# 1984 Boston College Eagles football team

The 1984 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season.
Doug Flutie gained national attention in 1984 when he quarterbacked the Eagles to victory in a high-scoring, back-and-forth game against the Miami Hurricanes (led by QB Bernie Kosar). The game was nationally televised on CBS the day after Thanksgiving and thus had a huge audience. Miami staged a dramatic drive to take the lead, 45–41, in the closing minute of the game. Boston College then took possession at its own 22-yard line with 28 seconds to go. After two passes moved the ball another 30 yards, only 6 seconds remained. On the last play of the game, Flutie scrambled away from the defense and threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught in the end zone by senior wide receiver Gerard Phelan, giving BC a 47–45 win. Although many people think that play clinched the Heisman Trophy for Flutie, the voting was already complete before that game.
Boston College finished the season with a 10–2 record and a No. 5 ranking in the final AP Poll. The Eagles defeated the Southwest Conference champion Houston Cougars 45–28 in the 1985 Cotton Bowl. The team also captured the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (emblematic of the 'Eastern championship' in Division I FBS).
Flutie left school as the NCAA's all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards and was a consensus All-American as a senior. He earned Player of the Year awards from UPI, Kodak, The Sporting News, and the Maxwell Football Club.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | Western Carolina | No. 19 | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | | W 44–24 | 32,000 |
| September 8 | at No. 9 Alabama | No. 18 | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL | ABC | W 38–31 | 67,821 |
| September 22 | North Carolina | No. 10 | Sullivan StadiumFoxborough, MA | ESPN | W 52–20 | 44,672 |
| October 13 | Temple | No. 4 | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | | W 24–10 | 32,000 |
| October 20 | at No. 20 West Virginia | No. 4 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV | ABC | L 20–21 | 60,286 |
| October 27 | Rutgers | No. 11 | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | | W 35–23 | 32,000 |
| November 3 | at Penn State | No. 9 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | ABC | L 30–37 | 85,690 |
| November 10 | Army | No. 16 | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA | KATZ | W 45–31 | 32,000 |
| November 17 | Syracuse | No. 13 | Sullivan StadiumFoxborough, MA | KATZ | W 24–16 | 60,890 |
| November 23 | at No. 12 Miami (FL) | No. 10 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | CBS | W 47–45 | 30,325 |
| December 1 | at Holy Cross | No. 8 | Fitton FieldWorcester, MA (rivalry) | | W 45–10 | 25,000 |
| January 1, 1985 | vs. Houston | No. 8 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic) | CBS | W 45–28 | 67,381 |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 19 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| Coaches | 20 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 4 |

## Game summaries
### Army

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Army | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 31 |
| Boston College | 13 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 45 |
at Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
* Date: November 10, 1984
* Game attendance: 32,000
* TV announcers (KATZ): Curt Gowdy and Len Dawson
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Army | Passing | Nate Sassaman | 4/10, 38 Yds, INT |
| Army | Rushing | Nate Sassaman | 25 Rush, 136 Yds, TD |
| Army | Receiving | Scott Spellmon | 2 Rec, 26 Yds |
| Boston College | Passing | Doug Flutie | 19/29, 311 Yds, 3 TD |
| Boston College | Rushing | Steve Strachan | 15 Rush, 81 Yds, 2 TD |
| Boston College | Receiving | Kelvin Martin | 7 Rec, 126 Yds, 2 TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | ARMY | BC |
| 1 | | | | | Army | Doug Black 1-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | | | | | Boston College | Steve Strachan 1-yard touchdown run, Kevin Snow kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 1 | | | | | Boston College | Scott Gieselman 12-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Kevin Snow kick no good | 7 | 13 |
| 2 | | | | | Boston College | Kelvin Martin 34-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Kevin Snow kick good | 7 | 20 |
| 2 | | | | | Boston College | Punt returned 45 yards for touchdown by Kelvin Martin, 2-point pass good | 7 | 28 |
| 2 | | | | | Army | Rob Dickerson 5-yard touchdown reception from Jarvis Hollingsworth, Craig Stopa kick good | 14 | 28 |
| 3 | | | | | Boston College | 25-yard field goal by Kevin Snow | 14 | 31 |
| 3 | | | | | Army | Nate Sassaman 8-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good | 21 | 31 |
| 3 | | | | | Army | 40-yard field goal by Craig Stopa | 24 | 31 |
| 4 | | | | | Boston College | Steve Strachan 1-yard touchdown run, Kevin Snow kick good | 24 | 38 |
| 4 | | | | | Army | Jarvis Hollingsworth 10-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good | 24 | 45 |
| 4 | | | | | Boston College | Kelvin Martin 17-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Kevin Snow kick good | 31 | 45 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 31 | 45 |

### At Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 10 Eagles | 14 | 14 | 3 | 16 | 47 |
| No. 12 Hurricanes | 7 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 45 |

### Vs. Houston (Cotton Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Eagles | 17 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 45 |
| Cougars | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |

## Awards and honors

* Doug Flutie, QB, Heisman Trophy
* Doug Flutie, QB, Walter Camp Award
* Doug Flutie, QB, Maxwell Award
* Doug Flutie, QB, Davey O'Brien Award

## 1984 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1985 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Gerard Phelan | Wide receiver | 4 | 108 | New England Patriots |
| Mark MacDonald | Guard | 5 | 115 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Doug Flutie | Quarterback | 11 | 285 | Los Angeles Rams |
| Steve Strachan | Running back | 11 | 303 | Los Angeles Raiders |
Bill Romanowski was also a member of the team and was drafted in 1988.