BC to Face Penn State in Pinstripe Bowl
For the second consecutive year, the Boston College Eagles will take part in a bowl game.
BC accepted an invitation on Sunday to play in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. The Eagles will face the Penn State Nittany Lions in the bowl game on Dec. 27 at Yankee Stadium.
The Eagles started this season 3-1 – including an upset over No. 9 USC on Sept. 13 – but ended September with a 24-21 loss at home to Colorado State. BC went 4-3 over their final seven games and nearly upset defending BCS champion Florida State before routing Syracuse to close the year 7-5.
BC finished the year fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division, going 4-4 in conference play. The Eagles were led by quarterback Tyler Murphy, who threw for 1,526 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while also running rushing for 1,079 yards and 10 scores.
Penn State got off to a strong start this season, going 4-0, but proceeded to lose their next four games to even their record. They were 6-4 with two games remaining, but lost both to end the year with an even 6-6 record, winning just two of their six games in the Big Ten.
This will be the 24th time BC and Penn State have faced each other, but the first in postseason play. Penn State leads the series 19-4, with the last matchup coming in 2004, a 21-7 win by BC.
After a disappointing 2012 season where they went 2-10, the Eagles went 7-5 in 2013 and earned a spot in the AdvoCare V100 Bowl, where they fell to Arizona 42-19. BC hasn’t won a bowl game since 2007, when they beat Michigan State 24-21 in the Champs Sports Bowl.
The inaugural Pinstripe Bowl first took place in 2010, when Syracuse defeated Kansas State 36-34. Other Pinstripe Bowl victors include Rutgers in 2011 and Notre Dame in 2013, while Syracuse won their second Pinstripe Bowl in 2012.
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