Eagle in Atlanta -- atleagle.com: New ways to lose

Saturday, September 17, 2011

New ways to lose

Not a whole lot to say. There is plenty of blame to go around, but you have to question our inability to adjust to Duke's offense.

I'll have second viewing thoughts and grades late Sunday night.

86 comments:

BCDoubleEagle said...: It's official. I now have a foot in the anti-Spaz camp. This is pathetic.

It's been over a year since our offense scored more than 21 points in game.

It's been almost two years since our offense scored more than 21 points against a BCS opponent.; 4:00 PM
EagleManhattan said...: Don't bother ATL. Nothing will come of watching this a second time other than suicidal thoughts.; 4:01 PM
Mike said...: Run to the right. Center the ball. Win the game. Any capable coach would have done that.; 4:02 PM
John B said...: I'd love to hear anybody defend Gene or Spaz now.; 4:03 PM
bc1900 said...: If you don't right the ship now, then we are headed down the road Syracuse has taken.; 4:07 PM
Walter said...: This is payback for the Duke loss we deserved last year.

Two straight years of underperforming against DUKE.; 4:07 PM
Ted H said...: Gene and his minions will have some positive spin on this. Even more concerning than our offense was what happened to our defense. 500 yards to Duke. Also after the poor clock management did anybody have any doubt that they would have driven down for a field goal even if we make the chip shot.; 4:08 PM
BCAlum2000 said...: Squib kick after scoring a TD with 1:30 left in the first half. Duke starts at their own 40. Then a prevent defense. The result, Duke scores a TD in about 30 seconds.

All game long, Duke ran the same WR/Flanker screens. BC's answer up until the last 2 minutes? Play off 10 yards. The result, Duke gets about 8-10 yards on every single play.

Despite all of this and simply because Duke is God awful, BC still has a chance to win. After a nice Williams runs down to the Duke 10 yard line or so, BC spikes the ball with about 50 seconds to go. Stop and think about this for a second. BC, down by one, down inside their 10, spikes the ball to stop the clock thus saving Duke from using a timeout. Then the topper of all, after Williams bull rushes the pile and gets the ball down to about the 3 yard line, BC follows it up with a run to the left which gets shut down. Now, since Duke did not have to use a timeout due to BC spiking it earlier, they use their final timeout. The ball is now on the extreme left hash for a kicker who has been erratic at best this year and who had already missed an extra point ... which is the only reason BC is trailing at the time. The result, the kick hits the left upright and goes out and BC loses to horrific Duke and is now 0-3 (0-1).

This is by FAR the most embarrassing BC football team I have seen in all my years of closely following BC (dates back to 1993).

How will Spaz respond? Expect a brilliant line such as "expect the unexpected". Here is something that would be unexpected only because our AD is a nitwit, SPAZ GETS FIRED!; 4:09 PM
eagleboston said...: I have been one of Spaz’s biggest defenders. In his first year, he had two quarterbacks and a running back bail on him and still managed 8 wins. His second season was spent trying to fight through the poor recruiting classes of the Jag’s era. However, he is now 3 years in and has nearly all of his players.

I can now state that I have officially jumped the shark. I can no longer support this man. He has taken a once proud and consistent program and destroyed it. We have lost to bitter rival Notre Dame twice after having our way with them the previous 10 years. We have lost both bowl games. And now we have lost to Duke…..a fricken’ basketball school. Are you kidding me??

Super Mario is a joke. A cartoon. Only this is not funny to BC Nation. We have had over a decade of consistent success. We have won bowl game after bowl game. No more. Spaz has managed to take BC from the ACC championship game to 0-3 this season. The clock management has been horrible and way too conservative. And speaking of conservative, has Spaz ever called a fake field goal or punt? In 3 seasons, I cannot think of a single one. Even TOB had the balls to call 1 per season.

Unfortunately, I think we are stuck with this clown. If we fire him while still under contract, we will have no money left to attract the caliber of coach that could turn this disaster around. But, there is precedence with cutting ties and cleaning house. Dan Henning came in after Coughlin and the program tanked. Gladchuk acted quickly and brought in TOB who turned things around in just 3 seasons.; 4:12 PM
Big Jack Krack said...: wi_eagle stated that we were competitive in the ACC - and I said we were not.

