Defenses should dominate Ford Field game

Allen Park — Don’t expect a high-scoring game when Boston College and Maryland meet in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field later this month.

Both programs are led by defensive-minded coaches — Steve Addazio at Boston College and D.J. Durkin at Maryland.

The two 6-6 teams will arrive in Detroit on Dec. 22 and the game is Dec. 26.

The Eagles are ranked seventh nationally in defense a year removed from ranking first. Then-Boston College defensive coordinator Don Brown left the Eagles after last season and brought his “Dr. Blitz” moniker and aggressive approach to Michigan. He replaced Durkin, who left Michigan after one season coordinating the defense under coach Jim Harbaugh.

“Our program is built on playing defense,” Addazio said Wednesday at a Quick Lane Bowl news conference at the Lions practice facility. “They’re high-flying, fast tempo. I’m just hoping they don’t score 9,000 points. That wouldn’t be good for the ol’ B.C. Eagles. I think both head coaches here have a defensive mindset for how you win games.”

Durkin is completing his first season as a head coach. He said this bowl is a reward for the seniors who immediately bought into his brand of football.

“When you’re coming in and trying to establish (a program), the word culture is used a lot,” Durkin said. “There’s a lot that goes into that but very important is just trying to establish with our guys how we do things, the type of mindset, how we practice, how we train, how we play.

“I’m very pleased with the amount of buy-in we got from our seniors and our team and this is a great reward for them. They deserve it because they’ve gone through a lot of adversity throughout their career. To be able to play in the postseason, that’s one of the great things of college football, when you get to go to a bowl game and all the rewards that come with that. I’m excited for our guys, for our seniors in particular. They stayed the course with us and bought into what we’re doing and really became leaders and I’m very grateful to them for that.”

He said there were no surprises in his first season as head coach.

“The longer you’re around coaching, you have those moments where you say, ‘That’s a first,’ not ever quite surprised,” Durkin said. “I think the biggest thing for me going through this is we’ve been able to acquire a great staff with (athletic director) Kevin’s (Anderson) assistance and allow me to do some things to get quality staff.”

“We have some great coaches on our staff that have really helped in a lot of ways. I think as a head coach you’re only as good as the people that are around you and I can’t say enough about our staff. Just tremendous men and coaches and they’ve been very helpful in a lot of circumstances and a lot of ways. We have guys on the staff that have head coaching experience as well and that’s been helpful to me. One of the great parts about our job, I think, is every day is different. There’s no two days that are the same and I think you just have to enjoy that and embrace that. Sometimes a lot of things are flying at you and you just keep taking them one by one. It’s been enjoyable. There’s great people at the University of Maryland, that’s for sure. That’s the best part about it for me.”

The Terps lost their most dynamic player, Will Likely, to a torn knee ligament in October.

“You take away a guy of that magnitude on a roster where we’re not where we need to be yet, it hurt us big time,” Durkin said.

Addazio is grateful for the bowl game and the additional practices that will help develop the team. He said he will use the time to work on fundamentals.

“It’s about the young guys,” Addazio said. “It’s about building your team for the future.”

Even with the departure of Brown to Michigan, where he guided the Wolverines to the No. 2-ranked defense and was a finalist for the Broyles Award given to the nation’s top college assistant, the Eagles have not lost their defensive edge.

“Don did a fabulous job at Boston College,” Addazio said. “I love Don and I’m happy for Don as he moves forward. But it’s the Boston College program, the Boston College defense. Our program philosophy starts with defense. You can’t win if you don’t play great defense, so that was the mantra coming in as I took the job. Don did a fabulous job, but that priority was in place and has not changed, so we’re still a pretty strong defensive football team because that’s the philosophy of the Boston College football program.”

angelique.chengelis@detroitnews.com

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Quick Lane Bowl

Boston College vs. Maryland

Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. Dec. 26, Ford Field, Detroit

TV: ESPN

Records: Boston College 6-6 (2-6 ACC), Maryland 6-6 (3-6 Big Ten)

Tickets: $45-$150, available at quicklanebowl.com