In 1997 BC hired a 1971 Navy graduate and
the former Virginia offensive coordinator Tom O'Brien. O'Brien arrived
at The Heights with plans to revive the program after the team had been
tarnished in the wake of the scandal. With good recruiting skills and a
strong coaching staff around him, notably offensive coordinator Dana
Bible and defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani, O'Brien has turned the
program into a consistent top-25 team. The team has also been helped by
increased exposure on the national stage due to the move to the ACC and,
more recently, improved facilities in the form of the Yawkey Center.
O'Brien has guided BC to six straight bowl wins.
Following two mediocre seasons in 1997 (4-7) and 1998 (4-7), O'Brien's
vision of a re-built football program began to take shape. In 1999, the
Eagles finished the regular season 8-3 including a 31-29 win at Notre
Dame Stadium on November 20. BC had earned itself its first bowl berth
since being ensnarled in the 1996 gambling scandal. Despite the
excitement of its first postseason game in five years, Boston College
laid an egg at the Insight.com Bowl in Tuscon, Arizona, getting squashed
by the University of Colorado, 62-28. In 2000 BC finished the regular
season at 6-5 with just enough wins to be bowl-eligible and found
themselves in Honolulu for the Aloha Bowl where they downed Arizona
State 31-17, giving O'Brien his first bowl victory as head coach.
The year 2001 saw Boston College end a 21-game losing streak to ranked
opponents when, in the Music City Bowl, the Eagles beat No. 16 Georgia
20-16 to finish at 8-5. But the most memorable moment of the year came
in another thrilling game against then-No. 1 Miami at Alumni Stadium.
Trailing 12-7 BC stood at the Hurricanes 9-yard-line, poised to win with
just over 20 seconds left in the contest, but a freak interception
thrown by Eagles quarterback Brian St. Pierre cost BC the game. St.
Pierre threw too low for BC receiver Ryan Read, and the pass ricocheted
off a Miami defender's leg and fell into the hands of Ed Reed, who
returned it 80 yards for a touchdown — preserving a win for the
Hurricanes and keeping its hopes alive for a national championship,
which they would eventually win. Despite the heartbreaking loss, the
season had several highs including running back William Green rushing
for 1,559 yards and being the top RB taken in the 2002 NFL Draft; eight
wins for the first time since 1993; and the team finished the season
ranked (No. 21) for the first time since 1994.
