It turns out that Boston College will host the Bobcats after all—just not the same Bobcats that the Eagles were originally scheduled to play when the ACC’s weekly lineup for the unprecedented 10-plus-one model was released earlier this month.
BC announced on Friday afternoon that it will square off against the Sun Belt’s Texas State on Sept. 26. That game fills the Eagles’ non-conference vacancy, following the cancellation of their Sept. 12 matchup with Ohio, which was tabled as soon as the MAC became the first FBS conference to opt out of the 2020 season.
BC Athletics also clarified that no fans will be allowed in Alumni Stadium for the home opener because of COVID-19 restrictions. The department’s release stated that only essential game management personnel and credentialed media will be permitted inside the stadium. Additionally, it reaffirmed that capacity in Alumni (44,500 seats) will be reduced in 2020.
If tickets are sold in 2020, the department will first need approval from state and local officials for each individual game, meaning that ticket sale approval will be on a week-by-week basis.
Sept. 26, which is Week 3 in the ACC’s COVID-19 adjusted schedule, used to be one of the Eagles’ two byes. Now, BC will kick off the season one week later than most of its ACC counterparts with a Sept. 19 road game at Duke.
The Eagles’ lone remaining midseason bye is the week of Nov. 21, or Week 11 on the league schedule. That off-week is sandwiched between two BC home games: a highly-anticipated Nov. 14 date with Notre Dame and a Friday, Nov. 27 contest against Louisville.
Here’s how BC’s finalized 2020 schedule shakes out:
● Sept. 19 @ Duke
● Sept. 26 vs. Texas State
● Oct. 3 vs. UNC
● Oct. 10 vs. Pittsburgh
● Oct. 17 @ Virginia Tech
● Oct. 24 vs. Georgia Tech
● Oct. 31 @ Clemson
● Nov. 7 @ Syracuse
● Nov. 14 vs. Notre Dame
● BYE
● Nov. 27 (Fri.) vs. Louisville
● Dec. 5 @ Virginia
BC has never played Texas State before. The Bobcats are coming off a disappointing 3-9 (2-6 Sun Belt) campaign. It’s been a while since the program has enjoyed any kind of success. In fact, Texas State hasn’t had a winning season since 2014. Over the course of the past five years, the Bobcats have failed to eclipse the three-win mark. They were 13-47 in that span, including a measly 6-34 in conference play.
The Bobcats’ last game against an ACC opponent came in 2015 when they opened their season at Doak Campbell stadium. Florida State handed them an embarrassing 59-16 defeat. Recently, Texas State hasn’t stood much of a chance against Power Five opponents:
● Sept. 5, 2015 @ FSU: 59-16 L
● Sept. 17, 2016 @ Arkansas: 42-3 L
● Sept. 9, 2017 @ Colorado: 37-3 L
● Sept. 1, 2018 @ Rutgers: 35-7 L
● Aug. 29, 2019 @ Texas A&M: 41-7 L
The program has won just three road games in the past five years. In other words, the Sept. 26 game in Chestnut Hill has the makings for a relatively seamless Eagles home opener.
On one hand, BC will have about three weeks between camp and its first regular season contest, an anomaly in the football world and a potentially inconvenient setup. On the other, the Eagles are getting a gimme game at home to polish off their 10-plus-one schedule.
It’s not much, but it lightens the load amid a historic and chaotic 10-game ACC slate for first-year head coach Jeff Hafley.
