BC zeroes in on Iowa as Pinstripe Bowl approaches

CHESTNUT HILL — It's being dubbed, "The Battle of the Birds," as Boston College and Iowa get set to square off next Wednesday at Yankee Stadium in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Both the Eagles and Hawkeyes will enter the matchup with 7-5 records, eager to finish the season on a high note.

"This is a good, solid, strong football team," said BC head coach Steve Addazio. "You've seen that through the years. You watch the tape of all the games. They've played some phenomenal football games. None short of the ones they played against Ohio State at home. It's a good team, very, very good team."

The unexpected win over Ohio State this season came in dominating fashion, with the Hawkeyes scoring 55 points. BC's most impressive win this year came on the road against Louisville, as AJ Dillon ran for 272 yards in a 45-42 upset on the road.

Dillon remains BC's top weapon as starting quarterback Anthony Brown is done for the season. Darius Wade has ably replaced Brown and has benefitted from extra practice time with his receivers gearing up for next week's bowl game.

"He had a little game experience earlier in his career, got hurt, some things didn't go his way, but he's always been ready," said WR Charlie Callinan. "He's always been preparing like a starter. Ever since then, we see it. We all have faith in him. I have so much confidence in him, and we're rallying behind him. He's doing a great job for us, and he's going to help us win this game, we believe. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch."

"D. Wade is doing his thing right now," said WR Thadd Smith. "The team is just carrying around him and supporting him. The more we do that, the more D. Wade's going to grow. So D. Wade is doing his thing right now."

Wade, who took over the job in the first half of the North Carolina State game, has thrown for 528 yards, while throwing two touchdown passes and one interception.

The Eagles will live or die on the ground, with a maturing offensive line that will try to open holes for Dillon and junior running back Jon Hilliman.

"It's going to be a physical game and run oriented game too. So you're going to see a great dose of those guys," said Addazio.

Boston College and Iowa will kick off at 5:15pm at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, December 27.

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