We have fallen off the cliff under this regime. I tought we would be 2 and 6 in the ACC this year, after a 4 and 4 last year.

The reason I said we are not competitive is what we saw today. We spike the ball when we don't have to and don't spike it when we should.

We should not have wasted that down, run it down their throats and won he game with a touchdown.

Instead, Birdbrain takes us to the potential miss - and sure as shit, we miss it.

I am sick over this. BC will be down now like Syracuse has been. It takes years to make up for a bad coaching/recruiting team.; 4:12 PM
Colin said...: We are ranked 110th in FBS in scoring this season, 106th in rushing yds, and 70th in passing yds. Putrid.

And for all his defensive prowess, Spaz has given us a team ranked 71st in scoring defense.

#firespaz; 4:13 PM
Big Jack Krack said...: I meant to add that I will now revise my prediction from 2 and 6 to 0 and 8 in the ACC.

Instead of falling to the level of Duke and Wake - we have now fallen below.

This will take years to fix.; 4:18 PM
Mr. Tambourine MAn said...: I have watched or attended nearly every Boston College game for the past 15 years. If Spaz throws Freese under the bus in his press conference, I won't watch another until the guy is gone.

A poster on EO made a wonderful point, at the end of the game, there were numerous players trying to cheer up Freese and not one coach.; 4:19 PM
Walter said...: OK, i'm sorry but Freese is heavily to blame for this. He deserves a lot of the blame. Don't miss two ridiculously easy kicks and we're not in this position.

He doesn't deserve to be mollycoddled and pacified. He hasn't been nearly as good this season as last year's and it's costing us big time.; 4:21 PM
dixieagle said...: Unbelievable. If this showcase of stupendous stupidity doesn't wake up the powers that be, nothing will. Losing to DUKE? In damn FOOTBALL???; 4:22 PM
BCAlum2000 said...: Who wants dibs on www.firespaz.com? How about www.fireflip.com?; 4:23 PM
Ted H said...: Walter at some point the coaches have to make a few smart calls as well. Freese made a 43 yard field goal earlier in the game. The coaches saw him miss an extra point earlier. Why not at least run to the right so if you don't score or pick up the first down at least you are kicking a straight on field goal. Sometimes as coaches you have to see a play ahead. I put this on Spaz. I am sure he will be his cowardly self and blame the kid. That's what we expect of him.; 4:26 PM
Colin said...: Walter,
Granted, there is blame to be put upon Freese. But ultimately these are kids playing a game. The lion's share of the blame rests with the ADULTS who are being PAID to put these kids in the best position to win, and absolutely FAIL in every regard. That was the worst set up to a FG I have ever seen. Spiking the ball? Running to the left hash? And the worst part about it was it was completely believable. I don't even yell at the TV (well, computer) in disbelief anymore, because I don't have any left. I have come to expect this kind of incompetence from Spaz and the coaching staff.

We are now the ACC doormat. Let that sink in folks.

#firespaz; 4:29 PM
BCAlum2000 said...: I correct myself. I said this team is the most embarrassing BC football team I have seen since I started closely following BC football nearly 20 years ago. They are actually the second most embarrassing as the gambling crew led by Dan Henning back during my freshman year was actually worse.

Give it a few more weeks ...; 4:40 PM
mmason said...: Turned this disaster off in the first 5 minutes of the 4th qtr...thinking that now that Syracuse and Pitt join the ACC, and with our terribly dysfunctional football program, our recruiting in the northeast will be even worse than it is now...we will go in reverse and lose to Pitt & Syracuse AGAIN, like those "big least" days of yore.No country for old men, this.

Losing to a Duke team that was TROUNCED by Stanford, unable to move the ball against yet another team in the 2nd half., w/ 81 total yds.on the ground, sputtering and flailing, giving up 384 passing yds.to Duke, missing PAT's, converting on 3rd down only 4/17 times and mismanaging the game at home like some weak, distracted high school squad with 3rd rate coaches, THIS, THIS IS UNBEARABLE TO WATCH.

