What Makes Boston College Football's 2026 Schedule Tougher Than Last Season?

The Eagles went 2-10 last season, and it doesn't get any easier for them schedule-wise in 2026. Here's why.

Nov 15, 2025; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wide receiver Eric Rivers (3) makes a catch while being defended by Boston College Eagles defensive back Max Tucker (3) during the second half at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

When Boston College football head coach Bill O’Brien said the Eagles’ 2026 schedule was tough on “The Bill O’Brien Podcast with Jon Meterparel,” he was not lying.

But anything that is objectively difficult in the realm of sports also tends to exude the potential of excitement. The unfortunate part, however, is that some of BC’s best games opponent-wise next season happen to be road matchups.

First, in the case that it has not popped up in your feed yet, here is the actual schedule that was released Monday evening by the program:

Sept. 5 at Cincinnati
Sept. 11 vs. Rutgers
Sept. 19 vs. Maine
Sept. 26 vs. Virginia Tech
Oct. 3 at SMU
Oct. 17 vs. Pitt
Oct. 24 at Georgia Tech
Oct. 31 at Duke
Nov. 7 vs. FSU
Nov. 14 at Notre Dame
Nov. 21 vs. Syracuse
Nov. 28 at Miami

The immediate highlight that stands out is the playing of BC’s Red Bandanna matchup against Rutgers on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. 

As the BC community knows, the Red Bandanna game is a football game played annually in honor of Welles Crowther, a Boston College graduate (‘99) and former men’s lacrosse player who was credited with saving over one dozen lives in the attacks before his own life was taken.

The last account of Crowther was an individual who saw him rush back into the falling Twin Towers with a red bandanna wrapped around his face to protect him from the dust and debris. He became known as the “man in the red bandanna” from that point on, and for the game, Crowther’s family is in attendance and the football team dons red-bandanna-themed uniforms.

What’s even better about the matchup this year is the fact that former BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan will likely be the starter for the Scarlet Knights under center.

Lonergan was the Eagles’ top passer in 2025 but entered the transfer portal after the season ended. He signed with Rutgers on Jan. 5 in search of a program that could almost guarantee him the starting job, which O’Brien said he could not do.

It will be both a revenge game for Lonergan as well as a deeply meaningful event for the Eagles and the greater BC community. Lonergan better be ready for a raucous environment in Chestnut Hill, Mass., when the time comes.

In terms of other home games that stand out, the now-James-Franklin-helmed Hokies will surely make for an interesting matchup on the Heights.

When he was fired from Penn State and subsequently hired by Virginia Tech, Franklin brought with him a number of former Nittany Lions (11 of his 27 transfer commits) from the portal to Blacksburg, Va., including players he recruited in the class of 2026 who will be freshman this fall.

There are obviously big expectations for Franklin in 2026 given his success in State College, Penn., especially now that 247Sports, among other recruiting sites, rated his transfer class No. 18 in the country (3rd in the ACC).

If Florida State can turn things around despite failing to meet expectations the last two seasons, that also has the potential to be an exciting home game for the BC faithful at Alumni Stadium.

In their last matchup, in Week Zero of the 2024 season, BC defeated the Seminoles — who were ranked at the time — in Tallahassee, Fla., in front of a national audience. There is likely some desire for vengeance coming from FSU’s side of the coin, especially with head coach Mike Norvell on the hot seat.

The Eagles’ 2026 road slate, on the other hand, is arguably the hardest away schedule for the program since the beginning of the Jeff Hafley era in 2020.

Cincinnati in Week One will not be a cake walk by any means, as the Bearcats went 7-6 in 2025 with a postseason loss to No. 22 Navy in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

With that being said, Cincinnati lost quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who was a hot commodity this offseason and ultimately found a new home at Texas Tech despite receiving an offer from Lane Kiffin at LSU.

SMU, Georgia Tech, and Duke are all in the toss-up category, relatively speaking, but capping off the year with a pair of contests at Notre Dame and Miami, the 2026 National Championship runner-up, after a home bout against Syracuse on Nov. 21 is far from an easy stretch of football.

After reaching a settlement with his former program, Duke, to allow him to officially enter the transfer portal, quarterback Darian Mensah — the ACC’s leading passer in 2025 (3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns) — is now expected to land with the Hurricanes. 

Darian Mensah and Duke have agreed to a settlement of their dispute that will clear the way for the quarterback to transfer to another school, his agency announced Tuesday.

Mensah is expected to transfer to Miami now that his dispute with Duke has been resolved, sources tell… pic.twitter.com/g2S1Urm2M7

— ESPN (@espn) January 27, 2026

And if one thing is true about Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, it is that he knows how to develop a transfer quarterback (Cam Ward, Carson Beck).

Meanwhile, the last time BC traveled to South Bend, Ind., to face the Fighting Irish was on Nov. 19, 2022, and the Eagles were blown out 44-0. This is a completely different team — and coach, for that matter — but the records show that recent matchups between the two Catholic schools in football have not fared well for the Eagles.