BC/USC to Battle in Primetime

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Just more than one week after the Eagles host Pittsburgh in their Atlantic Coast Conference football opener on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. on ESPN, Boston College will host the University of Southern California on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2, according to an announcement made by the league on Tuesday.

The game will mark the Trojans first trip to Chestnut Hill since 1988 and the fifth meeting between the teams in the all-time series. Boston College opened its 1988 season - and dedicated a rebuilt Alumni Stadium - in a nationally-televised game against eighth-ranked USC on Sept. 1.

The Eagles have also played a home-and-home series against the Trojans in 1987-88, squared off in the 2009 Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, Calif. and met on Sept. 14, 2013 at L.A. Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans have defeated the Eagles on all four occasions, including a 35-7 decision last fall. USC finished 10-4 and was ranked No. 19 in the final Associated Press poll in 2013.

Boston College's ACC opener against Pittsburgh on Friday, Sept. 5 will be broadcast nationally on ESPN at 7 p.m. The Eagles and Panthers were longtime Big East Conference rivals who played one another annually from 1970-2004. The teams will meet for the 30th time in series history, yet for the first time in a decade.

BC is 13-16 in the all-time series against the Panthers and last met (in Pittsburgh) on Oct. 16, 2004. Pitt defeated BC in overtime, 20-17. The Panthers have won three straight in the series. BC last defeated the Panthers, 45-7, in Alumni Stadium on Oct. 20, 2001.