I have this vision of Spaz in the postgame press meet saying, "Yeah, we let people score on us in the final minute of every first half like no other program since the beginning of Ever, but we're working on it, they're young, uh, we'll make adjustments, and if you're looking for someone to blame, look under the team bus..."
What the What?; 4:42 PM
Walter said...: Hey, Virginia Tech was trounced by a similar Stanford, too, but I see what you're getting at.

Yeah, at this point it goes without saying that the coaching and calling is monstrous. But that doesn't give Freese a free pass to suddenly become unreliable. The fact that he missed an extra point doesn't mean it's reasonable for him to miss more. If Rettig chokes and throws an interception, it wouldn't have seen like such an obvious thing to go for a passing td.

Still, spiking it was disastrous. Spaz. needs. to. go.; 4:54 PM
EL MIZ said...: Walter,

you would think that given that Freese had missed an extra point, Spaz would try to score. He didn't. BC didn't take one shot at the end zone.

Moreover, how do you rationalize Spaz, on the left hashmark, running the ball to the left on the last play instead of going to the right? Its so stupid its laughable.

Freese wasn't on the D that gave a 10 yard cushion to a team that threw about 50 screens in the 2nd half. Freese wasn't calling for the FG to be from the hash mark. Freese didn't call the squib kick or prevent D at the end of the first half. The loss is not on him.; 4:57 PM
Squid said...: That was awful, I'm struggling to find a bright spot anywhere.

Rettig didn't play that well. Made some good throws but missed a LOT of wide open receivers, one of these was a sure TD.

The defense was horrible for 90% of the game. We made Duke's QB look like Tom Brady for much of the second half. That's not good.

And the coaching. Good God, I don't even know where to start. The squib kick to end the first half was dumb, but forgivable. The lack of adjustment between halves was glaringly obvious. And the final drive, I'm still speachless. The spike on first down wasn't a good idea, even if the tv announcers seemed to think it was. And the third down run, why run to the left? As soon as I saw that play I thought uh oh, bad angle for the kicker. It's a short yard kick but that makes the angle all that much worse.

This season is lost for good now. Hopefully come next spring we've got a completely new coaching staff.; 5:05 PM
blist said...: This is the worst coached BC team I've ever seen (I've been following regularly since 89-90). The one bright side is if we get Spaz out after this season, we're not down Syracuse lane. It would be one losing season amidst a record of good success. A new coach would see a lot of immediate upside (good kids, good athletes, clearly a lot of losing by bad coaching) and so would see BC as a good job, especially if the ACC becomes an expanded beast. The key is getting rid of Spaz after this season. I hate to say it, I wanted him to succeed and was a big supporter, but UCF and Duke are just awful losses. More of this and we're looking at the Syracuse death.; 5:18 PM
Lenny Sienko said...: While we are cleaning house, don't forget who gave Spaz the unjustified contract extension, which now makes his buyout so expensive.

#fireGDF; 5:30 PM
mmason said...: A team that can't run the football will not win many games. A team that can't stop the pass, will often lose many games. A team that fails to execute it's offensive strategy is doomed. Though, Winning programs usually exhibit excellent mentors and Chance favors the prepared, and yes, bad luck will occur, we can surmise that by now, 3 years of rebuilding under present management has led the program to the abyss. We don't need to read Malcolm Gladwell, or bring in Billy Beane to figure this stuff out.

As I said last week, it's too late to waste time pondering the obvious. BC football needs a New Regime. A radical change in direction. 10 years ago, Boise State was a joke. BC was not. What happened? 10 years ago, Stanford was a conference doormat, BC was not. What happened?

Go Eagles! Ever to Excel...; 5:33 PM
JBQ said...: Don't forget that Freese has a new holder. I would say that if two kicks hit the upright, there is plenty of distance. The timing is off. No doubt! The kid knows it and just won't say. With two long kicks in the books, there is nothing wrong with his leg. The posting that stated that no coach came to talk with him is terrible.; 5:33 PM
Mr. Tambourine MAn said...: Walter, we're playing Duke. We should not need a last minute field goal to win. His missed XP was a pretty good sign that we should not play for a final field goal. Let's remember that Spaz started running at like the 30, I assume because he would have lined up for a LONG field goal for the win with a shaky kicker. He was the one who managed the clock so that we spiked the ball with a minute left.

