Both BYU, Boston College Have Something to Prove

Brigham Young will be looking to justify its No. 1 status of a year ago. Boston College will be trying to prove there is life after Doug Flutie.

Those will be two of the motivating factors when defending national champion BYU faces Boston College in the third Kickoff Classic to open the college football season Aug. 29 at the Giants Stadium.

The Cougars were 13-0 last season, defeating Michigan 24-17 in the Holiday Bowl to seal their perfect record. Many observers thought BYU should not be the No. 1 team because of an easy schedule, padded by opponents from its weak Western Athletic Conference.

Cougars wide receiver Glen Koslowski, appearing at a Meadowlands press conference Tuesday for the Kickoff Classic, said his team does not have to start the season strong to prove it was a deserving champ last season.

“We don’t have to win our first three games to prove our point,” the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder said. “The team is like me, slow, but we seem to be lucky. We run good routs and arrive on time to get the job done. We have been overshadowed in the past by Penn State, West Virginia and Pitt, but I think it’s our time now.”

Koslowski had 11 touchdown receptions last season, teaming with Robbie Bosco to form a dangerous pass-catch combination.

Bosco was injured in the Holiday Bowl, but returned to guide a second-half comeback.

“I’m just now getting better.” Bosco said. “The knee took about a month, the ankle until right now to heal. Last season was very exciting, nothing before came close.”

The 6-2, 180-pounder completed 61.8 percent of his passes last season for 3,875 yards and 33 touchdowns. He continued the long line of excellent quarterbacks at BYU that includes Jim McMahon and Steve Young.

Shawn Halloran will probably be asked to continue a one-man tradition -- Flutie.

According to Boston College coach Jack Bicknell, Halloran is the likely successor to the man who put the Eagles back on the college football map. BC completed last season ranked fourth after a Cotton Bowl victory over Houston.

Flutie now plays his home games at Giants Stadium for the U.S. Football League’s New Jersey Generals.