O'Brien receives award after upsetting No. 10 Florida State in Season Opener
ATLANTA (Sept. 3, 2024) - Officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. today announced that Boston College head football coach Bill O'Brien has been selected as The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week Presented by PNC Bank.
The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week award honors a football coach who led his team to a significant victory during the previous week, while also embodying the award's three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity.
O'Brien and the Eagles secured their first top-10 victory in a decade with a dominating 28-13 win over No. 10 Florida State on Monday night at Doak S. Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. Boston College opened the second quarter by capping off a 14-play, 71-yard drive to put the first touchdown on the board and the Eagles up 7-0. The Eagles continued to push the Seminoles offensively, with a 68-yard drive down the field capping the drive off with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Treshaun Ward, putting Boston College up 14-0 with 3 minutes left to play in the first half. Florida State tried to respond with back-to-back field goals before heading into halftime, cutting the lead to eight points. Boston College picked up where it left off on in its first drive of the second half when Max Tucker forced an interception with a return of 58 yards setting the Eagles up for a short drive. In two plays after the interception, Boston College once again found the end zone with a four-yard pass, from Thomas Castellanos connecting with Kye Robichaux. Boston College capped off the last scoring drive of the game in the third quarter with eight plays and a 23-yard rush from Ward leading to the final score of 28-13.
O'Brien jumped back on the college football scene this year as a head coach for the first time since 2012 when he spent two years at Penn State before heading to the NFL in 2014 with the Texans. He has already made an immediate impact with the program's first top-10-ranked win since the 2014 season. It also marks the first time since 1976 that Boston College has beaten a ranked team in a season opener.
"This was a statement win for both O'Brien and the Eagles," said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. "This victory was a great way to reintroduce Coach O'Brien into the college football world and already set the program on the right trajectory."
Bill O'Brien was named the 37th head coach in Boston College history on Feb. 9, 2024. After spending seven seasons in the NFL with six of them at the helm of the Houston Texans from 2014-2020. He was then picked up by Nick Saban as the quarterbacks coach mentoring Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young. O'Brien did a brief stint with the New England Patriots in the 2023 season as the offensive coordinator before landing the Boston College head coach role in 2024.