The kid missed a FG, obviously, that is on him, but I can see Spaz coming into a press room and saying something like "well, we got the team in the position to win, but all we can do is put them in position and then the players have to execute and we didn't and so we lost" as if this game would have been acceptable if we had just managed to win.

How about being outgained by double by Duke. How about no defensive adjustments. Give me a break. The kicker doesn't need to be called out by the coach in this case (if you watched the end of the game, you'll see he's clearly beat up over it).

This is all moot as long as Spaz doesn't call the kid out, but his decision to criticize Rettig after NU and the players in general of late leads me to believe he will. Pull the plug on this now.; 5:38 PM
Bob B. said...: I have inside information from a current football BC football player that "Coach" Spaziani is an "old crazy person who never knows what play they are running." He also said the players don't listen to Spaz because he knows nothing and just defers to his assistants. Everyone on the BC football team would not only welcome a change, but require a firing immediately. He told me that he knows 5 current players that are on the verge of transferring because of Spaziani. We can't let this slide continue any longer! #FireSpaz Immediately; 5:53 PM
Anonymous said...: On the last FG attempt: the snap was good, the hold was good, the kick was off; it happens.

A lot of blame is being placed on Spaz for the loss - for good reason. But special teams, PAT's, and field goals fall under Dawson. He came to BC w/o special teams coaching experience and, its clear, he hasn't learned much on the job. When the house cleaning comes, his name needs to be high on the list.

As for coaching kickers, its as much an art as it is a science. Kickers tend to be head cases. Getting in their faces usually doesn't work. An arm around the back after that missed PAT is what Freese needed. Did Dawson offer this? I don't know, but I'm betting not.; 5:58 PM
John said...: Was at the game and at 10-0 was feeling good. The second half was horrible. I was actually embarrassed to be wearing a BC Football shirt. My daughter is a senior and I told her at least we were good your freshman year (fyi my youngest is a freshman at FSU, Go Noles tonight!). As a season tickets holders, how do we unite and get an audience with the right people to clean house or else. Right now I can't even imagine renewing my season tickets if Spaz is the coach next year. So frustrated.; 6:11 PM
JBQ said...: Don't look now but the "light in the tunnel" is an oncoming train. Spaziani has to go! However, David Gordon, the Jewish kid with the foot, and Gerard Phelan, the kid with the sticky hands, left a legacy which cannot be allowed to die.; 6:21 PM
roswell said...: Jags would have called a play action pass and thrown to the tight end in the end zone to win the game,
Gene should be fired and bring back jJags; 6:31 PM
eagleboston said...: Bring back Jags? Are you high? The guy was looking to leave us the minute he stepped on campus. He did not recruit worth a crap and that is one reason we are in such a mess today. Cronin on WRKO said we only have 6 5th year seniors and 4 4th year seniors. We should have close to 20 total. That's on Jags.

I agree we need someone aggressive that plays to win. Jags was good at that aspect, but nothing else. And he did lose to Vandy in the bowl game.; 6:38 PM
EagleManhattan said...: There's the good old excuse making eagleboston that we all know and love!; 7:14 PM
WI_Eagle said...: Wow, the Northworstern Mildcats just lost to Army.....we are Really Really Bad!!; 7:23 PM
EagleManhattan said...: We've transitively lost to Richmond and Army already. We may lose to UMass.; 7:25 PM
Big Jack Krack said...: We should have worn gold pants. Whoever brought the white pants into the inventory made a bad decision.

Let's wear our school colors.

Our QB needs to wear football pants not golf shorts or whatever they are that he wears.

