CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Boston College

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Frank Spaziani.

Schedule and results

Boston College in 2009, game by game: won vs. Northeastern 54–0; won vs. Kent State 34–7; lost at Clemson 7–25; won vs. Wake Forest 27–24; won vs. Florida State 28–21; lost at No. 5 Virginia Tech 14–48; won vs. NC State 52–20; lost at Notre Dame 16–20; won vs. Central Michigan 31–10; won at Virginia 14–10; lost vs. North Carolina 13–31; won at Maryland 19–17; lost vs. USC 13–24+54−34Won 54–0 vs. Northeastern+54NortheasternWon 34–7 vs. Kent State+27Kent StateLost 7–25 at Clemson-18ClemsonWon 27–24 vs. Wake Forest+3Wake ForestWon 28–21 vs. Florida State+7Florida StateLost 14–48 at No. 5 Virginia Tech-34No. 5 Virginia TechWon 52–20 vs. NC State+32NC StateLost 16–20 at Notre Dame-4Notre DameWon 31–10 vs. Central Michigan+21Central MichiganWon 14–10 at Virginia+4VirginiaLost 13–31 vs. North Carolina-18North CarolinaWon 19–17 at Maryland+2MarylandLost 13–24 vs. USC-11USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsNortheasternW 54–⁠092%
Sep 12vsKent StateW 34–⁠779%
Sep 19atClemsonL 7–⁠2546%
Sep 26vsWake ForestW 27–⁠2458%
Oct 3vsFlorida StateW 28–⁠2156%
Oct 10at5Virginia TechL 14–⁠4833%
Oct 17vsNC StateW 52–⁠2071%
Oct 24atNotre DameL 16–⁠2047%
Oct 31vsCentral MichiganW 31–⁠1055%
Nov 14atVirginiaW 14–⁠1065%
Nov 21vsNorth CarolinaL 13–⁠3164%
Nov 28atMarylandW 19–⁠1767%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsUSCEmerald BowlL 13–⁠2438%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 24–⁠13 in the Emerald Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 116 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
322–⁠257
Coach
Frank Spaziani
Elo
1572 −10 this season
SP+ rating
12.7 No. 30 of 120; offense No. 60, defense No. 21, special teams No. 18
SRS
6.1 No. 37 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 65
Offensive coordinator
Gary Tranquill
Defensive coordinator
Bill McGovern
Captains
Rich Gunnell, Mike McLaughlin and Matt Tennant
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense105th of 120
  • Defense19th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted114th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted20th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0237%0.92105th of 120
Defense-0.0140%0.8719th of 120
Opponent-adjusted-0.00 off
-0.00 def		37% off
39% def		—114th off
20th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 303% allowed
Defense-0.2own 323% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsDave Shinskie QB2,049 yds
Passing touchdownsDave Shinskie QB15 TD
Rushing yardsMontel Harris RB1,457 yds
Rushing touchdownsMontel Harris RB14 TD
Receiving yardsRich Gunnell WR880 yds
Receiving touchdownsRich Gunnell WR7 TD
InterceptionsRoderick Rollins CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Dillon Quinn DT★★★★No. 222
Rolandan Finch RB★★★No. 600
Sterlin Phifer RB★★★No. 1138
Jonathan Coleman WR★★★No. 1162
Mike Marscovetra PRO★★★No. 1210

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.827
Running backs33.00.842
Receivers33.00.827
Offensive line42.30.783
Defensive line33.30.845
Athletes and specialists13.00.838
Whole class162.90.823

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 5Matt Tennant CNew Orleans Saints

Roster 93

The 2009 roster

93 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 36 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia Tech7–⁠111–⁠313
Virginia Tech6–⁠210–⁠310
Clemson6–⁠29–⁠524
Miami5–⁠39–⁠419
Boston College5–⁠38–⁠5
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Florida State4–⁠47–⁠6
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke3–⁠55–⁠7
NC State2–⁠65–⁠7
Virginia2–⁠63–⁠9
Maryland1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.