Nice surprise package

BC flying toward Tampa, under the radar all the way

Some pundits said fourth. Some pundits said fifth. But all were in agreement that no one connected with Boston College would have any need to make travel plans for Tampa and the ACC Championship game. Excuse me, the Dr Pepper ACC Championship game (mustn't upset the marketers, you know).

"I believed from the first day we started training camp we'd get there," says Mark Herzlich, the superb BC linebacker.

Yeah, right, kid.

"I know it sounds cliché-ish," confirms BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski, "but we did expect to be there. Go look at what the kids said at the ACC meetings."

OK, OK, we get it.

There's a lot going on around here. The Patriots are fighting to make the playoffs. The Celtics are atop the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are tied for the top spot in the Eastern Conference (different sport). The Red Sox are playing in the Hot Stove (or, as I like to call it, Blast Furnace) League.

So an overwhelmed local sports fan can be forgiven if it has somehow escaped his or her attention that the 9-3 Boston College Eagles, the flagship school for big-time football in these here parts, is playing for the right to play in the Orange Bowl, a game BC last participated in 67 years ago.

It's all very simple. Beat Virginia Tech Saturday in Tampa and they're in.

Of course, we were having this same discussion a year ago. All BC had to do was beat Virginia Tech in the Dr Pepper ACC Championship game and it would be going to the Orange Bowl for the first time in 66 years.

Final score: Virginia Tech 30, BC 16.

And that BC team had Matt Ryan.

That BC team also had a special teams problem, including a blocked field goal the Hokies turned into a touchdown. Coach Jags, as he's universally known, doesn't foresee that happening again.

Understand this: The 2008 BC Eagles will always have a special place in the heart of Jeff Jagodzinski. Matt Ryan was off to fame and fortune in Atlanta; everyone knew that. But there were also holes in the offensive line and the secondary. There was no punter. Oh, and as of January 2008, there was no running back. None, zip, nada. The mercurial Jeff Smith?

"We didn't think he was coming back," Jags says.

"We're talking to kids, and we're able to say, not just that you'll play, but that you'll start," chuckles Jagodzinski.

If there is another team at this level whose two primary running backs are, as they say, true freshmen, let them speak. Meanwhile, say hello to true freshmen Montel Harris (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Josh Haden (Fort Washington, Md.), who represent 1,237 yards and six rushing touchdowns.

What this all adds up to, says Coach Jags, is a T-E-A-M, yea Team.

A year ago, BC was 11-3. The Eagles defeated Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl and finished in the Associated Press top 10 for the first time since 1984. A good time was had by all.

"But this is more satisfying than last year," maintains Jagodzinski. "No one expected us to do anything."

So what's going on?

"We're a team," Jags says. "There's no Matt Ryan, no superstar."

Based on the accolades Mr. Herzlich has been receiving, that may no longer be true. The 6-foot-4-inch, 240-pound junior from Wayne, Pa., is a prime contender for the Butkus Award bestowed upon America's finest collegiate linebacker. No less an authority than BC defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani says he's BC's best linebacker ever.

Herzlich would have to qualify as a star, and so would senior defensive tackle B.J. Raji, a mammoth (340 pounds) lad from Washington Township, N.J. They are the anchors of a BC defense that has put up three shutouts (including one against Notre Dame, which always brings smiles to faces at The Heights). That defense has come up with at least one touchdown of its own in each of the last seven games.

It's a defense that was supposed to have fifth-year senior Brian Toal as its fulcrum. But the oft-injured, multiskilled young man is out for the season because of a shoulder injury. What that did was create opportunity for Robert Francois (Highlands, Texas), and he is living up to the ol' carpe diem concept. Witness 10 tackles and a game-clinching interception return last Saturday vs. Maryland.

In the all-important quarterback spot, the Eagles are working on Plan B. Fifth-year senior Chris Crane had been the inconsistent starter until he suffered a season-ending broken collarbone Nov. 22 in the middle of the Wake Forest game. That left the team in the hands of redshirt freshman Dominique Davis (Lakeland, Fla.), who watched in horror as two of his fumbles were run back for Demon Deacon touchdowns before he took the Eagles on a do-or-die game-winning touchdown drive capped by his own quarterback sneak.

He did a nice job against Maryland, and now all he's being asked to do is get his team past the battle-tested Hokies in his second collegiate start. Truth be told, he doesn't seem fazed by the assignment.

"As a backup, you don't know where or when you'll play," he points out. "My time came against Wake Forest, and now I'm taking them to the championship."

What he means by that, of course, is that he's now the QB. He radiates quiet confidence, not bravado.

There's no avoiding the fact that BC is dragging a lot of baggage with it to Tampa. For this will be the third time since 2004 that BC is a game away from the Orange Bowl. That 2004 team pretty much disgraced itself in a 43-17 loss to a mediocre Syracuse team, and last year's club was horribly self-destructive in that aforementioned 30-16 loss to Virginia Tech. For frustrated BC fans, it's high time one of these Eagle outfits gets the job done.

Coach Jags can't promise anything but good preparation. He is blessed to have Spaziani running his defense and the innovative Steve Logan in control of his offense, and he is in possession of some pretty good coaching chops himself. The twist is that the opponent is, once again, Virginia Tech, which will make it four games against Frank Beamer's guys in the last 20. Nobody is going to be out-tricking anybody.

Just keep in mind one thing. This game was never supposed to happen.

Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at ryan@globe.com.