B.C. Football Preview

The Boston College football team will open their 2005 season this upcoming Saturday in Provo, Utah against Brigham Young University. The B.Y.U. contest will be one of five road games for the Eagles who play six games at home in Alumni Stadium. 2005 marks a new beginning for B.C. football as they leave the Big East Conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Gone (for now) are traditional games against Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The Eagles will now regularly face the likes of Florida State, Maryland and Virginia. Fellow Big East-to-ACC defectors Miami, Fl. and Virginia Tech will also be on the schedule in most years, including a late October trip to Blacksburg to face off against V-Tech. The fresh start in the ACC could be a productive one for B.C. and head coach Tom O'Brien in '05. The Eagles are rated No. 22 in the country in the preseason AP football poll. Senior defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka was voted by the ACC coaches as the Conference's preseason player of the year. Other defensive standouts include linebacker's Brian Toal and Ray Henderson and cornerback's DeJuan Tribble and Jazzmen Williams. The offense will be led by quarterback's Quinton Porter and Matt Ryan, running back's L.V. Whitworth, Andre Callender and A.J. Brooks, a stellar offensive line fronted by Jeremy Trueblood, and receivers Will Blackmon, Larry Lester and Tony Gonzalez.