Chris Snee did very well in Pro Bowl voting. As an alternate, Matt Ryan still has a chance to join Snee in Hawaii.
Nick Klemm is a Georgia kid who appeared late on the recruiting radar. He committed to BC this week. Local word is that he's a late bloomer who could be a factor once he grows into his frame.
Vanderbilt's QB situation for the bowl game remains in flux.
I wasn't going to draw attention to this but since other blogs have mentioned it...yes, it was a painful reminder.
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Unfortunately that article also notes that we're only going to sell about 2,000 tix to Nashville, which is atrocious. Although we never send a lot of fans, I think we've reach the point of "lower tier bowl game saturation." BC has been to so many similar bowls for 9 consecutive years, that the trips start to lose their luster
The email about the ACCCG is another one of Gene's many mistakes. If Gene had any brains, he would not have let TOB and Bible walk away. We would be a BCS team with them still at the heights.
BUT as usual Gene's ego got in the way and let TOB walk away. He was on the cusp of building BC into a dominating team (like the way Frank Beamer had build VTech from nothing). Alas, we now have Sags and blowgan bringing the team back to the Dan Henning era.
I actually just read the globe article and Gene's comments are disgusting. "We just don't have the fans".
Hmmmm....ok Gene. Let's do the math.
Each year BC graduates 2,500 students and say 500 grad students. 3000 X 20 years = 60,000. Now if half those students get married and have two kids + wife/husband that is (1500 X 3) X 20 = 90,000. Therefore, BC could have a fan base of 150,000 people if you assume my math holds for 20 years.
So now do you think Gene's comment hold true? As usual, he is pushing the blame on his inability to market the athletics program on we the fans who are devoted to BC.
Gene....we can see through you now. Stop the games.....
Bill-
Can you ban this toolbox, Brookline 12? He's just trying to instigate and its obvious he is not a BC fan. Please erase his comments. Back to back ACCCG's ='s the Henning era? Sure pal.
The point is that any coach could have brought us to the ACCCG with the amount of talent that we had the last two years.
BUT not any coach could bring us the W in that game.
Thanks for the link love ATL-Eagle. Love the site as always. GO BC!
-HZMLS
www.masshysteriasports.com
Brookline12: I can bite my tongue no longer. I will give you last year's team, as far as the overall talent is concerned. It was a great, talented team. In fact, it would be fair to say that the change in offensive scheme held the team back a bit. The O-line really struggled, especially after Poles went down and we couldn't run the ball all year.
But this year's team? Sure, we have two All-Americans in the front seven, both of whom performed well under TOB. And there was Purvis on offense. But who else - on the entire team - was a solid contributor under TOB? Robinson, okay. Jeff Smith had one kick-off return as a frosh. Toal was out for the stretch run that really made this team's season. I guess Francois. And that's it. Brace was never effective until Jags and Co made him lose some pounds. Anderson never had a clue until this year and ended being an All-ACC performer. Same with both guards on offense. The running backs were all new (ie, all Jags'). It's really ludicrous to say that this team could have won the division with any coach in charge. If anything, it denigrates the superb coaching job that Jags, Logan, and Spaz did with a group that vastly exceed their very low expectations, even from within the fanbase.
Here's a rundown of contributors on this years team that were recruited by Jags: Harris, Haden, D Davis, Momah, Larmond, Gause, Fletcher, Johnson, L Anderson, Quigley, Boek (who played a ton of special teams), Castonzo, Newman, Ramsey. Other guys have only emerged under Jags (huge list, guys like Claiborne and P Anderson) and many have improved mightily since he arrived, Matt Ryan included. TOB did a great job at the Heights and looks to really be building quickly in Raleigh. However, even his best teams consistently fell short at BC and there was no reason to expect otherwise from him in the future. He even told us not to.
Brookline, I can't understand your TOB love. Seriously, I think so many of us wanted him out and I'm not sure why you feel he would have brough us to a BCS bowl in the past 2 years. He admitted that you couldn't do better with BC than 8, 9, or 10 wins a season. He didn't even have faith that it could be done. He didn't deserve to stay, his coahing was not fun to watch, etc. Maybe you are one of those "board members" you so often talk about who were fighting for TOB to stay. But I would sya you are in the minority here and in the BC community, and it isn't because the rest of us have "drunk the Kool-aid", as you might imply.
Brookline12 -- since others did an adequate job or responding to your TOB and Dana Bible hilarity, I won't comment on that.
