Thinking they had completed a comeback from down 21-10, the UConn Huskies were left with a loss following an 81-yard TD with 22 seconds left in the game.

The man who caught that winning touchdown pass is Tim Brown, who grew up with the late Jasper Howard in Miami. This was UConn’s first home game since Howard’s death two weeks ago.

“I just went out there and played that game for my friend,” Brown said. “He was a special guy to me and I just went out there and dedicated that game to him.”

Huskies starting quarterback Cody Endres left the game in the first quarter after injuring his shoulder. Backup Zach Frazer threw for 333 yards and a touchdown.

Boston College’s defense stood up to the test, but the Eagles’ offense was overmatched in the 2009 incarnation of the “Holy War,” falling to Notre Dame 20-16.

BC turned the ball over five times — three interceptions and two fumbles — including an interception to end its final drive.

With 98 seconds remaining in the game, quarterback Dave Shinskie rolled out to his right and tossed a pass while on the run — it was intercepted by Brian Smith. That turnover effectively ended the game and BC’s hope of continuing its winning streak over Notre Dame to seven games in this rivalry dubbed the Holy War. Boston College and Notre Dame are the only two Catholic institutions to play Division I football.

“We’re a high-wire act,” BC head coach Frank Spaziani said. “There’s no margin of error for us. There’s no safety net. When we fall off the wire, it’s not good. So five turnovers is hard to overcome.”

Eagles receiver Rich Gunnell made 10 receptions for 179 yards and one touchdown.

Prior to the game, Irish head coach Charlie Weis honored BC linebacker Mark Herzlich with a jersey and a donation to cancer research. Herzlich is fighting Ewing’s sarcoma and hopes to return to the field next season.

The University of Connecticut Huskies are faced with the adversity of playing through the death of teammate Jasper Howard, who was fatally stabbed outside the Student Union early Sunday morning.

Howard, 20, was a junior starting cornerback for the Huskies, who came to UConn from the Miami.

His Huskies teammates were distraught on Sunday after learning of his death. Punter Desi Cullen, a team captain, spoke through tears at a press conference on Sunday afternoon. Howard was an expectant father.

“As Jazz looks down on us, I can promise him and his family, that son or daughter will have 105 uncles,” said Cullen. “And we will do what it takes to not get through this, but to grow from it.”

Coach Randy Edsall gathered his team at its training facility at 6 a.m. to deliver the news. At the press conference, Edsall said Howard was a person who enjoyed giving back after benefiting from another’s kindness.

“(Patriots rookie) Darius Butler took him under his wing when he got here. And Jazz appreciated that so much, so what he wanted to do was give back. So he took Dwayne Difton under his wing this year, because of what other people have done for him,” Coach Edsall said.

UConn Police said there were no suspects in the case, but leads were being pursued.

Howard made a key move in Saturday’s game, forcing a fumble just as Louisville was about to score. The Huskies were up 21-13 at the time. They beat the Cardinals 38-25.

(Getty Images)

Yes, that is the title of a Montel Jordan song. And yes, the name “Montel” has something to do with BC’s 52-20 win on Saturday.

Not easing off the pedal against former head coach Tom O’Brien, the Boston College Eagles trounced his NC State team 52-20 on Saturday. Eagles head coach Frank Spaziani worked under O’Brien for all 10 seasons of O’Brien’s stint with Boston College.

BC running back Montel Harris set two school records in the contest at The Heights, rushing for a single-game school record 264 yards and five touchdowns. The last of ten Boston College players to rush for four touchdowns in a game was Darnell Campbell in 1993.

Harris set the yardage record with a 9-yard run early in the final quarter, surpassing the previous mark of 253 set by Phil Bennett in 1972.

NC State entered the game ranked No. 4 in the nation against the run, allowing just 63 yards per game. Harris bested that average by 201 yards.

BC improved to (5-2, 3-2 ACC) with the win, and remained a perfect (5-0) at Alumni Stadium. The Eagles next take on Notre Dame in another installment of The Holy War rivalry — the two are the only Catholic universities that participate in NCAA Division I-A football.

