Excitement Builds As BC Retains Focus

On December 6, 2008, the No. 18 Boston College Eagles played Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game for the second consecutive season. Like the year before, it was a rematch of a regular season meeting won by BC, which dispatched the Hokies by five around the mid-year point. Unfortunately for the Eagles, it also ended like the year before with a win for the Coastal Division champion.

The loss dropped the Eagles out of the national poll, and a 16-14 loss to Vanderbilt in the Music City Bowl ensured they wouldn't return at season's end. One year removed from a Top 10 ranking to finish added to the disappointment, but nobody could know that the Eagles wouldn't return to the national…