You're ridiculous math about the BC fanbase is just bizarre. I believe ATL posted the WSJ article about college football here a few weeks ago, but even if your math is right, maybe we have 150,000 "fans" who may or may not give two damns about BC football. Think about LSU. 4 million people live in Louisiana, and I'd be willing to say most are passionate LSU fans. College football is huge huge business in some areas of the country, not in the Northeast. Given that, and the current state of the economy, it is not surprising that only 2,000 of the BC community wants to spend money to get to Tennessee and watch BC play in some mid-tier bowl against Vanderbilt. Who cares? The whole bowl system is silly (that's another debate entirely), asking fans to shell big bucks to get themselves to Nashville for essentially one more tailgate is not going to draw many people. I agree with amartin, if BC makes the Orange Bowl, I bet a whole lot of BC folks would want to go see BC and have a chance at winning a legitimate college bowl "championship" (if you even want to call it that). Until that happens, we simply will not compete with schools in the South and Midwest that have HUGE state followings; our alumni just don't care about being Music City Bowl champions, and I can't blame them.
Even Heather is on the band's side in her "bowl gifts" article...
SNOOZER: The Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl is giving Boston College and Vanderbilt noise-canceling headphones, something they aren't likely to need for the crowd in this stadium. Heck, the Boston College band might not even bring its full roster.
Ok I understand everyone's argument but here is the deal...If we are admitting that we will never be a top ranked caliber team. We will only have a great season say every twenty years (1984, 2007) then what is the point of having a football team?
Let's drop down to D-III and give that money we spend on football to the basketball team and for scholarships to those who need it.
Our fanbase when you include say 40 years of living alumni, their family, and New England fans of BC it comes out to more than than that 150,000 Gene spews. It could be upwards to over a million people.
Did you get into BC because you were average? No. You got into BC because you were a great student.
SO why do we expect averageness out of the football team?
Brookline12 is easily one of the funniest posters on the Internet. Almost as good as "Observer College".
Brookline12
again your logic is horrifically flawed. Because we have accepted we are not a dominant force in football because of academics, size, recruiting restrictions, etc. you say then why bother having a football team? By your logic, there are about 85 other D-1 college football programs that should just pack it in. Michigan State, Cal, Oregon State, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, etc. etc. should all just pack it in if they don't expect to be great every year but just hope to have an overall good and enjoyable program who hope to have some really special seasons. Basically that would leave us with 5 SEC teams, 5 Big 12 teams, one Pac-10 team and some other random ones. That is truly moronic logic from someone that is simply not a football fan or doesn't understand it. In fact, what kind of fan are you when you hate on this team and will continue to do so if they don't make a BCS fan - i am sure i speak for other fans when i say we would be happy to cheer them without you
You must be a board member who has some crush on TOB. He couldn't take teams with D. Knight or W. Green or Matt Ryan to any big time bowl. What in all his years makes you think he could have done it all of a sudden? He didn't do it in 10 years, so you go against all data saying he "would" have done it when even TOB admitted he couldn't do it
Christopher:
Take a look at Frank Beamer's coaching record in his first 10 years and compare it to TOB. The number and trend does not lie.
Brookline 12,
I have removed my shoes and I am virtually chucking them at you. College football is my favorite sport and I literally watch over 100 hours of games each year.
I never had the vitriolic hatred of TOB as many BC fans. He is a very good coach and he may very well beat us with his talented NC State team next year (we only won by 7 points this year). However, I prefer the more wide open style of Jags and I believe Jags is the better coach.
Let's look at this objectively. Jags entered the season losing a QB that will at least finish 2nd in NFL Rookie of the Year voting. He also lost 15 players from his 2-deep. As the season progressed, he lost Alex Albright to a neck injury and 3 other players to broken legs. Then, when BC is on a roll, he loses his starting QB. And he still managed to win 9 games in the highly competitive ACC. Are you kidding me? That is a hell of a coaching job.
Look, I think Jags is great but we will not know for sure until 2 years from now when all of his own players are on the squad. In the meantime, can we enjoy what has been the most amazing 10 year run in BC history?
I don't know where Brookline12 lives or if he's spent time in the South, but comparing a small, private school fanbase with a large state university...is...absurd. He has obviously spent little time in Georgia, for example, and doesn't realize how many fans they have throughout the state who didn't go to the school itself. Football in the South is simply different than football in most of the North. People in New Hampshire generally don't grow up rooting for BC. People in rural Georgia root primarily for UGA. Which helps UGA recruit the state the best.
Everyone is entitled to their TOB/Jags opinion. But it's such a silly argument in favor of Jags (so far) that it's a waste of time arguing about it. If you don't know what you've got when you've got it...
At his intro presser, Jags said: "We're gonna win and we're gonna look good doing it." There have been a few bumps along the way, no argument there. But by and large, Jags has delivered on that promise.
Here's the deal: we need to stop saying we had so many injuries and our season was going to be a middle of the pack season. Fact is we were #1 in our division and #2 in the conference. I see people say "Yeah last year was an amazing year BUT this year we weren't a good team and we were lucky to get those wins."
You are what you are. BC was not a 5th place team this year guys. Understand that.
CT,
Your North/South argument does not hold. Then how do you explain Penn State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, USC, and UCLA. All North or West schools with great dedicated fans.
Now back to the TOB/Frank Beamer comparison. If you compare the first 8 years of both you will see that one coach took his team to 6 bowl games, won five of them, and had the team ranked in the top 25 3 times at the end of the season. The other coach took his team to a bowl 2 times (1-1) and was ranked twice.