The Duke QB did not score a touchdown.; 7:43 PM
Bravesbill said...: Army is a pretty decent team this year. Even though they lost last week, they absolutely dominated San Diego State, which is a pretty good team this year. I never thought SDSU would ever be better than BC....until they were last year....and are this year. Look at the bright side, Brady Hoke turned that program that was 2-10 into a 9 win team in 2 years. If BC can clean house and hire the right coach this time, all might not be bleak. Eh, what the hell am I thinking, Gene doesn't have the intelligence or courage to do anything.; 7:53 PM
WI_Eagle said...: The combination of an incompetent coaching staff AND lack of talent are to blame. Regardless of how bad the coaching is (and I think the Spaz regime is terrible), I don't think this team would be better than .500 with John Wooden at the helm. My BC fanship goes back to 2001. If I were to make an all-decade team since then, only one (obvious) current player would crack the two-deep. The only others worth even thinking about in that context would be KPL and Donnie Fletcher. Right now I would love to have guys who weren't even that great at the time they played, average Joes like Phil Mettling on the D-Line, Larry Lester at WR, Ralph Parent at Safety, Augie Hoffmann on the O-Line, etc.; 8:01 PM
eagleboston said...: So EagleManhattan,

Are you suggesting we should bring back Jags? And do you honestly believe he recruited well?

I'm not really clear about who you think I am making excuses for as I clearly stated earlier that I'm done with Spaz.; 8:03 PM
Ryan said...: There's no players left from the Jags era because Spaz is a 180 degree opposite of him. Players transferred with a regime change, that's what happens. Don't forget Luke was a Jags recruit. I cannot stand merrymen like you.; 8:20 PM
WI_Eagle said...: Am I wrong? Name a team (since 2001) that has had less talent than this year. I couldn't care less if its "Jags' players" or "Spaz's players," that's not the point. The point is that we have less cumulative talent on the field than we've had in the last ten years. Combine that with terrible coaching and we have a disaster on our hands.; 8:37 PM
BCNorCal07 said...: It's been a while since I've posted, but really there isn't a whole lot to say. Since Spaz took over, our team has gotten worse in every aspect: offense, defense, special teams. The number of players that leave every offseason is galling. The inability to identify assistant coaches that are competent or allow them to actually do their jobs is mind-numbing.

To be bowl eligible, Spaz needs to go 6-3. He would need to beat at least three out of VT, FSU, Clemson (who looked damned impressive today), ND (ditto), Maryland, and NC State. It's sad to say, but the Terps and Pack are CLEARLY better teams. Wake might be better than us, too. To sum up: we're not going bowling. Not going to be close.

The best teams on campus are the soccer teams and the men's hockey team. What's the secret? Gene lets the coaches do their jobs. Learn your lesson, Flip.; 9:11 PM
janebc said...: Eagle Boston-That's what good, talented, dynamic coaches do-they look for better opportunities and move on!! So what do you do if you are the BC AD? You look for another hungry, aggressive coach eager to make a reputation---i.e., you do not sacrifice the football program for personal or professional loyalty. In other words, keep getting good coaches until BC does become a destination-being consistently mediocre will not do that.; 9:17 PM
dixieagle said...: Jane, right now mediocre is a reach, sadly.; 9:25 PM
Evertosmell said...: Florida State, Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame. Virginia Tech equal five; three losses add to eight. UMass, Wake Forest, Maryland and NC State. Realistically we're looking at a 3 -9 season at best. If we do better than that then it'll be a good year. No bowl this year, no bowl in the future without substantial changes.

Gene is bad. You don't extend a coach's contract unless you think you'll lose him. No one was looking for Spaz. Big mistake. Big money mistake. He has to stick with him.

BC never was big in football until that height challenged kid no one wanted came in from Natick and everything changed. BC has a great student body, is located in a great area, and should be a great football team with the right attitude from the administration.

But historically the Jesuits never had much interest in football. The ever to excel stuff was never intended to apply to the sports arena. Father Leahy has no interest in sports. He believes that the increase in interest at BC has nothing to do with the sports teams but with his academic ideas. That is why Gene can hire a coach such as Spaz who has no idea how to pick assistant coaches as shown by the ancient mariner pick and Roy Rogers who fled on Trigger.

