Boston College 24, Miami 14: Luke Kuechly, Eagles Go Out On Top

Luke Kuechly returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown, giving the Boston College Eagles a ten point lead and the game-clinching score as BC proceeded to defeated the Miami Hurricanes, 24-17, in the season finale for both teams on Friday afternoon at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL.

Kuechly, who will likely leave the team to enter the NFL Draft, finished with nine tackles, snapping his FBS-leading streak of 33 straight games with double digit tackles. However, Kuechly did break the school record for tackles in a career (previously 524 tackles by linebacker Stephen Boyd) and finished with 532 career stops.

Boston College finished the season at 4-8 (3-5 ACC), winning three of its final five games. Miami wrapped up the first season under Al Golden (who had his four-year contract extension announced during the game) at 6-6 overall (3-5 ACC).

Miami scored two early touchdowns - one on a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jacory Harris (23-for-39, 245 yards, TD, 4 INT) to LaRon Byrd with 12:37 left in the first quarter and another on Lamar Miller's 79-yard touchdown run with 4:49 to go in the opening quarter.

Chase Rettig (13-for-17, 196 yards, 2 TDs) connected with Chris Pantale (four catches, 70 yards, 2 TD) on a nine-yard touchdown with 5:47 left in the first, tying the game at the time for Boston College. Nate Freese connected on a 30-yard field goal with 14:28 to go in the second half, accounting for the only points of the second quarter.

Nearly four minutes into the second half, Rettig connected with Pantale for his second score, this time from 32 yards out to give the Eagles a three-point lead, 17-14. Kuechly's pick six with 14:48 of the fourth quarter sealed the deal for BC, although Jake Wieclaw made a 49-yard field goal with 14 seconds left for Miami.

Rolandan Finch rushed for 96 yards on 22 carries to pace the Eagles' ground game and Bobby Swigert had four catches for 67 yards. Hampton Hughes, Sean Duggan and Donnie Fletcher each had an interception for Boston College.

For more Boston College Football coverage, visit our team page and blog, BC Interruption.

Boston College Eagles kicker Nate Freese split the uprights from 30 yards out, accounting for the only points of the second quarter as the Miami Hurricanes took a 14-10 lead over the Eagles into halftime at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL.

Miami scored two touchdowns in the first quarter - one on a seven-yard pass from Hurricanes quarterback Jacory Harris to LaRon Byrd and another on a 79-yard run from back Lamar Miller. The Eagles answered with one touchdown, as sophomore quarterback Chase Rettig found tight end Chris Pantale for a nine yard touchdown pass.

Rettig finished the first half having completed 8-of-10 passes for 101 yards while Harris completed 7-of-10 passes for 92 yards. Miller has 104 rushing yards on six carries while Andre Williams has rushed for 39 yards on nine carries for BC. Bobby Swigert has two catches for 31 yards and Pantale has two receptions for 25 yards.

For more Boston College Football coverage, visit our team page and blog, BC Interruption.

Neither team was able to make a strong stand on defense in the first quarter, and the Miami Hurricanes offense put two touchdowns on the board and took a 14-7 lead over the Boston College Eagles after 15 minutes at Sun Life Stadium.

Miami opened the game with a long 60-yard pass from senior quarterback Jacory Harris to Travis Benjamin, setting up its first score. Harris found LaRon Byrd for a seven yard touchdown pass with 12:37 to go in the first, putting Miami up by a touchdown. 

Chase Rettig put the Eagles on the board with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Chris Pantale with 5:47 to play in the quarter, capping off a solid 11-play, 70 yard drive that lasted nearly seven minutes.

Lamar Miller scored the Hurricanes second touchdown of the quarter, as he broke free for a 79-yard touchdown run down the right sideline to put Miami up by a touchdown once again.

Harris had 75 passing yards in the opening quarter on 3-of-3 passing while Rettig completed 6-of-6 passes for 71 yards. Luke Kuechly had his 525th tackle in the quarter, setting the school record for most tackles in a career.

For more Boston College Football coverage, visit our team page and blog, BC Interruption.

Luke Kuechly and the Boston College Eagles take on the Miami Hurricanes on Friday afternoon in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Event: Boston College Eagles (3-8, 2-5 ACC) vs. Miami Hurricanes (6-5, 3-4 ACC).

Date/Time: Friday, November 25, 2011 - 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Location: Sun Life Stadium (Capacity: 75,192), Miami Gardens, Florida.

