Road's not too rough for Eagles
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- They have been unfazed playing in the ear-splitting din of hostile environments such as Morgantown, W.Va.; South Bend, Ind.; Happy Valley, Pa.; and, more recently, Death Valley in Clemson, S.C. Yes, they've even come here, to Virginia Tech's noisy Lane Stadium, and managed to walk away with a win.
So when exactly did the Boston College Eagles, winners of 13 of their last 16 road games, morph into road warriors? Why has BC been so successful playing tough opponents in such tough environs?
Coach Tom O'Brien offered one theory. ''They don't get all upset about what goes on around them," O'Brien said of his players. ''They understand it's a football game and we have to go play 60 minutes and we have to play hard each and every minute of the football game.
''The weather doesn't bother 'em, the travel doesn't bother 'em, all those things out of their control they've been able to put in the background and not be concerned with. They done a good job of concentrating on the opponent at hand."
And when that opponent has been ranked, it has only served to make the Eagles focus even harder. The last time BC defeated an opponent ranked higher than No. 3 Virginia Tech, tonight's opponent, was when the Eagles toppled top-ranked Notre Dame, 41-39, at South Bend in 1993.
Since suffering a 38-6 setback at top-ranked Miami Sept. 21, 2002, the Eagles have gone on to face five ranked opponents on the road, winning all five: at No. 4 Notre Dame in 2002 (14-7); at No. 25 Penn State (27-14) and No. 12 Virginia Tech (34-27) in 2003; and at No. 24 Notre Dame (24-23) and No. 10 West Virginia (36-17) last season.
''You look at all the places we've gone to, they were all stadiums that were full at kickoff, with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of people, and a lot of hollering and screaming, so they enjoy playing in those situations," said O'Brien. ''We've done well and hopefully we'll continue with our streak."
Beaming with pride
Virginia Tech has a streak of its own it hopes to extend tonight. The Hokies are 11-1 in ESPN Thursday night games, having won their last 10. ''I like Thursday night games," said Hokies coach Frank Beamer. ''You're the only game on and it's the equivalent of 'Monday Night Football' for the pros. If you're on ESPN, you're the biggest game on. It's a really good stage, and it's really good for recruiting if you can play well. I think it's so important for the sport, really." . . . Of Tech's 11 victories in ESPN Thursday night games, two have come against BC -- a 17-0 shutout in a monsoon at Alumni Stadium Oct. 8, 1998; and a 28-23 victory at Chestnut Hill Oct. 10, 2002 -- but Tech's lone setback in that stretch came against the Eagles, 20-14, Sept. 7, 1995 . . . Doug Flutie and Gerard Phelan, who were BC's famous ''Miracle in Miami" connection in 1984, will reunite at Game On! at Fenway Park to host a viewing party of the BC-Virginia Tech game.Bill Griffith of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
