Boston College–UMass football rivalry

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Boston College–UMass football rivalry
Boston College Eagles wordmark.png
Boston College Eagles
UMass Amherst athletics logo.svg
UMass Minutemen
First meetingNovember 28, 1901
Massachusetts, 11–0
Latest meetingSeptember 11, 2021
Boston College, 45–28
Next meetingSeptember 6, 2025
Statistics
Meetings total27
All-time seriesBoston College leads, 22–5
Largest victoryBoston College, 70–8 (1974)
Longest win streakBoston College, 11 (1979–present)
Current win streakBoston College, 11
[Interactive fullscreen map]
Locations of Boston College and UMass

The Boston College–UMass football rivalry is a college football rivalry between the Eagles of Boston College and Minutemen of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[1]

The rivalry was most active during the 1960s and 1970s, when the teams met on an annual basis. Because of changes to the NCAA's division structure, the teams did not meet for 30 years, but UMass' promotion to the top-tier NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision enabled them to resume the rivalry, with a three-game series starting in 2014. The latest series has been dubbed The Battle of the Bay State.[2] As of 2021, Boston College has won the past 11 meetings, including all of the 21st century matchups.

Early history[]

The first game played between the two schools took place in Amherst, on November 28, 1901, with Massachusetts winning, 11–0. BC and Massachusetts met again 1902 and 1912, with Massachusetts winning all three contests before the series was halted. The two schools did not meet again on the football field until 1966, when BC and UMass—which by then had adopted its present name—began a 17-year series in which the teams would play each other in the last week of UMass' football season. Though both programs were in NCAA Division I, the highest level of competition at the time, they were facing an increasingly different level of opponents. BC, as an independent, played many of its games against large schools from outside New England. UMass was part of the Yankee Conference and played most of its games against regional rivals. Boston College dominated the stretch of the rivalry, winning 15 of the 17 games, routinely blowing out the overmatched Minutemen.

The NCAA split Division I into two subdivisions in 1978: the premier Division I-A (now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision) and the second-tier Division I-AA (now known as the Football Championship Subdivision). Boston College was placed in I-A; UMass, along with the rest of the Yankee Conference, in I-AA.[3]

With BC's schedule increasingly filled with powerhouse I-A teams from outside New England, the annual rivalry entered a long hiatus after the 1982 game, and would not be played again for 30 years.

Recent history[]

Starting in the 1990s, UMass administrators began talking about moving the football team to what was then still called Division I-A. Though the school trustees voted to hold off on an immediate move in 2003, the school did start to schedule games against Division I-A opponents—including trips to Chestnut Hill to play the Eagles.[4]

In April 2011, UMass announced plans to join the Mid-American Conference and play the next year as the second Massachusetts member of the FBS. This prompted speculation that the two schools might renew their rivalry on a more regular basis. This was confirmed when it was reported in September 2011 that they had agreed to play a three-game biannual series beginning in 2014.[5]

The first two games would be played in 2014 and 2016 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, a Boston suburb, about 30 miles south of Chestnut Hill. The games counted as UMass home dates, however, as the New England Patriots stadium had been UMass' regular home field in 2012 and 2013,[6] and the team continued to play half its home schedule there for several years. A rematch in 2018 would be played at BC's Alumni Stadium.

For UMass, the games were a chance to test their mettle against the only other FBS team in the state and prove that they belong at the top level of NCAA football. For Boston College, the "rivalry" was not as keenly felt, as the Eagles have had four decades to establish a long history of competition with top-tier programs outside New England.[7]

2014[]

The first-ever all-FBS BC-UMass game was both teams' season opener in September 2014. BC won the game by a score of 30–7.

The weeks preceding the game were met by a moderate amount of local media coverage and hype, mostly from the UMass side, which billed the game as the "Battle of the Bay State".[2] One UMass fan even went as far as to outfit the Doug Flutie statue outside BC's Alumni Stadium with a Minuteman jersey. The famous 1980s BC quarterback tweeted: "Ew."[6] BC fans scoffed at the matchup, noting that UMass entered the game with a 2-22 record in the two years since joining the FBS.

2016[]

The contest was again called the Battle of the Bay State. A UMass pep rally in the city of Boston was held the day before the game.[8] BC defeated UMass 26-7.

Game results[]

Rankings for BC from the Division I-A/FBS-level AP Poll. Rankings for UMass from Division I-AA/FCS-level Sports Network Poll 2011 or earlier, or AP Poll 2012 or later.

Boston College victoriesMassachusetts victories
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1 November 28, 1901 Boston Massachusetts 11–0
2 October 4, 1902 Amherst Massachusetts 30–0
3 October 12, 1912 Amherst Massachusetts 42–0
4 November 19, 1966 Hadley Boston College 14–7
5 November 25, 1967 Chestnut Hill Boston College 25–0
6 November 23, 1968 Hadley Boston College 21–6
7 November 22, 1969 Chestnut Hill Boston College 35–30
8 November 21, 1970 Hadley Boston College 21–10
9 November 20, 1971 Chestnut Hill Boston College 35–0
10 November 25, 1972 Hadley Massachusetts 28–7
11 November 24, 1973 Chestnut Hill Boston College 59–14
12 November 23, 1974 Hadley Boston College 70–8
13 November 22, 1975 Chestnut Hill Boston College 24–14
14 November 20, 1976 Hadley Boston College 35���0
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
15 November 19, 1977 Chestnut Hill Boston College 34–7
16 November 25, 1978 Hadley Massachusetts 27–0
17 November 24, 1979 Chestnut Hill Boston College 41–3
18 November 22, 1980 Hadley Boston College 13–12
19 November 7, 1981 Chestnut Hill Boston College 52–22
20 November 6, 1982 Hadley Boston College 34–21
21 October 2, 2004 Chestnut Hill Boston College 29–7
22 September 29, 2007 Chestnut Hill #14 Boston College 24–14
23 September 24, 2011 Chestnut Hill Boston College 45–17
24 August 30, 2014 Foxborough Boston College 30–7
25 September 10, 2016 Foxborough Boston College 26–7
26 September 1, 2018 Chestnut Hill Boston College 55–21
27 September 11, 2021 Hadley Boston College45–28
Series: Boston College leads 22–5

See also[]

  • List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References[]

  1. ^ Ainsworth, Chip (August 31, 2018). "Bragging Rights on the Line for UM, BC". The Recorder. Greenfield, Mass. Retrieved June 12, 2020. The Eagles are an 18-point favorite to vanquish the Minutemen for the 10th straight time since 1978 in a rivalry that dates back to 1901 when Mass. Aggie beat BC, 11-0.
  2. ^ a b "UMass Head Coach Mark Whipple Talks 'Battle of the Bay State' On Gresh & Zo". 98.5 The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM). August 27, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  3. ^ Monahan, Bob (July 17, 1981). "HC Not Interested in YC". The Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.
  4. ^ Thomas, Jeff (December 11, 2003). "Minutemen Delay Move to I-A Level; Time Isn't Right for Jump". The Republican. Springfield, Mass. p. C1.
  5. ^ Vautour, Matt (September 26, 2011). "UMass, Boston College Agree on Three-Game Football Series". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Northampton, Mass.
  6. ^ a b Golen, Jimmy (August 29, 2014). "UMass, Boston College Renew Bay State Rivalry". The Associated Press. KSL-TV. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Black, A.J. (March 22, 2020). "Ranking Potential Rivals for Boston College Football". BCBulletin, Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "Battle of the Bay State". umassathletics.com.
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