Boston College Football: One More Game To Go. Then What?
The Boston College Eagles have one more game left, against the Pittsburgh Panthers and the implications of this game couldn't be greater. Sitting at 5-6, multiple outcomes could happen depending on how the game ends. Let's look at some of the scenarios of what could happen on Saturday. This is all based on my gut feelings and intuition, as the administration has been mum about Addazio this season.
Boston College Loses
If Boston College loses at Pittsburgh on Saturday, a few scenarios could play out. They are currently nine point underdogs at the time of this writing:
* The Eagles would sit at 5-7 and technically would not be bowl eligible. This would leave Martin Jarmond, Father Leahy and the Boston College Board of Trustees with two options. The first is that they could choose to move on from Steve Addazio after seven seasons and go in a different direction. We all know the stats right now, and they paint a pretty bleak picture of Addazio's tenure: 1-17 versus the Top 25, 21-34 against the ACC.
* The other option is the administration could look at the season, and look at different factors that impacted the year and caused the decline, including a very young defense and a big injury to quarterback Anthony Brown. You would have to take think that if the administration does move on from Addazio this will be done quickly so that BC can get a crack at some of the candidates that would best fit the Eagles, meaning BC would make an announcement shortly after the loss. But it is important to note that there haven't been any rumblings, or sources that have said anything one way or another.
* There is also the chance that BC could still make a bowl at 5-7 if there aren't enough bowl eligible teams. The way bowl committees decide is to look at APRs, and if you follow Boston College Athletics, you know they have one of the higher scores in the nation. This would put the administration in a tougher situation. On one hand they made a bowl, on the other they would sit at just five wins.
Boston College Wins
* The Eagles will be bowl eligible and most likely will head to a lower tier ACC bowl like the Independence Bowl in Shreveport or Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit. If Boston College wins on Saturday it in all likelihood would mean that Addazio's job will be safe as he reached the program's goal of another bowl game. His job would most likely be safe in my opinion if the Eagles do get that sixth win, and give him an opportunity for a seventh win in a bowl game.
* There is also the possibility BC wins on Saturday and still moves on from Addazio. The only way I could see this happening though is if there is a candidate that the administration feels would take BC to the next level.
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In the grand scheme of things it is rather absurd that a decision about the future of Boston College football may come down to one game.
There are seven years worth of results, along with data that should help the program make a decision that is in the best interest of all involved. Hopefully when addressing where the program should go and be, those involved don't just put weight on an end of the season game against Pittsburgh. But here we are, Saturday's game could have huge ramifications for the Eagles.