Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Ryan backlash already starting
BC hasn't even officially launched the Matt Ryan for Heisman campaign yet there is already backlash against our beloved QB. SI.com's Stewart Mandel thinks Ryan is the product of East Coast media bias. If you've been following Heisman Pundit, you know that he's been anti-Ryan for a long time (partially because Ryan didn't neatly fit into his Heismandments). Wednesday HP started defending his position on Ryan. What does it mean? Not much new. Ryan's fate is really tied to his performance and the team's performance over the next month. He will not win the award if BC loses twice and he will not win the award if he has poor games in BC wins.
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Basically, the entire Boston College football story centers on focusing on one game at a time and not worrying about polls, the BCS, the Heisman, etc. One loss and the story takes an entirely different turn and the focus then becomes winning the ACC title.
So, for now Matt Ryan and Company need to live, eat and breathe Va Tech. Everything else is an unnecessary distraction.
I couldn't agree more with eagleboston: at the end of the day, all that matters, is the play on the field. If BC can continue palying to their potential, and Matty Ice can execute like he has shown he can, all the accolades, bowls and press will come.
I'm not too worried about what some nobody at SI.com posits. Not to rekindle the debate, but at the end of the day, I'd rather have the media mogul that is the World Wide Leader backing our candidate, than some contrarian sportswriter enamored solely with the 8 or 9 "tradition powers."
Let's let the season play out, and if this persists, than I'll feel justified in getting up in arms.
cbssportsline.com has a ridiculous cover story with ryan and bc as the focus...so much for under the radar
Bob Ryan of the Globe calls into a sports show here in Des Moines a couple times a week (strange to hear BC talk in the Midwest). Anyway, he stated that the #2 ranking for BC was "fraudulent," as their strength of schedule has been horrific and that BC is probably a #10 to #15 ranked team. He also predicted BC would lose 2 of the final 5. He ripped into Notre Dame and said that UMASS gave BC a tougher game. Hate to admit it, but he is probably right and 10 wins may be the most realistic scenario. He is also right about the weak schedule. But, you never know. If the calls come our way and the balls bounce right, we could have a special season.
The backlash is also a sign of "real contention." Guys with no shot aren't debated this hotly.
Agreed - time will tell. 1gaat.
This team, and these players are always at their best when they are being questioned. Looking forward to next week.
(By the way, I'd love to see how Matty would fare with Kentucky's WRs and running game...
The only way BC's record is "fraudulent" is if they've proven they're an inferior team- which couldn't be further from the truth.
"Untested" is a truer statement, which will all change in a week. For good or ill, the match-up in Blacksburg will be the ultimate measuring stick for this years squad.
i agree about the weak schedule. in protest of the teams they put on the field to play us we just should have lost on purpose...in fact, i feel we should lose our 1-A name and pull a Temple...no, switch with Temple. BC sucks...i say we all root for USC, since they are usually good and is the only team in the nation that ought to have the respect of its fans (that 2005 schedule they played when they won the NC was SO vigorous!!!!)
Mmmm...sarcasm.
Bob Ryan is trash. You would think as a BC alum he would at least be a somewhat favorable voice in the media. Instead he constantly belittles the school and apologizes for the success. He is quick to jump on the South Florida and (Rutgers a year ago) bandwagon, but when it comes to BC he discredits everything that BC has done. He is one of the main reasons why BC is not mainstream in Boston.
When I see 7-0, I see a team that has done everything that has been asked of it. We have changed gameplans for different opponents and have executed tremendously. We do not use a system that is going to pile on points on every opponent nor do we use one that is designed to win Ryan the Heisman. We use a system that is designed for us to win. I will not apologize for where we are in the BCS rankings nor will I say that we don't deserve it.
I hope we keep it going and if we don't I am still happy with this season. Here's to a warm bowl game, wherever it may be.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the widely held sentiment in the college football world that right now power is in the Pac-10 and SEC? Didn't USC win 3 National Titles in a row and produce the last 3 of 4 Heisman winners? Aren't teams such as OSU and U Mich always held up as elite programs even when the Big 10 is down? Who heard claims of East Coast Bias when Florida St. and Miami were dominating the polls?
The truth is a lot of pundits are upset at this college football season because it's rattled their sense of Right and Wrong (USC loses! LSU not the best defense ever! USF AHHHH!) so when a team that hasn't been in the top 5 in 23 years shows up there again with a Heisman-caliber QB and people want to know what to think about BC, they panic. Instead of watching game film, talking to pro scouts and looking up stats, they reach for 3 easy words: East. Coast. Bias.
