GAME RECAP 2016

On December 26th, 2016, the third annual Quick Lane Bowl was played between the Boston College Eagles and the Maryland Terrapins at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.

Maryland, being led by first year head coach D.J. Durkin, was looking to end its season on a high note after winning its final game of the regular season to become bowl eligible at 6-6. Boston College, and head coach Steve Addazio went into the game with an identical record in hopes of earning its first bowl win since 2007.

In what was touted to be a defensive battle, scoring occurred early and often and it started with a Jon Hillman 1 yard run into the end zone to get Boston College on the board with a 6-0 lead halfway into the first quarter. Boston College continued to click on offense with a two yard touchdown pass from Patrick Towles to Tommy Sweeney and a 22-yard field goal by kicker Mike Knoll to give the Eagles a 16-0 lead with 10:30 left in the half.

Immediately after the Knoll field goal, Maryland was able answer with a 62-yard touchdown run from running back Ty Johnson to cut the Eagles' lead to 16-7. Following the touchdown from Johnson, each team continued to trade touchdowns throughout the half, and after a 49-yard touchdown pass from Towles to WR Michael Walker, Boston College went into the half with a 29-13 lead.

In the second half, the scoring continued for Boston College, but this time it was the defense that found the end zone for the Eagles. With Maryland having the ball inside their own ten yard line, DT Noa Merritt was able to get to the backfield to force Maryland QB Peyton Hillis to fumble into the Terrapins' own end zone and the fumble was ultimately recovered by Boston College DE Kevin Kavalec to give the Eagles a demanding 36-13 lead.

Following the defensive touchdown from the Eagles, Maryland started to find success through the air as Hillis connected with WR Lavern Jacobs for a 52-yard touchdown, and then with WR Teldrick Morgan for a 63-yard touchdown on back-to-back drives, narrowing the Boston College to 36-27 less than five minutes into the second half.

Once Maryland was able to cut Boston College's lead to nine, the defenses took over. After the consecutive Maryland touchdowns, neither team found much success on offense for the remainder of the quarter and much of the fourth. The Eagles defense was able to keep Maryland's offense in check by forcing two punts, a turnover on downs, and another fumble from Hillis with four minutes remaining. After the Hillis fumble, Maryland's defense was able to answer by forcing a fumble of their own which was then recovered by DT Azubuike Ukandu with 3:14 left in the fourth.

With little time remaining, Maryland was able to capitalize on the fumble with a 23-yard field goal from Adam Greene to make it a one score game at 36-30. The Terrapins also were also able to step up on defense once again to force a Boston College three and out, which gave them the ball on their own 35 with 1:43 remaining. But once again, Boston College's defensive line stepped up to pressure Hillis on each play of the final drive which resulted in three incompletions and a -7 yard reception on 4th down for the Terrapins. This gave the Eagles the ball back with 1:25 and were able to run out the clock to clinch a 36-30 win in the 2016 Quick Lane Bowl

Game Notes: With the win, Boston College finished their season at 7-6 with their first bowl win since 2007 over Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl. Maryland finished their season with a 6-7 record.

MVP: The Quick Lane Bowl MVP was the Boston College Defensive Line. In total, they forced eight (8) sacks, 14 tackles for loss, recovered three (3) fumbles, and scored a defensive touchdown.

Kickoff: 2:30 PM

Network: ESPN

Attendance: 19,117

Team Leaders:

Passing

Rushing

Receiving