Thursday, January 06, 2011

BC-Nevada preview

Wow, it has been a long time since we played some football. Excuse making alert: if either team gets down early look for the announcing crew to blame the long layoff. Since both teams have had a long layoff, I don't think it will be an issue. You would think that drawn out game prep would also hurt us on the recruiting front. We are playing while other schools can shift to recruiting mode. But if anything we've had better recruiting news the past two weeks than we've had in months. Ideal or inconvenient, we should just be glad there is a game. Enjoy it because it is our last taste of BC football for months.


Overlooked storyline for the game: This is probably Gary Tranquill's last game as a college football coach. I know he has retired multiple times, but this -- by all accounts -- is it for our Offensive Coordinator. I don't expect it to be a "storyline" because BC still hasn't announced the change. I assume they are waiting until after signing day or when a new guy is onboard. Regardless of how you feel about Tranq and as frustrating as his BC tenure has been, he has coached a lot of football and should be acknowledged in his final game.


Three Simple Keys

1. Go deep. Did you see the Boise State game? Nevada gave up some big plays in the passing game. I think we can exploit them in the same way.
2. Confuse and contain Kaepernick.
In his worst game of the year -- and Nevada's only loss -- Hawaii played a lot of zone and contained him on run plays. That sounds just like a Spaz/McGovern special.
3. Redzone offense. Our Achilles Heal will be a factor in this game. Nevada will score so we cannot trade FGs to their touchdowns. I hope we mix in some pass and don't just settle for runs near the goalline.


Gambling Notes

-- BC is 0-4 against the spread in our last four bowl games
-- BC is 1-4 all time in the state of California
-- BC is 7-5 in bowl games outside the Eastern time zone
The current line is BC+8


Factoid

With this game, BC will have played current WAC teams in bowls twice. While we've only had one regular season game against a current WAC team (Hawaii in 1996).


Scoreboard Watching

We are the only game in town on Sunday night. Nothing really impacts us before or after.


I hope to see...

A big game from Herzy. This season didn't contain the accolades we had hoped for but Mark played well. One more great performance in a win would be a fitting conclusion to one of the most memorable BC careers of alltime.


BC is in trouble if...

We can't score. Everyone is talking about their offense vs our defense. I don't think that will be an issue. We will slow them down. What will be an issue is our ability to break the 21 point ceiling we have. BC needs to open it up and needs to get to 28 points to win.


Bottom Line

I loved the matchup the minute it was announced. We played our best against Florida State and Nevada reminds me a lot of the 'Noles. I think we will stiffen their running game. I think Castonzo can lock up their speedy DE Dontay Moch. I think we open up the pass game and complement it with some big runs from Harris and Williams. The season ends on a high note and we all start to get excited about 2011.
Final Score: BC 31, Nevada 20

8 comments:

mmason said...

Is Montel really going to play in this Nevada game? Is that a lock? Knee surgery has a fairly long convalescing period, so is there news out there on this that confirms Montel's full readiness to play?

I agree with your projections on what's needed, ATL. It's a monsoon of IF's: If we throw long, if we score and don't trade FG's for their TD's, if Gary puts together a game plan that isn't predictable diaphonous vanilla, if we have some receivers that can catch the ball, if our D holds their Pistol atack and we don't give up big YAC's...
Some things never change.

I just hope our BC Eagles play with some fire and passion. We haven't done that much to sustain a constant attack all year. I know we're just getting there, but this would be a great time to showcase BC bringing 8 to 10 seconds of Eagle Hellfire on every play. Some serious execution of playmaking, uninterrupted command of the game.

It's those damn letdowns that I hope we avoid. Those 3 and outs and lots of punting and people whining on the blog site. I like to see us shut those play-by-play guys up and just hear, "Wow, these BC guys are good."

Is that too much to ask? Go Eagles! Shock the world! Win the damn trophy!

eaglephile said...

Great write up Bill, it is a sobering thought that after this weekend we won't have college football for another 7 months.

I would like to see us capitalize on takeaways. For the last 5 years or so we have been superb at creating turnovers on D, but if have to settle for FGs or worse - give the ball back with no points - we are in trouble.

mod34b said...

Great preview

To borrow from 'Bama, Roll Eagles, Roll Eagles!

mod10aeagle said...

A rolling eagle is roadkill. Unfortunately, "Soar Eagles" sounds like a hangover. I can't think of anything better than "Go Eagles!"

Go Eagles!

mod34b said...

ATL -- Sounds like you are getting a lot of feed back that Tranq is gone. Nice.

Also, I am guessing from the lack of any buzz about BC interviewing for a new exciting OC, that the new OC will be an internal hire -- a Chip Kelly protege . . . Ryan Day?... nah... See this way-ahead-of-the-curve ATL Post from 2 years ago

. . . meaning, Sean Devine, a 1994 Colby College grad, will be the new OC. Here is an excerpt from his bio on the BC site:
---------------------------------

Prior to coming to BC, Devine spent the previous 13 seasons at New Hampshire and was the offensive coordinator for the last two.

In his two seasons as offensive coordinator, he led one of the best offenses in the FCS. Last year, UNH ranked eighth nationally in scoring offense (35.62) and passing efficiency (154.81), 19th in total offense (404.23) and 25th in passing offense (243.23).

In Devine's first year as offensive coordinator, his unit averaged 35.8 points and 407.2 yards per contest and was one of the most productive in the nation. Devine mentored one of the top players in the history of FCS football in All-American and Walter Payton Award winning QB Ricky Santos.
--------------------------------
what will become of Day if Devine outshines him and gets the OC spot? will he quit? Run to Oregon?

chicagofire1871 said...

I put some $$ on BC to cover when the spread was +10. Eagles on the Warpath! Talons of Fury...GET READY!...yup, I'll be here all week folks.

chicagofire1871 said...

Does anyone know if the band is staying home this year again?

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