(AP Photo)

It has not been a pleasant time spent on the road this season for the Boston College Eagles, losers of both road games thus far.

The second of those losses came on Saturday at the hands of (5) Virginia Tech to the tune of 48-14.

BC’s freshman quarterback Dave Shinskie, 25, had a rough day, completing just one out of twelve pass attempts and tossing two interceptions. Replacement Mike Marscovetra, a freshman from Oakland, New Jersey, fared much better once the game was out of reach.

Marscovetra finished the day 10-of-16 passing for 114 yards and two touchdown passes.

Boston College dropped to (4-2, 2-2 ACC) on the season. The Eagles next play North Carolina State at home.

Wait a minute a turkey is a bird, so doesn’t that make three?  BC Eagles, Virginia Tech Hokies–which for the college mascot challenged is a fighting gobbler, and a wild turkey wandering around the parking lot outside BC’s Alumni Stadium.  I kid you not, I saw the foul wandering around and wondered if a Virginia Tech prankster planted it for fun.  “Nah,” said one of the assistant BC coaches.  “There are lots of wild turkeys around here.”

Fair enough, but it made for a good visual so I took a picture of it.  I don’t know if the turkey is a good omen for the Eagles, but I do know they’re on a roll.  They’ve won their last two against pretty good opponents in Wake Forest and Florida State.   But don’t gobble up all the stuffing just yet.  Both Wake and Florida State feasted on BC’s D in the second half.   The Wake game went to OT and BC lost an 18-point lead before scoring late in the 4th to put it away.  “We got a little too comfortable, and anytime you get a little comfortable that’s not a good thing,” middle linebacker and Defensive Captain Mike McLaughlin says,  “I just think we got to keep the pressure on and keep that intensity throughout the game.”

They’ll need to.  Virginia Tech is ranked 5th nationally and has one heckuva quarterback in Tyrod Taylor who passed for two touchdowns and a career high 327 yards last week.  Virginia Tech has won 11 straight at home, although BC beat them last time in Blacksburg, Va. back in 2007.   That’s when Matt Ryan was BC’s QB.

It is hardly unusual to see a Superfan decked out in gold on game day. But for Saturday’s matchup against Florida State, Boston College fans weren’t wearing it in support of the team — it was in support of the fight against cancer waged by one of their own.

The BC Eagles bent but did not break against the Seminoles, and won the game on a fourth quarter 42-yard touchdown run by Montel Harris. Players on both sides of the ball were inspired by one of their own — linebacker Mark Herzlich.

Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma last spring, causing to miss out on what would have been his senior year for playing for Boston College. After a summer of treatment, Herzlich returned to campus, taking classes and serving as a sort of assistant coach on BC’s sideline, cheering his teammates as only he can.

“This whole day was about him and he deserves it,” senior linebacker Mike McLaughlin of Woburn, Mass. said following the game. “And obviously it lifted our team to victory.”

BC guts out 28-21 victory over FSU [Boston Score]

“It’s been a way for me to kind of stay with the team,” Herzlich said of his stint as an assistant coach. “Coaching is different — you’ve been coached your whole life so you sort of know what to do.”

Around Alumni Stadium, many fans wore Herzlich’s No. 94 in some fashion. Members of the student body participated in a gold out — wearing gold t-shirts with the words “Beat Cancer” on them. The proceeds of those shirts will help in the fight against cancer.

“It was a big honor. Great for the school, great for supporting the fight (against) cancer,” Herzlich said. “The students did a great job. It was pouring rain and they came out there and swarmed campus. So it was really supportive.”

Since the early days of high battle against the cancer, Herzlich has envisioned his end goal as leading his team through the tunnel and onto the field at Alumni Stadium. Not in a BC sweat suit, but in full pads and his No. 94 jersey. Herzlich received news this week which may signal he is closer to realizing that goal.

“I talked to the doctor, they got the MRIs all looked at. The tumor has shrunk so much that it wasn’t even visible on the MRI anymore. It was gone from leg,” Herzlich said.

The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year hopes to return to action next year, playing out his senior year as he had planned all along. If it comes to fruition, it will be a remarkable comeback. One that will go down in BC lore right beside Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary pass to Gerard Phelan at the Orange Bowl in 1984.