A couple of years from now we'll have to be happy with a 6 - 6 bowl season when we're picked to go to a bowl in Anchorage.

Spaz hs gotten worse year after year.; 11:20 PM
eagleboston said...: Janebc,

I totally agree. I think it is clear that someone like Al Golden would have been a much better choice than Spaz. I have been a Spaz defender but I have finally seen the light. Super Mario is a complete joke and he needs to go. I used to use the argument that BC fans would have given up on Beamer way too early and we need to give Spaz time. It took Beamer 7 years to win more than 7 games in a season. 7 years!! He actually went 2-8-1 in his 6th season before Va Tech became a perennial power. The difference between Beamer and Spaz is that Beamer was a proven head coach at Murray State before moving on to Va Tech. Spaz was a lifetime assistant with no head coaching experience. It is clear now why he should never have been promoted. Hopefully, for the good of the program, Spaz will resign at the end of then season so that BC is not forced to make a massive financial buyout that will drastically limit who BC can hire as a replacement.; 11:50 PM
Edward Taylor said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12:05 AM
Edward Taylor said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12:13 AM
blockparty said...: Is that Edward Taylor, the puritan poet?; 12:27 AM
blockparty said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12:27 AM
janebc said...: Sorry, but every well-informed BC football fan I know knew from Day 1 that the Jags firing/Spaz hiring was a disaster that would result in the precise downward spiral that is happening right now. I don't believe any of us knew that the freefall would be this dramatic and rapid. It's difficult to sympathize with those involved in this debacle.; 12:31 AM
Walter said...: I think the only redeeming thing about how our fanbase is collectively reacting to the performance at the start of this season is that we at least have expectations.

It's disheartening to see on Twitter the number of people who have made it like this season is completely dead and buried, that they won't donate money, and that bc football is mired in an irredeemable state of despair.

If Freese wasn't an idiot today and if we hadn't incurred that absurd new penalty, this team could easily be 2-1.

Heck, they're not 2-1, they're 0-3. Ifs, ifs, ifs. We have not lost all three games the way we lost to UCF. And I think it's absolutely ridiculous the way people have given up on this team and this program after three games.

All football programs go through times of turbulence, and there's no reason why we should be exempt. Our best offensive player hasn't played yet. We have several other injuries elsewhere.

I will blindly be optimistic if only to aggravate everyone else as much as they aggravate me.; 12:49 AM
canttakeit said...: To Ed Taylor. I understand you are a respected alum and teacher, but for someone who entered BC at the same time as you did I am baffled by your revisionist history.

Our truly wonderful AD and true BC man, Bill Flynn brought BC through a tough and rocky period with dignity and class. He brought in a number of great basketball coaches. Wit old Number 22 he helped to put us on the map.

Though not the Ad at the time he was instrumental in bringing in Tom Coughlin. He was highly respected. He was fiercly loyal and as he aged it became difficult for him to make difficult decisions with loyal friends. enter Chet Gladchuck. Widely unpopular, but a visionary. He brought us Coughlin-major mistake with Henning-but he was going for the splash we have all been looking for since TOB. Righted it with an unusual but successful hire in TOB. Milbury was an unbelievable move. Do you remember how dead BC hockey was under Cedarchuck? Cladchuck learned at the same time as Mibury that Cedar and Ceglarski had violated NCAA rules by exceeding the scholarship limits. Through some deft moves and the help of a major alum who had kids on the team who suddenly gave up their scholarships there ware no penalties imposed. When Milbury quit he went out and got us Jerry York. He knew JOB was a fraud but could not get rid of him as his wife was dying, and he had such support from his pals at the globe. You later saw what kids of person JOB was. Chet then brought us Skinner and years of success. Conti was rocking-Alumni stadium rocked.

Napolean comes in. Almost screws up the ACC move. Do you think VT would have slid in before BC if the other Ad's were there. Then he bungles things with the big East by lying to them. We lost good rivels. You can't tell me that no matter how scummie UConn is you would not rather have a healthy hate game with them than watching BC/UMaine. Attendance declines in all sports while he is here. He gave no support to Skinner on any matter. Skinner was not his guy he wanted his own man. He has botched 2 football hirings. Jag's first team was loaded from TOB recruits. The present Bozo could have coached them to the same record. He is arogant and not well liked by other ADs. The ACC has just stepped on him like the little bug that he is. If he had any respect or clout our good teams would have gomne to better bowls. Flynn and Gladchuck got us there.

