2016 Boston College Eagles football team

The one clear bright spot of the 2015 Boston College Eagles football team was the defense under third-year defensive coordinator Don Brown, under whose stewardship the Eagles led the nation in total defense and were top #10 in numerous other defensive categories. But on December 21, 2015 Jim Harbaugh hired away Brown to coach the same position for the Michigan Wolverines. On the other side of the ball offensive coordinator Todd Fitch, under whom the Eagles finished 126th in total offense and 122nd in scoring offense, was not retained by Steve Addazio.

Addazio turned to Iowa linebackers coach and former Eagles defensive coordinator under Dan Henning, Jim Reid, to take over for Brown as defensive coordinator. Addazio hired former Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni as defensive line coach. Pasqualoni had coached on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL for the previous few years.

On the offensive side of the ball Addazio hired former Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler to take over the same position for the Eagles, replacing Fitch.

The defense lost three key contributors from the dominant 2015 team, with the graduation of Steven Daniels, Justin Simmons and Connor Wujciak. The offense lost fullback and tight end Louis Addazio.

Former Kentucky Wildcat starting quarterback, Patrick Towles transferred to Boston College as a graduate student, to compete with former sophomore starter Darius Wade, whose 2015 season was cut short by injury. Jimmy Lowery, a 4-year starting right tackle at Eastern Illinois transferred to Boston College as a graduate student. Lowery started all 13 games for Boston College at right tackle. Lowery was one of 4 Boston College football players to attain ACC All Academic status graduating in May 2017 with a master's degree in finance.

Coming off a disappointing 2015 football season, Steve Addazio and the Eagles managed the 74th ranked recruiting class in the nation, ranked last in the ACC by the recruiting services.

The 2016 Boston College Eagles football team entered the season with no votes in the Preseason AP Top 25 Poll. During the ACC Media Days, the ACC Sportswriters predicted Boston College to finish fifth in the Atlantic Division. College Football News predicted a 6–6 (2–6) season, good for sixth-place finish in the Atlantic Division. Athlon Sports likewise predicted the Eagles to finish sixth in the Atlantic. ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) predicted Boston College to finish with 5.7–6.3 wins.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:30 a.m.	vs. Georgia Tech	Aviva Stadium Dublin, Ireland (Aer Lingus College Football Classic)	ESPN2	L 14–17	40,562
September 10	12:00 p.m.	at UMass*	Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA (rivalry)	ASN	W 26–7	25,112
September 17	3:30 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPNU	L 0–49	60,054
September 24	1:00 p.m.	Wagner*	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ACCN+	W 42–10	22,728
October 1	1:00 p.m.	Buffalo*	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ACCN+	W 35–3	24,203
October 7	7:30 p.m.	No. 3 Clemson	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy)	ESPN	L 10–56	44,500
October 22	12:30 p.m.	Syracuse	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	ACCN	L 20–28	34,647
October 29	12:30 p.m.	at NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC	ACCN	W 21–14	56,443
November 5	12:00 p.m.	No. 5 Louisville	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN2	L 7–52	30,644
November 11	7:30 p.m.	at No. 20 Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN2	L 7–45	73,917
November 19	1:00 p.m.	UConn*	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ACCN+	W 30–0	36,220
November 26	3:00 p.m.	at Wake Forest	BB&T Field Winston-Salem, NC	ACCRSN	W 17–14	24,866
December 26	2:30 p.m.	vs. Maryland*	Ford Field Detroit, MI (Quick Lane Bowl)	ESPN	W 36–30	19,117
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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