“Just his courage in facing the cancer end of it, and then to be able to continue through that and be strong, go out on the field and be just one of the guys like he wants to be, and be treated as a member of the team — phenomenal amount of will power, courage, strength and just setting a great example for the other kids. It’s amazing,” Flutie said.

After a long day of attention toward his battle with cancer, which included a spot on ESPN’s nationally televised College Game Day program, Herzlich pushed his team to victory from the sideline. And as the clock ticked down to zero, the linebacker-turned-assistant coach hugged his head coach, Frank Spaziani. There could not have been a better conclusion to this day.

When the game was tied 21-21 in the fourth quarter, you didn’t really think BC was going to lose, did you?

Relinquishing a 21-3 halftime lead, the Boston College Eagles were faced with the possibility of trailing 24-21 with seven minutes in regulation, but Florida State kicker Dustin Hopkins missed a 37-yard field goal wide right.

The Eagles managed to march down the field under the direction of true freshman quarterback Dave Shinskie, 25, to take a 28-21 lead on a Montel Harris 42-yard touchdown run. Harris rushed for 179 yards on 26 carries, scoring two touchdowns.

BC made a solid defensive stand in its own end of the field, forcing a turnover on downs with just over two minutes to play. From there the Eagles milked the clock by running the ball, and walked off the field with a spirited win.

Linebacker Mark Herzlich, who is not playing in what would be his senior season due to being diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, has roamed the sidelines for the Eagles this season. As things got tight for BC in the second half, he delivered encouragement to the very teammates who have helped lift him up in his fight against cancer.

Herzlich was asked by ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe what he told his teammates during that second half, and he said he told them not to give up.

“Don’t quit, that’s the biggest thing — don’t quit,” Herzlich told Rowe, saying he was just returning the favor. “They lift me up. The reason why I’m so strong — able to do this — is because of them.”

BC improved to (4-1, 2-1 ACC) with the win and next plays at No. 6 Virginia Tech.

(ABC Screenshot)

Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich’s battle with Ewing’s sarcoma is profiled in this video, as well as the support he has gained along the way.

ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi put this piece together, and it includes a trip with Herzlich to a chemotherapy treatment. It’s worth a few minutes of your day. Just witnessing Herzlich’s positive attitude makes me believe we’ll see No. 94 terrorizing ACC opponents next fall.

In a dramatic ending, the Boston College Eagles managed an overtime victory over Wake Forest on Saturday, winning 27-24.

Wake Forest rallied in the final 3:44 minutes of regulation, as quarterback Riley Skinner tossed two touchdown passes to tie the game at 24-24 with only seconds left.

With the first possession in overtime, BC went ahead on a 23-yard field goal off the foot of Steve Aponavicius.

During the ensuing possession, Skinner rolled to his left on a broken first down play from the BC 4-yard line and fumbled ball after being hit by Isaac Johnson. Wes Davis recovered the ball for the Eagles, ending Wake’s possession and the game.

BC moves to (3-1, overall) and (1-1, ACC play).

With a name like Spaziani, it would be easy to take shots at the coach for the quarterback carousel at Boston College.  But Frank Spaziani is not a spaz, he’s desperate.

Add true freshman Mike Marscovetra to the mix of 25-year-old freshman Dave Shinskie and redshirt freshman Justin Tuggle and by my math you have a bullpen.   

“I’d like to have that (single QB), but we don’t.  No one has separated themself yet,”  Coach Spaziani said. 

For the restless on Chestnut Hill, the return Matt Ryan quarterbacking the Atlanta Falcons against the Patriots this weekend brings back a lot of longing for yesteryear.  Hey, it wasn’t all that long ago–two years. 

But in college two years is an eternity, and even two weeks of a quarterback shuffle feels like forever.   But now we’re going into week four and there are three!  Three’s not company, three’s a crowd. 

So is two.  But what’s a general to do when his soldiers can’t shoot straight?   To coach with this dilemma, Coach Spaziani needs the patience of Job.   It’s a tough job, but he asked for it.