Gene must go; 1:02 AM
Eagle 1 said...: To me, the miss is inconsequential. When you struggle against Duke, you stink. When struggle at HOME against Duke, you've already lost.

The team is terrible, the parking availability is terrible, and the tailgating time limitations are terrible. The whole program and gameday experience are terrible and need an overhaul. Why go to a game, unless you're an alumnus and feel the need to do so out of a sense of obligation?; 6:59 AM
Mike said...: Mike Leach. Could be controversial but it was pretty much proven he was not at fault. He could be the answer. Will BC take that risk? Unlikely. But the option is there and it is probably one of the best options available. I hope they at least look into it.; 8:27 AM
Knucklehead said...: Boston College lost to Duke for one reason coaching.

N. Freese missed the PAT and he missed the field goal. The extra point seemed to be his fault, I didn't see the snap. The field goal 50-50 between him and Spaz.

Three reasons for the loss: 1) No coverage of the Duke RB/TE's out of the backfield until late in the 4th Q. The stats are available and to summarize they had 8-10 catches for 100 yards out of the back field. The old other time I have ever seen this in ANY college football game was when MD beat us in Chestnut Hill a couple years ago- possible last year.
2) The "Jags" kickoff at the end of the 2nd quater gave Duke the ball in good f. position with enough time. You blame the players for not stopping the drive but really why put Duke in a positon to succeed and not yuor own Defense. Asinine coaching.
3)Game management on the last drive. I want to hear the philosophy on that articulated by the coach who called for it. It doesn't make sense given the plays they called after the spike. Spike the ball and kick the field goal. Spike the ball and call a pass for the end zone to win it. You don't stop the clock and then attempt to run the clock out by handing it off 2-3 times. All that does is leave room for error . . . meaning fumbles, penalties, botched handoff's. Then you are leaving your kicker on the sideline for 5 minutes to think about the kick and he misses it.

I do not like to discuss firing people but that option has to be taken into consideration mainly in regards to the coaching staff but now also Gene D. All the coaches need to go if a change is made. Gene has coast the school MILLIONS with crummy decisions in his hiring of football coaches. Who knows what else is being miss-managed in the Athletic Department.

Final point. The team has good players. We should have won. We are better than Duke, Wake, UMASS etc. We need a new staff with a head coach who has experience being a head coach. The school sells itself to the players we want and need. We need someone managing them who knows the nuances of coaching at the head coach level . . . or at least someone who has thought about the nuances of coaching at the lead coach level.

We are a 7-8 win team if we have a coaching staff that can adapt its style during the course of a game. Meaning analyze the opposing O and D and makes changes on your O and D to benefit your team.

Sad game. At least the tailgating/weather were good.; 9:24 AM
Evertosmell said...: In today's Patriot Ledger:

""If you're going to be successful in sports, you've got to have a short term memory."
That was Boston College head coach Frank Spaziani's message after yet another crushing defeat on Saturday afternoon. Hopefully his players got the message."

That's Spaz's new line.

Next News Conference:

Reporter: "Coach. What do you do to get your team up after those losses."

Spaz: "What losses are you talking about? We're just starting the season.

Next Game:

Rettig: "What's the call for the next couple of downs, coach?"

Spaz: "What's a down?; 10:06 AM
Ry said...: I couldn't be more embarrassed by our head coach today. I wish they'd let someone else do the press conferences.; 10:21 AM
EL MIZ said...: walter, please stop blaming this on the kicker. it is asinine and illogical.

duke, which lost at home to RICHMOND, gained over 500 yards on us! it is not on the kicker man, that is just crazy and misguided. when you lose to teams that you are better than (duke, northwestern), its the coaches fault.; 10:38 AM
BCDoubleEagle said...: In other news, 'Cuse and Pitt to the ACC. We're no longer the only Yankees. I wonder if ACC will realign with north and south divisions.

