Thursday, September 28, 2006

BC-Maine preview

Life interfering with blogging again. I spent most of my night in different airports on the East Coast. Sorry for the delay in the preview. Now onto Maine:


Theme that won’t be discussed on television radio. Maine’s giant killer potential will be discussed ad nauseum. BC needing to bounce back will also be a theme. What I don’t think you’ll hear on the official Eagles Radio Network is how despite the intention, these games don’t build interest in New England football. Let’s face it the Patriots’ success drove more kids to football programs than anything any of the colleges have done in the past 15 years. New England has some solid I-AA programs, but none of them particularly draw well or generate much coverage. If BC truly wanted to spark interest in regional football, they would resume a series with UConn. However, I can’t think of one person associated with BC who wants to play the Huskies in any sport.


Three Simple Keys.
1. Stop the big plays. The defensive stats have been somewhat misleading. Not every team has chipped away at us. We’ve had plenty of good series and stops. (For example limiting NC State on 3rd down conversions). But the team remains frustratingly vulnerable to big plays. Allowing them is dangerous. Allowing them against the Black Bears is twice as dangerous. Any encouragement and confidence Maine gets will make the game that much harder for us. This game could also serve as a chance to the defense to get its bearings.
2. Relentless offense. Going conservative against NC State allowed our rushing game to shine for the first time. However, it also kept the game close and allowed them to comeback. Don’t make this game interesting. Pass early and often and have 28 on the board by half.
3. Try a new kicker. This is the one game where it shouldn’t mean anything. Burn Flutie’s redshirt. Let the walk-ons try. Anything.


Gambling Notes
-- TOB is 21-14 off of a loss
-- Maine is 1-3 all-time against Division DIA opponents
-- BC hasn’t lost to a DIAA team since 1980
The game is not listed on the online gambling sites


What would be a pleasant surprise? An easy victory with Chris Crane getting all the snaps in the second half.


What would be a letdown? A win by anything less than 21. This team should be angry after last week and want to take it out on Maine.


What would be a shocker? A BC loss. And it would be real problems for TOB.

Bottom Line
This game should be fun. I think Maine will give it their all, but we’ll pull away. Let’s hope the team plays crisp. After last week they need to show what they are made of.
Final Score: BC 42, Maine 20

2 comments:

Jamie M said...

Wish we were playing V-Tech this wknd and could take the anger out on them. BC will crush Maine this wknd - 45-10. The defense will be looking to make a statement and the offense will steamroll.

Hoping to have some new blood in there w/ Brooks getting touches, Crane spelling Ryan and Joe the alcoholic freshman kicking fieldgoals.

Wondering about Smith - do they try to get him more involved this week or unleash him on an unsuspecting V-Tech? TOB history would suggest the latter.

Anabasis said...

if we lose to maine, then the student body will have no choice but to drag TOB, Spaz, and Bible to the Mods and break out the tar and feathers.