1983 Boston College Eagles football team

American college football season

1983 Boston College Eagles football

Eastern champion

Liberty Bowl, L 18–19 vs. Notre Dame

Conference| Independent
Ranking
Coaches| No. 20
AP| No. 19
Record| 9–3
Head coach|

* Jack Bicknell (3rd season)

Defensive coordinator| Seymour "Red" Kelin (3rd season)
Captains|

* Bob Biestek
* Brian Brennan
* Steve DeOssie

Home stadium| Alumni Stadium
Sullivan Stadium

Seasons

<- 1982

1984 ->

1983 Major eastern college football independents records

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| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
Penn State | 4  | - | 1  | - | 1 |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 1
No. 16 West Virginia | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 18 Pittsburgh | 2  | - | 1  | - | 1 |  |  | 8  | - | 3  | - | 1
No. 19 Boston College $  | 3  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
Syracuse | 3  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
Temple | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Rutgers | 0  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0

* $ – Lambert Trophy Winner

Rankings from AP Poll
1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

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| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 1 Miami (FL) |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
Virginia Tech |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 9  | - | 2  | - | 0
No. 19 Boston College |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 16 West Virginia |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 20 East Carolina |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 8  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 18 Pittsburgh |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 8  | - | 3  | - | 1
Florida State |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
Penn State |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 1
Southern Miss |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 7  | - | 4  | - | 0
Memphis State |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 6  | - | 4  | - | 1
Notre Dame |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 7  | - | 5  | - | 0
Syracuse |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
South Carolina |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Cincinnati |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 6  | - | 1
Southwestern Louisiana |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 4  | - | 6  | - | 0
Temple |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Tulane |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Louisville |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Navy |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Rutgers |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Army |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  | - | 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Eagles were led by third-year head coach Jack Bicknell, and played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and Sullivan Stadium (later known as Foxboro Stadium) in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Junior quarterback Doug Flutie threw for over 2,700 yards and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, leading Boston College to their first ranked finish in 41 years. They met their rivals, Notre Dame, in the 1983 Liberty Bowl.

Boston College finished the season ranked No. 19 in the final AP Poll, and captured the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (emblematic of the 'Eastern championship' in Division I FBS).

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 3| Morgan State| |

* Alumni Stadium
* Chestnut Hill, MA

| | W 45–12| 31,300| [1]
September 10| Clemson| |

* Alumni Stadium
* Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)

| | W 31–16| 32,000–32,500| [2][3]
September 17| at Rutgers| |

* Giants Stadium
* East Rutherford, NJ

| | W 42–22| 23,561| [4]
September 24| No. 12 West Virginia| No. 19|

* Alumni Stadium
* Chestnut Hill, MA

| ABC| L 17–27| 32,000| [5]
October 1| at Temple| |

* Franklin Field
* Philadelphia, PA

| | W 18–15| 7,033| [6]
October 8| at Yale| |

* Yale Bowl
* New Haven, CT

| | W 42–7| 31,108| [7]
October 29| Penn State| No. 19|

* Sullivan Stadium
* Foxborough, MA

| ABC| W 27–17| 56,605| [8]
November 5| at Army| No. 16|

* Michie Stadium
* West Point, NY

| | W 34–14| 40,749| [9]
November 12| at Syracuse| No. 13|

* Carrier Dome
* Syracuse, NY

| | L 10–21| 41,225| [10]
November 19| vs. Holy Cross| No. 18|

* Sullivan Stadium
* Foxborough, MA (rivalry)

| ABC| W 47–7| 38,512| [11]
November 25| No. 13 Alabama| No. 15|

* Sullivan Stadium
* Foxborough, MA

| CBS| W 20–13| 58,047| [12]
December 29| vs. Notre Dame| No. 13|

* Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
* Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl, Holy War)

| | L 18–19| 47,071| [13]

* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[14]

## Roster

[edit]

1983 Boston College Eagles football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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|
|

WR | `13` | Brian Brennan | Sr
RB | `32` | Jim Browne | Jr
QB | `22` | Doug Flutie | Jr
OL | `79` | Mark MacDonald | Jr
WR | `20` | Gerard Phelan | Jr
RB | `23` | Troy Stradford | Fr
WR | `3` | Chris Tripucka | Jr
C | `` | Darren Twombly | Fr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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NG | `68` | Mike Ruth | So
LB | `81` | Andy Hemmer | So
DB | `17` | Tony Thurman | Jr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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|

Head coach

* Jack Bicknell

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Tom Coughlin – Quarterbacks

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## Game summaries

[edit]

### No. 12 West Virginia

[edit]

See also: 1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

### No. 13 Alabama

[edit]

See also: 1983 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

### Vs. Notre Dame (Liberty Bowl)

[edit]

Main article: 1983 Liberty Bowl

See also: 1983 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Boston College trashes Bears". The State. September 4, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ "Stradford carries BC past Clemson". The Hartford Courant. September 11, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1984". Clemson University. 1984. p. 0. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
4. ^ "BC wallops Rutgers, 42–22". Staten Island Advance. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "W. Va. Mountaineers blitz Boston College". The Daily Advertiser. September 25, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Flutie 'pitches in' as Boston College turns back Temple". Courier-Post. October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ Thomsen, Ian (October 9, 1983). "BC Scores Early and Often". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 51 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "The surgeon; BC's Flutie operates on Penn State, 27–17". The Day. October 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "No. 16 BC rips Army, 34–14". The Reporter Dispatch. November 6, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Syracuse derails BC, 21–10". Boston Sunday Globe. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ May, Peter (November 20, 1983). "BC Pounds Holy Cross, Expects New Bowl Foe". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. pp. D12, D16 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Turnovers turn back Tide; BC finishes with 9–2 record". The Boston Globe. November 26, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Irish stew Eagles in B-r-r-r Bowl". The Commercial Appeal. December 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "1983 Boston College Eagles Schedule & Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2017.

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Boston College Eagles football

Venues|

* South End Grounds (1893–1899, 1902)
* American League Baseball Grounds (1901)
* Alumni Field (1915–1921, 1923, 1932–1941, 1943–1945, 1955)
* Fenway Park (1914–1917, 1919–1920, 1927–1931, 1936–1945, 1953–1956)
* Braves Field (1918–1927, 1944, 1946–1952)
* Alumni Stadium (1957–present)
* Sullivan Stadium (alternate)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Boston University (Green Line Rivalry)
* Clemson (O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy)
* Holy Cross
* Notre Dame: Holy War
* UMass
* Virginia Tech
* Sacred Cod Trophy

Culture & lore|

* Baldwin the Eagle
* "For Boston"
* Marching band
* Scanlan Award
* Hail Flutie
* The Iron Major

People|

* Head coaches
* Starting quarterbacks
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903–1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number