Odds: The Hurricanes are 13-point favorites over the Eagles.

Broadcast Information: Saturday's game between the Eagles and Fighting Irish will be televised nationally on ABC, with Rob Stone providing play-by-play and Danny Kanell providing analysis.

The game can also be heard on the WEEI Sports Radio Network, the home of Boston College football. Jon Meterparel will on play-by-play duty, Pete Cronan will be providing analysis and Brian St. Pierre is on the sidelines.

Series History: Miami leads the all-time series 23-4, including 14-1 in Miami. Friday's meeting takes place 27 years and two days after Doug Flutie's miracle, last-second bomb on a play called "55 flood tip" found Gerard Phelan in the end zone for a 47-yard pass, giving Boston College a 47-45 victory against Miami and providing Flutie with a final, successful boost in his Heisman Trophy campaign.

Last Time Out: BC played No. 24 Notre Dame tough, but the Eagles could not recover a late onside kick and the Fighting Irish escaped with a 16-14 victory.

Miami kicker Jake Wieclaw drilled a 36-yard field goal as time expired to give the Hurricanes a 6-3 win against South Florida.

Eagles By The Numbers: BC ranks 105th in total passing yards with 164.7 yards per game and rank 85th in total rushing yards with 128.9 per game. BC also ranks 112th in points for (17.6 PPG) and 48th in points against (24.1 PPG).

Hurricanes By The Numbers: Miami ranks 63rd in the nation in passing with 230.9 yards through the air per game and also ranks 69th in total rushing yards per tilt with 147.8. In addition, the Hurricanes rank 61st in points for (27.4) and 18th in points against (19.7).

Storyline: Boston College looks to end its disappointing season on a high note against the Hurricanes. Senior Luke Kuechly needs two tackles to break the BC career tackles record, which is currently held by Stephen Boyd. The Hurricanes earned bowl eligibility last weekend against South Florida, but can only improve their bowl standing with a win Friday.

Players To Watch: Luke Kuechly is a leading candidate for multiple defensive awards, leads the nation in tackles, and needs just two tackles to break BC's career tackles record. Because the Eagles failed to earn bowl eligibility, BC's game against Miami will be the last game of Kuechly's storied collegiate career.

Jacory Harris, Lamar Miller and Tommy Streeter lead Miami's offense. 

Prediction: Boston College has been far more competitive in the past two weeks, beating North Carolina St. and giving Notre Dame a real scare. But the Hurricanes are the more talented team on both sides of the ball. Final Score: Miami 31, Boston College 20.

Luke Kuechly is undoubtedly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, linebacker ever to play at Boston College (with absolutely no disrespect towards Mark Herzlich). Kuechly has led the nation in tackles for the past two seasons and has 182 total tackles and 96 solo stops this season.

Yet on Friday afternoon, Kuechly could further cement his legacy at Boston College.

Kuechly is a mere two tackles away from the all-time Boston College career mark of 524 set by linebacker Stephen Boyd. In addition, Kuechly is two tackles shy of breaking his single-season ACC tackles record of 183. 

Barring injury (knock on wood), Kuechly should tie and surpass his own record and set the new school record when the Eagles face the Miami Hurricanes at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Friday afternoon in Miami Gardens, Florida. Kuechly is averaging an impressive 16.5 tackles per game and had 23 tackles in a loss to the Duke Blue Devils earlier this season.

For more Boston College Football coverage, visit our team page and blog, BC Interruption.

WIthout much surprise, the struggling Boston College Eagles enter their season finale with the Miami Hurricanes at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Friday afternoon (ABC) as underdogs, with Miami being listed as a 14-point favorite (according to BSN Sports Blog) with an over-under of 44.

Boston College (3-8, 2-5 ACC) has been down on its luck for the majority of the season, and will look to cap off a painful campaign - one in which the program saw its 12-year bowl game streak snapped - with some pride. 

Unfortunately, the Eagles have not had much success against the Hurricanes all-time, winning only four of 27 total meetings. What's even worse for BC is that fact that it is 1-14 against the Hurricanes in games played in Miami.

However, that one win was a special one - the "Hail Flutie" game that gave BC a thrilling 47-45 win on quarterback Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass to Gerard Phelan on the final play to win the game and defeat the defending nation champions.

For more Boston College Football coverage, visit our team page and blog, BC Interruption.