By now you should know the story of BC senior linebacker Mark Herzlich, who is fighting Ewing’s Sarcoma. It’s time to visit HerzNation.com. The site does not belong to Herzlich, but is a nice homage to BC’s defensive leader.

There, you can purchase anything from t-shirts to sweatshirts, to hats and mugs. Check out the products. The site says all profits will go toward cancer research in Herzlich’s name. Although, a particular foundation has yet to be named.

Herlzich is on the sidelines for BC, where you can see him yelling to his teammates on the field during games. He is battling to make a return to action in 2010, playing out his senior season.

To put his career in perspective, Herzlich was the most dominant linebacker in college football in 2008. Patriots fans may remember Sunday’s game against the Jets, where New England’s linebackers proved fairly incapable in coverage. Well, Herzlich intercepted 6 passes in 2008 — a number rarely reached by a linebacker. He also made 110 tackles. His promise as a football player made his diagnosis all-the-more sad for sports fans. But his fight against the cancer, and determination to return to the field can only bring a smile to one’s face.

Splitting time at the quarterback position has worked out thus far for the Boston College Eagles, as the duo of redshirt freshman Justin Tuggle and 25-year-old freshman David Shinskie has led the team to a (2-0) record under head coach Frank Spaziani.

Tuggle put up the best stats of the two, completing 6-of-14 pass attempts for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Shinskie was 6-for-15 passing for 73 yards, throwing one touchdown pass and one interception.

BC beat Kent State on Saturday 34-7, leading the game 24-0 by halftime.

“There’s a point in order to make progress,” Spaziani said of a need to name a No. 1 QB. “We’ve got to do something by next week’s game.”

Rich Gunnell has benefited from the strong play of BC’s quarterback tandem, catching six passes for 114 yards. Two of those receptions were for touchdowns — one from each quarterback.

Boston College next moves to its ACC competition, traveling to Clemson next Saturday.

UCONN LOSES 12-10 ON SAFETY

After losing a 10-0 lead in the fourth quarter, the University of Connecticut Huskies shot itself in the foot, losing 12-10 to No. 19 North Carolina.

UConn senior tackle Dan Ryan was flagged for holding in the end zone with 1:32 remaining in the game — a penalty that equates to a safety. The gaff put the Tar Heels up 12-10.

UConn (1-1) was playing without its best defensive player, injured linebacker Scott Lutrus, and lost starting quarterback Zack Frazer to a knee injury late in the third quarter.

New head coach Frank Spaziani wasted little time in earning his first win as head coach of the Boston College Eagles, coaching his team to a 54-0 victory over Northeastern.

The Eagles’ first play from scrimmage was a 48-yard touchdown run by Montel Harris, who ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He scored a third time on a 6-yard reception.

As scheduled, quarterbacks Justin Tuggle and David Shinskie split time under center. Shinskie, the 25-year-old freshman, was 7-for-10 passing with 105 yards and one touchdown pass. Tuggle, a redshirt freshman, was 3-for-5 with 56 yards passing and one touchdown.

Billy Flutie, nephew of BC Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, notched his first career touchdown reception on a pass by Shinksie.

“This is a journey that we’re on and this is the first step. It was good to have a first step without stumbling, but there’s no sigh of relief — this is a longterm project,” Spaziani said after the game.

The next step? BC hosts Kent State next Saturday in its final game before traveling to Clemson in its first ACC test of the season. That’s when we can start taking the results seriously.

What does one do after a 19-8 loss? Punching an opponent in the face is one option. Probably not the best, though.

Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount has just landed on my radar for next year’s NFL Draft coverage. And not because of his skills out of the backfield. It’s due to him punching Boise State defensive end Byron Hoyt. IN THE FACE!

It’s all pretty cut and dry, as seen in the YouTube clip above. Hoyt taps Blount on the shoulder after the game, somehow inciting him. After the initial punch, Blount gets all up in the face of teammates, fans, etc. And to think, the NCAA thought a mandated pregame handshake would ensure good sportsmanship.

What was to be his senior season at Boston College is not. Linebacker Mark Herzlich returned to campus on Saturday after spending the summer in treatment for Ewing’s sarcoma.

