“I’ll take a 10-win season,” insisted Eagles coach Jeff Jagodzinski after Saturday’s 30-16 loss to Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.
“Any time you get double-digit wins in football, I don’t care what level you’re playing, I think that’s a good year. I tell you I’m proud as I can be to be the football coach at Boston College and proud of our kids, the way they fought. We just came up a little short today, and we will just keep it going.”
And 10 wins is a good year for BC. The problem is, the Eagles paid the price for being an alien in the college football world. The difference between winning and losing Saturday afternoon was significant, as BC will play in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., rather than strut off to the Orange Bowl. BC deserved better, but because it is not what is known as a good “traveling” team, the Eagles are not desirable in the eyes of, say, a Chick-Fil-A Bowl pooh-bah. It was ever thus, and is one reason Tom O’Brien is now coaching in Raleigh, N.C., as opposed to Chestnut Hill.
