alumni is closed on both ends with a low upperdeck. This can make the 44,500 seats feel much closer than they actually are. The all aluminum seating also creates louder than expected noise.

In the Miami article TOB champions the weather issue as well. Depending on the opponent and the time of year, New England weather can be a factor in any game at Alumni. Traditionally our September games can be surprisingly hot, our October games are often wet and November games are cold. Sure our players also have to deal with the elements, but when you're on the road and in a dogfight, bad weather doesn't raise spirits.

The USC players talked about the travel. Obviously that is another issue that varies by opponent, but being a long trip never hurts our cause as the home team.

To ever get a national homefield reputation like Blacksburg or Boise, we will need to rattle off some long home win streaks or upset a bunch of ranked teams. But until then, I am happy that our little stadium keeps surprising our opponents.

More Alumni shots and other links

A day after we put a pic up, BC released their own shot of the new field. Hopefully they keep documenting and sharing the progress via social media.

Heights and Lows has the first look at the new SuperFan shirt and an all important ranking of the slogans. Some of us are old enough to remember when the shirt had nothing on the back.

BC offered Ohio TE Kevin Kavalec. He currently has offers from MAC schools, but I don't mind us reaching a bit on a kid from St. Ignatius. At one time it was a mini-pipeline for us. Getting our foot back in the door there may pay off down the road. Virginia prospect Brandon Ravenel had good things to say about BC.

The field of our early Novermber Tournament in Charleston is set. BC won't be favored but that is a winnable tournament. Baylor and St. John's have the most returning talent, but all of those teams will be replacing key contributors. BC -- of course -- will have 90% of the team back.

Here are the bios of Mike Gambino's latest recruiting class.

The Globe published a great feature on Anthony Melchionda.

A peek at Alumni's renovations

Faithful reader Pete provided this peek into Alumni's renovations. As you can see, the old turf is completely removed. The base wall and padding are also gone.

According to BC, the brick work on the new wall will come first and begin shortly. Construction on the wall will continue simultaneously as BC installs the new artificial turf. The new turf arrives June 25 and installation takes approximately four weeks. The wall will be finished later this summer

Alumni's noise and other links

Spencer Hall wrote an interesting post on noise levels in college stadiums. I know much of Alumni Stadium's noise is dependent upon crowd size and passion, but the there are a few inadvertent features that make our stadium surprisingly noisy for its size. The big factors are the narrow sidelines, the closed ends of the stadium and the secret weapon -- the full aluminum stands. All that metal is much less forgiving to sound than concrete aisles and rows would have been.

The Herald caught up with former Eagle Brady Heslip. I know many are saying Heslip could made Donahue's transition easier, but I don't begrudge Donahue for being honest with Heslip. Letting him walk might have hurt this year, but in the end Donahue is going to be judged on how his own recruits develop and win.

Brian Dumoulin, Johnny Gaudreau and Parker Milner all earned Hockey East honors this week. Here is a good article on Milner and the legacy of the BC goalies.

In recruiting news, BC has now offered a pair of teammates from Eire Cathedral Prep. Hayden Rettig keeps piling up big time offers. BC is after the latest Don Bosco star. BC now has more competition for Ohio Athlete Darron Lee.

From earlier in the week: a Q&A with KPL and a interview with Chris Pantale.

Finding space for the Indoor Practice Facility

BC's Strength & Conditioning Center renovations were a nice move. In the recruiting arms race it is always important to have the latest, greatest, biggest and best. So on the S&C front we are keeping up with the Joneses. The lingering issue remains the permanent indoor practice facility. It is a huge, needed project that is never mentioned by BC. I think the costs, political capital and the lack of space are all issues. But it will have to be done within the next ten years and probably should be done within the next five. I don't think donors would be an issue. BC always manages to rally support for important initiatives. I think the space and political issues are intertwined.

The minute BC announces a project in Newton or Brighton, it gets tied up with town-gown redtape. Although I don't think it would be as disruptive as a dorm, the idea of a "Football Practice Facility" would be the ultimate "not in my backyard" project for our neighbors. To avoid problems, my suggestion is to keep it simple and close to the current football facilities. In my master plan, the Beacon St. Garages are expanded and the practice facility is placed on the top level. As you can see from the image, this would encroach on Shea and the current baseball fields. In this plan the new baseball complex on Brighton would have to open first.

Obviously my end goal is the facility, but the added benefit of this plan is that it expands the number of parking spots. Let me know your thoughts. Where would you put the indoor practice facility? It is bound to be a political hot potato, but it doesn't have to be. BC could do it, with some smart planning and good uses of space.