Boston University Terriers
Boston University has played football since at least 1887 and is 98–163–13 in the 274 games on record. Their best finish in the final AP poll is No. 16, in 1951. Since 1938, the NFL Draft has taken 10 players from here in its first seven rounds, 2 of them in the first round. The AFL draft also took three players from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 3 players from Boston University. Aldo Donelli (1947–1956) won more games here than any other coach: 46. The most-played rival is Holy Cross: 26 meetings, Holy Cross leads 15–8–3. This season, they’re 1–0.
On this date in 1951Boston University beat No. 16 Pacific 27–12 at home.
Résumé
- Record on file
- 98–163–13 .381; how we count
- Postseason
- 0–1 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 2 ranked
- Elo now
- 1235
- Seasons
- 67 since 1887, 274 games
1994 season 1–0
RosterFull 1994 season
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
Players
The 1994 rosterProgram greats See all
Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Boston University.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
Program strength since 1887
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Aldo Donelli | 1947–1956 | 46–36–4 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Holy Cross
8–15–3 in 26
- 1968 T 7–7
- 1970 W 33–23
- 1971 L 14–28
- 1974 T 14–14
- 1975 W 6–0
- 1976 L 11–31
- 1977 W 14–13
- 1978 W 15–7
- 1979 W 16–7
- 1981 L 6–14
Lost the last one.
- Syracuse
3–12–1 in 16
- 1951 L 19–26
- 1952 L 21–34
- 1953 T 14–14
- 1954 W 41–19
- 1955 L 12–27
- 1956 L 7–21
- 1957 L 20–27
- 1958 L 0–42
- 1959 L 0–46
- 1960 L 7–35
Lost the last six.
- Boston College
2–13 in 15
- 1942 L 0–37
- 1954 L 6–7
- 1955 L 12–40
- 1956 L 0–13
- 1957 L 2–27
- 1958 L 13–18
- 1959 W 26–7
- 1960 L 14–23
- 1961 L 7–10
- 1962 L 25–41
Lost the last three.
| Opponent | Games | Boston University record |
|---|---|---|
| Holy Cross | 26 | 8–15–3 |
| Syracuse | 16 | 3–12–1 |
| Boston College | 15 | 2–13 |
| Colgate | 15 | 6–8–1 |
| Temple | 13 | 6–6–1 |
| UConn | 11 | 7–4 |
| Army | 11 | 1–10 |
| Harvard | 11 | 3–8 |
Every opponent (59)
Every program Boston University has played, A to Z, with Boston University’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Amherst 0–1
- Army 1–10
- Boston College 2–13
- Brandeis 2–0
- Brown 0–7–1
- Bucknell 2–0
- Buffalo 3–6
- Camp Lejeune 1–0
- Colby 1–0
- Colgate 6–8–1
- Dartmouth 1–8
- Drake 1–0
- Duquesne 1–0
- Fordham 3–0
- George Washington 3–2–2
- Harvard 3–8
- Holy Cross 8–15–3
- Idaho 0–1
- Iowa 0–1
- Kansas 0–2
- Lehigh 2–0
- Louisville 1–2
- Maine 1–0
- Manhattan 0–3
- Marquette 0–2
- Maryland 0–2
- Massachusetts 7–3
- Merchant Marine 1–0
- Miami 1–1–1
- Mohawk 1–0
- Muhlenberg 0–1
- Navy 0–1
- NC State 0–1
- New York University 6–1
- Ohio 0–1
- Oregon 1–0
- Pacific 1–1
- Penn State 0–8
- Purdue 0–1
- Rhode Island 1–0
- Richmond 1–1
- Rutgers 1–9
- San Diego State 0–1
- Scranton 2–0
- St. Bonaventure 0–2
- Syracuse 3–12–1
- Temple 6–6–1
- The Citadel 0–1
- Trinity (CT) 0–0–1
- Tufts 1–3
- UConn 7–4
- Villanova 3–6
- VMI 1–0
- Wake Forest 0–2
- Washington St. Louis 2–0
- West Virginia 4–3–1
- Wichita State 2–0
- William & Mary 4–2–1