Yes, the first person is TOB and the second is Beamer.
TOB performed better than Beamer in building a program that was in shambles just like how Beamer took over VTech.
Now in year 9 VTech went to the Sugar Bowl and won, ending the season ranked 9. The next year they lost in the orange bowl bowl but finished the year ranked 12. Both years winning the Big East.
Now year 9 and 10 are quite different for TOB. Let's remember that these are the first two years in the ACC. TOB takes the team to two bowls, 2 wins, and has them both ranked, ending both seasons in either 1st or 2nd in the ACC Atlantic.
Now after getting used to the ACC, the players know the other teams and the ACC lanscape. It is now time for them to really compete. Hence, Matt Ryan's breakout season in 07 and this season should have been the same BUT as you can see it didn't happen because Gene D let TOB go and hired Sags.
Imagine that in the next three to four years we would be competing for the national championship just like VTech. Alas, our dream crashed when Gene let TOB go.
From VT Official Website: Since the hiring of Frank Beamer as head coach in 1987, the program has seen a quick rise from a mediocre independent program to a perennial top 20 team. The 13th ranked Hokies defeated the 9th ranked Texas Longhorns in the 1995 Sugar Bowl.
Love you guys on this whole TOB vs. Jags thing...let us harken back to a memorable TOB moment: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th and Goal vs. ND...TOB runs up the middle 4 straight downs for no gain and BC loses to Davies'Domers in the final minute. Imagine Jags doing something as massively lame as that...is it even possible? No Brookline, it's not. TOB was often a very fine coach--a military commander with conservative vision...he would bring his men back alive, but they would fail to blow the bridge unless he had a miracle guy like Ryan who could throw the bomb. He taught BC how to win consistently--and he kept the program clean after a very bad scandal. He was what was needed at the time. Jags is no Henning--he knows his kids and has his head on straight about proper behavior and discipline. He's a threat to pull a wild play out of nowhere to win a game--he's not afraid to risk on 4th down anywhere on the field if need be. He's exciting. The players love his confidence in their ability to bring it. He's a pro who is drawing talent to BC that can play, learn quickly and behave well on and off the field. He wins. Two ACC championship shots back-to-back is no small accomplishment. Let's forget about the Wolfpack Man--he's gone and we'll see him again every year, any way. Who knows--if NCState does well next year, old TOB could end up at ND, and then this conversation might get really cute--but until then WE'VE GOT JAGS AND GO EAGLES!Beat Vandy!
Brookline12 is the most delusional person I have ever witnessed on this site, unless he's some troll who enjoys wasting his time. Penn State, Ohio State, UCLA? Those schools are MASSIVELY bigger than BC. It's ridiculous to even mention PSU and BC in the same sentence in terms of fan base.
mmason, who was the offensive coordinator who called the four straight runs vs. ND in '98?
Beantown: I do like the Parcells nod in evaluating our team. We are a nine-win, division-winning squad. That makes us a good team, pundits-be-damned. Taking a look at the process of getting to nine wins, I think, illustrates the coaching job that has been done this year. The preseason rankings (4th-5th) were essentially an indictment of the talent level/people forgetting how good BJ could be. Through the middle of the season, we looked to be fulfilling those predictions. But starting with the ND game, the coaching really shone through. Guys improved (Anderson, Claiborne) and the whole team played much better. That's coaching and that's why I brought up expectations because they are useful in evaluating what this team accomplished, not in discussing what this team actually is. And this is a good team.
Well Brookline, with all due respect, if you don't know the difference in perspective on college football between northern regions and southern regions, I would think you've never lived down here before (nor was raised down here, like some of us). The season is 12 months long in the media. Pockets with school allegiances in the north (PSU, Michigan, OSU) really are trumped by the overwhelming sentiment and passion down here. And Western schools? Come on. Besides, there were far fewer USC fans in the mid 90's when they were a .500 team.
Your original point was about the size of the fanbases. You were wrong in the comparison. Now whether you disagree with Gene D's reasoning is another matter altogether. BC's problem goes far beyond numbers, by the way. There are good reasons we play in a Div. 2 stadium. And I would disagree slightly with your math, but that's not the point (grad students less commonly hold allegiances).
I would argue that we reached as high as we were going to go with TOB. Hit the ceiling. Even he admitted as much. He served his purpose and now he's gone. I can't understand how you don't see the enthusiasm that Jags brings to the program ("they should be scared of playing us," was my favorite quote of his this year). Arguing with one of the few people who would actually disagree with that last sentence is a waste of time. TOB has been gone for two years. Get on with it.
I would agree that BC fans have reached a saturation point with the lower tier bowls; but, again, apart from getting a BCS bowl, that's not the team's fault. There's a 'BC' rule in effect for a reason and that falls on the gainfully employed who, year after year, don't go to the bowl games for whatever reason.
Go BC.
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