Fact is, I don't care what Mandel and others write. I've watched every down of every game. I know how good this team is. Not perfect. But very, very good.
Eagleboston is right. Every BC win from here on out changes the media's tone and gets the team one week closer to the goal they set out for: ACC champs.
I read this daily (thanks atleagle!!), but don't usually comment. All of this talk of a weak schedule makes me think back to a conversation I had with a Miami fan before the season started about how tough our schedule was this year.
Think back about 2 months and think about Notre Dame, VT, Miami, GT, Florida State...
Before the season began, the schedule couldn't be much tougher unless we were playing in the SEC....but that's why we play the games.
I hate to say this, but I think our season rests on 2 games...VT and Miami. I have watched Miami 3 times so far and saw 3 different Miami teams show up.
I have the utmost confidence in this team, and they do seem to play up and down to their competition. That being said, I can't wait to see them play "up" to VT.
I don't know for sure but I think Bob Ryan was a draft dodger in '68.
If we were ND, or USC, or Michigan, we would be offended if we were NOT ranked in the top 5 with a 7-0 record, no matter who we played. That is the attitude we need. Until we lose, there is no reason for anyone to discredit this team.
not so fast (cue the Corso voice) lally
SC did not "3-Pete"
SC "won" the AP NC in 2004, which is akin to the LAEagle NC. They won in 2005 and lost in 2006.
Every time i see that 2004 up in the Colosseum i want to climb up and rip it down. idiot SC fans...
point being, going along with seattleeagle, no one deserves to be assumed to "belong" at the top. we're 7-0 and anyone who says otherwise (read: Stewie Mandel) is living in a fantasy, sour grape-ridden world.
GO EAGLES
yeah, CBS had many pro BC things up today, including this.
http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10412018
once again, the media is the media. BC has 3 first team all americans, one of which is gosder "insert penalty here" cherilus.
Bob Ryan's national enough to the point where he can't appear to be a homer. I attended a Q&A session with him on campus here at BC last year and he at no point seemed to be biased towards or against BC. He's entitled to his opinion that is that BC is probably not the second best collection of talent in the country. With your common 85-IQ American sports fan, every team one is not a fan of is guilty of sucking until they win a BCS bowl. Everybody wrote off Boise State until they beat Oklahoma. Nobody stopped to think that BC beat almost the same team that won the Fiesta Bowl. Personally, I don't view any of the ACC teams left on the schedule as a true challenge to a focused Eagles team, but the games are played for a reason. Echoing others, we just need to take care of business and not let the (as of 2004) suddenly outspoken LSU fans and the like bring us down or get under our skin just because we're a nontraditional, non-SEC team that's in the mix.
LA - I guess I listened to too many hours of ESPN's "greatest dynasty ever" coverage of the 06 title game that I was brainwashed into thinking USC's won every national title since 1900, my bad.
Point still stands, though.
Let's not short change BC on the talent front. Right or wrong, Kiper is projecting 3 BC guys as first round draft picks (and at the three highest paid positions no less). The NFL has blinders on when it comes to the college's pedigree. SI had Silva as a first team mid-season all-america. Dunbar may be our most consistent player and Callendar might be the MVP.
My point - we actually have more talent than we normally do. We are winning even when we don't play our best (change from the past.) And we've kicked it up a gear when we've needed to.
Based on that, I like our chances next week and the rest of the season.
Get ready for more "East Coast Bias" talk--Jags is going to be on ESPN tonight before and during halftime of the USF-Rutgers game...
http://www.boston.com/sports/colleges/football/articles/2007/10/18/eagles_hoping_to_fly_under_sound_barrier/
27-20 Rutgers>USF at the start of the 4th quarter...
Probably the first time I've ever backed the state University of New Jersey...
Agree with Lally. This season questions the authority of all CFB sports writers, so the natural backlash is to back whatever team you said you were backing at the beginning of the season and look critically at the teams you didn't see coming.
BC has done nothing wrong. We've done all we've been asked to do, and so long as we continue to win games, everything takes care of itself.
I don't understand the East Coast Media Bias that much. Sure there are higher rated passers in CFB, but none of them have their team off to a 7-0 start. TTech, Oregon, Louisville and Kentucky have all lost, and BC hasn't. Hawaii hasn't lost, but if the pollers have watched their games, they are being handed WAC games in OT.
If there really was a East Coast Media Bias, I'd expect Ray Rice to be running away with the Heisman at the moment. He does play in the NJ/NYC media market after all.
Go Eagles!
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