Sunday, October 14, 2007
"BC" S!
The first BCS rankings are out and BC is No. 3. Very exciting but a word of caution: don't get too caught up in this. None of the BCS stuff is in BC's control. The ACC is. Beat the teams on our schedule and I think everything will work itself out. (Now I will ignore my own advice and start pricing hotel rooms in New Orleans and when I am done, I'll start handicapping Ohio State and USF's future schedules.)
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12 comments:
Don't worry about it, Bill -- I live there. We'll get you hooked up.
What?? Now I realize that South Florida rolled this weekend, but who have they been playing this year? I don't believe they should have leapfrogged us when BC played to the spread on Sat. Oh well, here's to the highest ranking in BC football!!
Guys, you are getting a little carried away here. There is a very good chance we don't return from Va Tech alive. We have yet to beat a team that is currently ranked in the Top 25 and we had trouble with Army, UMASS and Notre Dame. In fact, in Notre Dame's 5 prior losses, they lost by 30 points, 21 points, 38 points, 17 points and 14 points. We only beat them by 13 and they were in the game until deep in the 3rd quarter. While it is exciting to be ranked this high, we have 5 very tough ACC matches and we all know how bummed out we have been by getting teased with the BCS the past 3 years.
The good news is that I believe the coaching staff from top to bottom is better then the TOB staff and the BC team overall is even better than the Flutie era teams (Flutie had to score 30 points as the defense was terrible back then).
This is an untested team as we have not had to sweat since the Navy game last year. Ryan sill has not proven he is a late 4th quarter guy (fumbled snap against NC State and interceptions against both Wake and Miami last year). In short, they still have a lot to prove and it's way too early to even dream about the BCS.
Hmmm, I suppose we should forget Matty's two performances against Clemson, and his relief effort against Wake his sophomore year? Hasn't proven himself late in games? That's absurd.
Because he threw one ball against Wake about .5 seconds too late...after being the only reason the team was even remotely in the game...we should question his end-of-game decision-making? I consider it a privilege to watch #12.
Want clutch? How bout leading the team right down the field after throwing a pick-6 to cement the game. And, in so doing, standing in the pocket on a blitz and delivering that TD pass to Challenger. That's a drive. That's a QB.
I'm all for keeping this in perspective. BC's good, and they haven't lost. They are not unstoppable. But neither was Ohio State in 2002. That Ohio St. was a borderline top 10 team...with one threat on offense and a good D. But it made plays and won games. They weren't always pretty, but they won. I'm not saying that's what will happen here, but its certainly possible. No need to discount that.
Let's prepare very well and beat VT in Blacksburg. They handled us there two years ago on a Thursday night matchup. We beat them in Blacksburg a few years back in a day game. Last year we controlled the action pretty well in Boston.
This game is winnable in the National Spotlight. I think we'll have to play an error free game in all facets of the game. The point is - this team won't be psyched out by the atmosphere - but they must play their best.
This poll stuff is fun - but it's almost a distraction.
Beat Virginia Tech - two top ranked teams in late October. Fantastic.
Hey, I love Matt Ryan too and I believe he can get the job done when it counts. But, when the Atlantic Division was at stake last year in the Wake and Miami games, he was not able to pull the comeback. Thus, he is unproven in the big games when an ACC championship is at stake. It does not mean he cannot do it or that I think he will not do it. It just means that we should not get carried away with BCS dreams as Ryan and BC still have a lot to prove. I hope they go 13-0, but I watch a ton of college football and the fact is winning on the road against Va tech, Maryland and Clemson will be a major accomplishment. Oh, and don't forget, we have not beaten Miami since Flutie's pass, 23 years ago!
I don't want to think ahead - but we MUST beat Miami in Chestnut Hill this November.
I hope it's on the cold side - not because it's to our advantage perhaps - but just to make them uncomfortable period.
I was there in the Orange Bowl last year - under the same circumstances I feel this coaching crew would have pulled off the victory.
I was in Winston Salem last year also - we could have won with a different approach - but it was their year for the magic.
I think having as many red-shirt seniors as we do (and which Wake did last year) helps us compete at this level.
Sign of the times: a team that wins by 2 touchdowns in South Bend gets passed in the polls by one that runs up a score on Central Florida (who?).
I am just excited we get a bye week before the big game in Blacksburg. We can use the rest and the time to prepare.
I agree that the polls are a little bit of a distraction, but we are clearly in the drivers seat from here on out. 5 more regular season games. Let's get it done.
Go Eagles!
BC getting jumped by South Florida in the polls and the BCS just shows that BC needs to schedule better opponents. They blew out Bowling Green like they were supposed too, but holding on against Army and 1-AA UMass is the reason why they are only number three. South Florida, meanwhile, went into Auburn, when they were highly ranked, and beat them. That right there is the reason why they are ranked higher than us, better quality opponents. BC cannot keep scheduling Maine, UMass, Buffalo, and the rest to the bottom of Division 1 and 1-AA.
Just ignore the polls. The only polls that matter are the BCS poll in November and the final poll in January. We have not played anyone in the Top 25 yet, so until we do, we cannot complain about getting passed by South Florida. If we beat Va Tech on the road, plenty of respect will come our way. If we lose, we may not see the Top 10 the rest of the year. So, it all comes down to October 25th in Blacksburg.
eagleboston, we won @ #15 Ga Tech. No, GT's not in the rankings now, and may not sneak back into the polls by the end of the year, but why assume Va Tech will? Currently at #11 (which isn't so different from #15, is it), VT is overranked, solely on the basis of their #9 preseason rank and a 6-1 record. But they haven't accomplished much. I can't think of a single 1-loss team I'd rather BC face right now in the entire country, other than UConn, of course, which ought to have an asterisk next to its record.
This is a better BC team than we're used to seeing, and a worse VT team. I think you overstate the struggles against UMass, Army, and ND. I further think you acknowledge that overstatement when you write later that BC hasn't broken a sweat. Look, BC may have struggled to play its best, but didn't struggle to win those games. We've coasted to wins over 7 straight teams, and a couple of those teams are better than this year's VT.
One final note: don't worry about respect. It's a red herring, and a sucker bet. There's nothing we can do about it. It appeared we got lots of respect for the win at #15 Ga Tech, but even that has worn off because the score wasn't as lopsided as the game and Ga Tech lost a few games afterward. Well, the exact same is likely with VT. We're not going to run up the score, and they're going to struggle to win games going forward too--have you seen their schedule? It's as tough as ours.
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