- Yale 0–1
Conferences
- Independent 1923–1924 and 1947–1964
- 1997Joined the Atlantic 10 from the Yankee Conference in football. Source
- 1998Joined the Dropped football from the Atlantic 10 in football. Source
Boston University’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the Hall of Fame
Every inductee- Players
- 3
- Coaches
- 0
| 1997 | Bruce Taylor CB |
| 1981 | Alvin Wistert OT |
| 1974 | Harry Agganis QB |
In the draft
By college- NFL picks, rounds 1–7
- 10 since 1938
- First-round picks
- 2
- AFL picks
- 3 1962, 1964
| 1970 | Bruce Taylor DB | No. 17, San Francisco 49ers |
| 1952 | Harry Agganis QB | No. 12, Cleveland Browns |
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1–0 | 1235 | |||||
| 1992 | 0–1 | 1191 | |||||
| 1986 | 0–1 | 1205 | |||||
| 1985 | 0–1 | 1222 | |||||
| 1983 | 1–0 | 1258 | |||||
| 1981 | 0–2 | 1249 | |||||
| 1980 | 1–1 | 1297 | |||||
| 1979 | 3–0 | 1316 | |||||
| 1978 | 2–1 | 1251 | |||||
| 1977 | 1–3 | 1185 | |||||
| 1976 | 0–4 | 1195 | |||||
| 1975 | 3–1 | 1274 | |||||
| 1974 | 0–1–1 | 1195 | |||||
| 1973 | 1–2 | 1194 | |||||
| 1972 | 1–3 | 1171 | |||||
| 1971 | 0–5 | 1181 | |||||
| 1970 | 1–2 | 1265 | |||||
| 1969 | 2–1 | 1303 | |||||
| 1968 | 0–2–1 | 1240 | |||||
| 1967 | 1–3 | 1300 | |||||
| 1966 | 1–3 | 1321 | |||||
| 1965 | 2–0–1 | 1392 | |||||
| 1964 | 2–7 | 1232 | |||||
| 1963 | 1–6–1 | 1284 | |||||
| 1962 | 2–7 | 1374 |
Every season back to 1887 (42 more)
| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4–5 | 1435 | |||||
| 1960 | 3–5–2 | 1433 | |||||
| 1959 | 4–5 | 1461 | |||||
| 1958 | 4–5 | 1450 | |||||
| 1957 | 5–3 | 1435 | |||||
| 1956 | 1–5–2 | Aldo Donelli | 1352 | ||||
| 1955 | 2–6 | Aldo Donelli | 1418 | ||||
| 1954 | 7–2 | Aldo Donelli | 1595 | ||||
| 1953 | 5–3–1 | Aldo Donelli | 1524 | ||||
| 1952 | 5–4–1 | Aldo Donelli | 1464 | ||||
| 1951 | 6–4 | 16 | Aldo Donelli | 1485 | |||
| 1950 | 3–5 | Aldo Donelli | 1410 | ||||
| 1949 | 6–2 | Aldo Donelli | 1486 | ||||
| 1948 | 6–2 | Aldo Donelli | 1399 | ||||
| 1947 | 5–3 | Aldo Donelli | 1311 | ||||
| 1946 | 0–1–1 | 1183 | |||||
| 1945 | 0–1 | 1180 | |||||
| 1942 | 0–2 | 1182 | |||||
| 1941 | 0–2 | 1185 | |||||
| 1940 | 0–2 | 1189 | |||||
| 1939 | 0–2 | 1197 | |||||
| 1938 | 0–3 | 1226 | |||||
| 1937 | 2–1 | 1264 | |||||
| 1936 | 1–1–1 | 1213 | |||||
| 1935 | 0–1 | 1175 | |||||
| 1934 | 0–1 | 1188 | |||||
| 1930 | 0–2 | 1192 | |||||
| 1929 | 0–1 | 1207 | |||||
| 1928 | 0–1 | 1217 | |||||
| 1927 | 0–1 | 1232 | |||||
| 1926 | 0–3 | 1254 | |||||
| 1925 | 0–1 | 1311 | |||||
| 1924 | 1–5 | 1242 | |||||
| 1923 | 1–6 | 1155 | |||||
| 1922 | 0–2 | 1180 | |||||
| 1921 | 0–1 | 1180 | |||||
| 1904few games on file | 0–1 | 1174 | |||||
| 1897few games on file | 1–1 | 1199 | |||||
| 1895few games on file | 0–1 | 1155 | |||||
| 1894few games on file | 0–1 | 1140 | |||||
| 1892few games on file | 0–1 | 1131 | |||||
| 1887few games on file | 0–2–1 | 1149 |
No season on file for 1888–91, 1893, 1896, 1898–1903, 1905–20, 1931–33, 1943–44, 1982, 1984, 1987–91, 1993: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.
All 67 seasons on file are complete, game by game: every win and loss in the record has its game here.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.