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end, they played like the postseason new- bies they were, falling to Arizona, 42-19. This time, it's different. Addazio has had two seasons in which to size up his roster and get players acclimated to his system, which puts a modern spin on the game's most fundamental imperatives: running the ball on offense, and stopping the run on defense. The Eagles won seven games during the 2014 regular sea- son, including a 37-31 slugfest with then-No. 9 USC. Their losses were im- pressive, too. Three were by four points or fewer, including a near-upset of de- fending national champion Florida State. Given how the regular season unfolded, the Eagles have high expectations head- ing into their matchup with Penn State. "Our practices are much more intense than they were a year ago at this time," Addazio said. "What does all that mean? I guess we'll see. But these kids are loving practicing and the grind of the prepara- tion for this game, which I think tells you what you need to know." BC has a number of impact players on both sides of the ball, notably senior quar- terback Tyler Murphy. A fiCh-year trans- fer from Florida – his status as a graduate student meant that he didn't have to sit out a year – Murphy leads the Eagles in both passing (1,526) and rushing (1,079). But while he has spearheaded a Boston College offense that finished the regular season ranked second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in rushing at 251.8 yards per game, the architect of the program's rapid transformation is Addazio. A few years ago, BC's program was in the midst of an uncharacteristic slump. The Eagles had gone bowling for 12 years in a row, including their first two seasons under Spaziani, a former defensive coor- dinator who had been promoted to head coach aCer Jeff Jagodzinski was fired for interviewing with the New York Jets. But Spaziani's four-year tenure was charac- terized by diminishing returns. The team won only four games in his third season and only two in his fourth. Enter Addazio. A native New Englander, he came to Boston College aCer two years at Temple, where he steered the Owls to a 13-11 record. Before that, he had been an assistant at Florida, helping Urban Meyer win two national championships. With his effusive personality, he con- nected immediately with BC's returning players. His commitment to the running game paid off, too. Although he inherited a veteran quarterback in Chase Rettig, who had surpassed 3,000 yards passing in 2012, he eschewed the pass in hope of building a powerful running game. That effort proved wildly successful, as senior running back Andre Williams rushed for 2,177 yards, the fiCh-highest total in NCAA history. Williams won the Doak Walker Award and finished fourth in bal- loting for the Heisman Trophy, and the Eagles, who were braced for an extended period of rebuilding under Addazio, sud- denly looked to be way ahead of schedule. They overachieved this year, too. Over- coming the loss of Williams and Rettig, BC finished fourth in the ACC's Atlantic Division aCer being picked in the presea- son to finish sixth. In recognition of Ad- dazio's success, Boston College recently extended his contract through the 2020 season. Athletics director Brad Bates called the 55-year-old Connecticut na- tive "one of the best motivators I've ever been around." As the successful coach of a program that is perceived as being a notch below the nation's elite, Addazio has caught the attention of those in the media whose job is to assemble lists of hypothetical can- didates for high-profile coaching vacan- cies. Whether the extension puts an end to such talk in the coming years remains to be seen, but when his name came up recently in connection with vacancies at Florida and Michigan, he wrote it off simply as "the nature of the business." "When you have success, these things happen – they pop up. But the reality of it is, my whole career, everywhere I've been, I've always had one belief and one belief only: Just go about your business, work really hard and give everything you have to your players, to your university. That's my mindset," he said. "I'm not one of these guys who's ever re- ally paid much attention to what goes on out there. Never have. Not wired like that. I guess there are people out there who do, but I really don't. Right now, I've got the greatest job in the world, I'm working it and I'm excited and not interested in any conversation outside of my team and this bowl game right now. Because that's what the most important thing is." NATE BAUER RECORD 9-3 With nearly a full month to recuperate and refocus, I expect the Lions to be a better team when they take on Boston College. How much better? Let's not get carried away. Expect another low- scoring affair, but one in which the Lions should hang tight. BOSTON COLLEGE 20, PENN STATE 16 PHIL GROSZ RECORD 8-4 In what figures to be a fairly close game, the edge goes to the Lions be- cause their pass defense was third in the Big Ten (185 yards per game) and their pass-efficiency rating of 99.7 was first. PENN STATE 24, BOSTON COLLEGE 14 MATT HERB RECORD 8-4 Penn State fans will be hoping for a breakthrough on offense after a month of extra practice, but we're more likely to see incremental progress, and that may not be enough to hold off an Ea- gles team that defeated USC and gave Florida State all it could handle in Tal- lahassee. BOSTON COLLEGE 20, PENN STATE 17 TIM OWEN RECORD 8-4 Points will still be at a premium for the PSU offense, but I think we'll see an improved Christian Hackenberg be- hind a stronger offensive line. And how about this as a potential finish: Sam Ficken goes out Derek Jeter-style and nails a walk-off in his final game. PENN STATE 20, BOSTON COLLEGE 17 RYAN SNYDER RECORD 9-3 I think we're going to see an offense that comes in focused and ready to play. Steve Addazio's team will also be motivated, but Penn State should be able to grind this one out. PENN STATE 20, BOSTON COLLEGE 14 D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 BWI'S FORECAST

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