What does Boston College think of Cincinnati Bearcats ahead of opener?

Boston College head coach Bill O'Brien's college coaching résumé spans Georgia Tech , Maryland, Duke, Penn State, Alabama, Ohio State (briefly), and now the Eagles of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts .

In the NFL, he's been with the Patriots and was head coach of the Houston Texans.

Saturday, Sept. 5 marks the first head-to-head matchup between O'Brien and UC head coach Scott Satterfield when the Eagles come to Cincinnati. Both coaches need positive results out of the gate for their respective fan bases.

"Just like us, they have a lot of new players," O'Brien said. "Their secondary is out of the portal. They have a veteran offensive line that's very, very good. They have some transfers at wide receiver. So, we don't really know (about UC). We have an idea, but it's the first game, and there are a lot of unknowns."

The series is tied 4-4, but UC has won the last two, including the Jan. 2, 2020 Birmingham Bowl at Legion Field, 38-6. In that game, sophomore quarterback Desmond Ridder ran for three touchdowns and threw for another to take game MVP honors.

Before that, you have to go back to UC's 1997 Humanitarian Bowl championship season when they knocked off the Eagles 24-6 in Chestnut Hill. UC was down 6-0, but scored all 24 points in the final quarter with interception returns by Artrell Hawkins and Shawn Ferguson and a Chad Plummer 50-yard run.

Boston College's last win came Oct. 12, 1996, at Nippert Stadium, 24-17. Current BC general manager Kenyatta Watson had a touchdown catch that afternoon.

Boston College coach Bill O'Brien on new Bearcats

"They're really strong everywhere," O'Brien said. "They went out and got some really good players. They've got one guy that was a safety last year (Antwan Peek Jr.) that's going to play outside backer. Offensive line, defensive line, they've got depth. They've got at least five receivers of different size that are good route runners. They have a punter and placekicker who are NFL prospects and they have JC French (quarterback) who was so productive at Georgia Southern. It's a big challenge."

Boston College was 2-10 last season, winning their first and last games of the season. Their victory over Syracuse last November was their only road win. In 2024, they were 7-6, with their only road win coming two years ago, Sept. 2, 2024 in Tallahassee against then-No. 10 Florida State .

Cincinnati Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield on key Boston College players

Mason McKenzie is of similar size to JC French IV and threw for 2,086 yards and 17 touchdowns in addition to running for 942 yards and 10 scores with Saginaw Valley State last season. Satterfield says UC looked at him in the transfer portal when trying to replace Brendan Sorsby.

"He's a very talented player, dual-threat, can really run," Satterfield said.

He also mentioned running back Evan Dickens from Liberty, who ran for 1,339 yards and 16 touchdowns last season.

"He was one of the top rushers in the country last year," Satterfield said. "He's extremely fast. They're going to be able to threaten the defense by running the football."

Boston College QB Mason McKenzie on power conference football

McKenzie will take the field at Nippert Stadium after listening to Eminem's "Lose Yourself," a tradition he started with his dad playing youth football.

Saginaw Valley State played in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and was 6-5 last season. That's the same conference where Ole Miss found Trinidad Chambliss at Ferris State.

"I've got a lot of confidence in our team," McKenzie said. "We've been watching a lot of film on his (UC defensive coordinator Nate Woody) prior schools. We've been able to see a little bit of what he's done in the past. We have an idea about who they're bringing out there, but that's the hardest part about week one. There's always a little of the unknown with the transfer portal."

Boston College safety KP Price on Bearcats

"We're ready, no doubt," Price said. "We don't have a lot of film on them. We've got film on last year. (It's) the same offense, same coach. But they can come out and do whatever they want. We play defense so we've got to be ready for anything and everything."

Who has led Cincinnati Bearcats football over for past 80 years?

Cincinnati Bearcats, Boston College to meet again

After the Saturday, Sept. 5 game at Nippert Stadium, UC and Boston College have a return game next year. Set for Sept. 18 in Chestnut Hill's Alumni Stadium (44,500) it will be UC's first appearance on BC's campus in nearly 31 years. The Bearcats were in Boston for the Fenway Bowl in 2022 when Scott Satterfield's old Louisville squad defeated his new team. The 2022 Bearcats finished 9-4, but Luke Fickell had departed for Wisconsin before the bowl game.