The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year — one of the best linebackers in all of College football — was diagnosed with the rare form of bone cancer last spring, but has fought the disease tooth and nail.

Happy to be back on campus, Herzlich will attend practices and travel with the team, while taking classes and continuing his treatment.

“I’m feeling great, to be honest. I’m finally back in school with my guys,” Herzlich told NECN’s Carolyn Manno. “Basically, I’ll be a regular player except for once we step on the turf — I’ll be a coach and help as much as I can with technique and getting guys ready.”

Sometimes in professional sports, management will ask an injured player to stay away from the team for fear that his presence will be a distraction. Herzlich, the team’s defensive leader, is anything but.

“It’s real positive. He’s just a great kid to have around the team, and I’m sure it affects the players like it affects me,” head coach Frank Spaziani said.

“You have to have positive thoughts throughout the whole thing,” Herzlich said. “One of those thoughts is running out of the tunnel with all the guys suited up, ready to go. And that image has been in my head kind of every time I lay my head down on the pillow to go to bed at night. And that’s what gets me through.”

Herzlich hopes that positive thought becomes reality next season.

NECN’s Carolyn Manno reports on this story in the embedded video player atop this post.

Much has changed since Matt Ryan led the BC Eagles to the No. 2 position in the national rankings in 2007. A new coach is at the helm. The defense has been turned over. Now, in 2009, the team seeks regained strength at the quarterback position.

It was the defense which led the Eagles in 2008, compensating for a lack of production from quarterback Chris Crane and, eventually, Dominique Davis. Crane has since graduated and Davis transferred following a school-issued suspension for academic reasons. It has left Boston College in a bit of a pickle.

Defensive leaders BJ Raji and Ron Brace both graduated and moved on to careers in the NFL. Mark Herzlich — one of the nation’s best linebackers and a player who was to return for his senior campaign under new head coach and former defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani — was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma this past spring. Following treatment, he hopes to return for the 2010 season. But the 2009 Eagles are without their defensive leader and many pieces of its vaunted defensive lineup, making the need for a definitive answer at quarterback that much greater.

Enter David Shinskie, a 25-year-old former AP Pennsylvania All-State quarterback who has spent his post-high school years pitching in the minor leagues as a 4th round pick of the Minnesota Twins. He aims to find greater success under center than he did on the mound, where his baseball career as a Double-A pitcher.

“Got cut short, because I didn’t make it to the Big Leagues, but it led me here,” Shinskie said of his foray into professional baseball. “I love doing this stuff. I love putting on the pads — I missed it. Just putting on a helmet again, throwing the football around.”

And it’s not just Shinskie who is getting a kick out of being a part of a football team again. The younger players — even at his position — seem to be enjoying his presence.

“He’s been places that we’ve never been before. We’re a lot younger than he is. I’m only 19, and he’s like five, six years older than me,” red shirt freshman quarterback Justin Tuggle, son of five-time Pro Bowl Linebacker Jessie Tuggle, said. “I haven’t seen him playing baseball. He has different stories. It’s just good to be around him and have fun around him.”

Carolyn Manno takes a look at BC’s quarterback question in the video player atop this post. The Eagles look to find an answer before September 5th, the date of Boston College’s first game of the 2009 season.

It’s quite a treat for some kids in the Foxboro area this week.

Former first round draft pick Jared Dudley - who starred for Boston College - is holding a basketball camp.

And as Mike Giardi tells you - it’s not just about lessons on the floor - but off as well.

On Wednesday, July 15 @ 2 p.m., the NHL will make a major announcement at Fenway Park concerning a special event.

Can you say “Winter Classic” in Boston?

If I were a betting man, I’d say they will be announcing the Bruins will host a game at Fenway Park on January 1, 2010.

Previous reports indicate the Flyers will be the Bruins’ opposition.
But that isn’t where the Fenway Hockey ends. The 3rd annual Winter Classic will reportedly feature a collegiate undercard of Boston College vs. Boston University.

If I were a betting man, I’d take the B’s and BC in a parlay for entertainment purposes only.