Over the last three years, Tom O'Brien has led Boston College to a 23-13 record, leading his squad into postseason action in each season. Last year, the Eagles were on the cusp of putting together a memorable campaign, but they were unable to close things out against Miami (Fla.) in what would have qualified as a shocking upset. They were forced to play the game without the services of their super blue-chip running back William Green, who was serving a one-game suspension.

	Receiver Jamal Burke, right, will be the No. 1 option for Brian St. Pierre in 2002.

To the Eagles' credit, they did manage to wind up the 2001 campaign with a satisfying victory over Georgia in the Music City Bowl to reach the eight-win mark for the second time in the last three years.

This season O'Brien and the Eagles return plenty of experienced performers on both sides of the ball, led by team leaders such as quarterback Brian St. Pierre, center Dan Koppen, defensive end Antonio Garay and middle linebacker Vinny Ciurciu. All four are veteran seniors.

OFFENSE
The big loss on offense was obviously Green, who led the Big East last season with 1,559 yards rushing and averaged nearly six yards per carry. Also keep in mind that over his final two seasons in Chestnut Hill, Green scored a remarkable 29 TDs.

The focus now shifts to a relatively inexperienced and unproven duo in junior Derrick Knight and sophomore Brandon Brokaw. Knight carried the ball 76 times last season, averaging 4.4 yards per carry, while Brokaw finished with just 24 carries, averaging 3.8 per attempt.

Also in the mix will be senior Kevin Dykes, as well as junior Horace Dodd, a transfer from Penn State who sat out last year. I'm told that Dodd was impressive in the spring, providing hope that he could be a factor in the running game. At fullback, the Eagles are in good shape with juniors J.P. Comella and Greg Toal.

Fortunately, St. Pierre is back at the helm, now ranking with the elite signal-callers in college football. Last year he threw for over 2,000 yards, tossing 25 TD passes compared to 10 interceptions. This season he'll be looking to improve on his 53.4-percent completion rate of 2001.

As for targets, St. Pierre has lost Dedrick Dewalt and his 37 catches to graduation, but he will have seniors Jamal Burke and Keith Hemmings back in the fold, while also benefitting from the return (sat out last year after hauling in 15 receptions in 2000) of senior DuJuan Daniels. Burke is the go-to wideout, coming off a 2001 campaign that saw him finish with 25 catches for a 12.8 yard average and eight TDs.

A key option for St. Pierre again figures to be junior tight end Sean Ryan. With Jeremy Shockey moving on to the NFL, Ryan becomes the Big East's top tight end, hauling in 17 receptions for a 13.1 yard average and three TDs last season. They also have a reliable No. 2 TE in senior Frank Misurelli.

Four starters are back along the offensive line, with Koppen the veteran anchor. They also return solid bookend offensive tackles in senior LT Mark Parenteau and junior RT Leo Bell.

DEFENSE
The Eagles return eight starters and are anticipating Garay's healthy return from the injury list. After going down late last season with a neck injury, Garay is reported to be 100 percent and ready to go for the start of fall practice in early August. Last year, in just eight games, Garay recorded 57 tackles, five sacks and nine stops behind the line of scrimmage. He is joined up front by underrated junior Doug Goodwin, a complete DT who is stout against the run and also finished with 12 tackles for loss last season.

While Garay's healthy return is huge, there is no question that the heart and soul of the Eagles' defense is Ciurciu, the senior mike-man. The hard-nosed, super-instinctive 5-11½, 241-pounder led the Eagles last season with 87 tackles, while also coming away with a pair of interceptions.

The headliners in the secondary are the senior safety tandem of Ralph Parent and Doug Bessette, both of whom consistently show up where the action is. Bessette was right behind Ciurciu with 85 tackles, including 52 solos from his strong safety spot. He's a force in the box, registering eight stops behind the line of scrimmage.

OVERVIEW
Last year against West Virginia, Navy, Army, Temple and Rutgers, whose combined records were just 12-42, the Eagles' offense averaged 34.8 points per game. While they managed to score 45 points against Pittsburgh, more than any other team against the Panthers last season, the Eagles' average dropped from 34.8 points per game to 19.6 per game when they faced opposition such as Stanford, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Miami (Fla.), Syracuse and Georgia. The Eagles' record in those games was just 2-4.

This season, outside of a rough trip to Miami on Sept. 21, the Eagles will play five of their first six games at Alumni Stadium, including key battles against Stanford on Sept. 7 and Virginia Tech on Oct. 10. So before they hit a three-game road stretch against Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and West Virginia, the Eagles could be soaring with a 5-1 record. Late in the year, Syracuse has to come to Chestnut Hill, before the Eagles finish with games against Temple and Rutgers.

With such a favorable schedule, the Eagles could be looking at a potential nine- or 10-win regular season if everything falls into place and the best-case scenario occurs. In order for this to happen, however, Knight, Brokaw, Dykes and Dodd have to combine to form a satisfactory overland attack. They'll also need a big year from Burke at WR and a boost from Daniels' return. With Ryan and Misurelli, the Eagles are fortified at the TE spot. The offensive line, led by Koppen, figures to be solid from tackle to tackle.

Defensively, Garay's healthy return is huge. He'll team Goodwin and Ciurciu to form what should be a solid front seven. In the secondary, Bessette and Parent are proven safeties, but the CB spot opposite senior Trevor White has some questions to answer. In addition, White checks in at just 5-foot-8 and the corners battling on the other side, sophomore Peter Shean (5-9) and redshirt freshman Larry Lester (5-7) also could have problems matching up against bigger, more physical wideouts.