BC, Pitt, Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and 1 of the North Carolina schools in the north

FSU, Miami, Gtech, Clemson and the other three North Carolina schools in the south; 10:58 AM
Big Jack Krack said...: Someone in power should quietly offer the job to Leach with the stipulation that his first year or two are fairly low paying (because of GDF's stupidity) - with the potential for hefty pay raises in the future.

If he agrees, fire Spaz and GDF together and clean house. I'm sure we could identify and hire a competent AD pretty quickly.

Enthusiastically bring exciting, winning football to Boston College. Give the players the confidence and pride to take the field with a positive attitude. Recruit, recruit, recruit. We have a great product to sell.

Let's go for it.

Otherwise, the shine coming from the empty seats in Alumni Stadium might go directly into Fr. Leahy's eyes to the embarrassment of all of us.

BC - Ever to Excel.; 11:40 AM
Evertosmell said...: You've heard coach Spaz communicate. Here's how a winning coach talks:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/6985115/mike-kryzyzewski-says-pittsburgh-panthers-syracuse-orange-coup-acc

Seriously folks - if you can't communicate you can't win.; 12:55 PM
CatabEagle said...: In positive news, Jo-lann Dunbar is getting the start at LB for the Saints today. Glad to see our guys keep producing and overachieving in the NFL. That will continue to be our biggest recruiting push as we go through these troubled times.; 1:06 PM
BCAlum2000 said...: have two degrees from BC. Both my brothers went to BC. Two of my cousins went to BC. My dad has worked at BC for over 25 years. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been truly embarrassed by my beloved alma mater. Sports wise, one was my freshman year watching the game @Pitt and thinking to myself that the team had literally thrown in the towel and actually appeared to be trying to lose only to have the gambling fiasco break literally days later. The game yesterday can now be added to the list. Forget blaming the kicker or the inept offense yet again in the second half of the fact that a once proud defense literally looks of IAA quality ... we lost at HOME to DUKE. Repeat that again, WE LOST AT HOME TO DUKE. This is as bad as losing to Temple at home in the early 90's. This is the same Duke that lost at home to IAA richmond to open the season. Not only did we lose at home to them, but worse, the coaches did not put the team in a position to win. Squib kick with 1:30 left to go in the first half resulting in Duke starting with the ball at their 40? Then play a prevent defense? Result, Duke marches down the field for a TD in about 50 seconds and takes all the momentum into the half. Allow a terrible Duke defense to make adjustments and completely shut down the offense the entire second half? Then most damming, spiking the ball to stop the clock with 50 seconds left after getting down to about the 13 yard line when Duke had two TO's and would have used one to stop the clock themself? Run the ball to the extreme right hash mark inside the five as opposed to centering it for what should have been a glorified extra point to win it? I am ashamed. I really am.

As for Walter, what is your point? Would you prefer BC alums/fans not being incensed by this? This team won 8 games in Spaz's first year. It won 7 games in his second year. They are 0-3 in his third year. Before last year, BC had lost back-to-back games I think once or twice in the previous 7+ years. They lost 5 in a row last year and have now lost 3 in a row this year. They could easily finish this season losing 5+ in a row again. This type of stuff was unheard of at BC since TOB's first days playing with a team that was half made up of walk-on's. BC had a top 15 winning % nationally over the 2000-2009 or so period and now suddenly we are dreaming of getting just one win. You think this is ok?; 3:07 PM
WI_Eagle said...: Now UConn "aggressively" looking at joining ACC....Ultimately I want conference stability for BC and understand that that means the ACC expanding to 16, but if there is a "north" division its just going to look like the old Big East...ugh; 3:11 PM
BCAlum2000 said...: BTW, I like Spaz. He was a tremendous defensive coordinator and has been fiercely loyal to BC. He just is not a good head coach. He is not the first great coordinator to not be up to the job of the head man. It happens. Maybe had he had a chance to be a head coach at some lower level when he was younger he would have been more prepared. Fact is, there was a reason he was 60+ and had never been a head coach. This was a bad hire from day one and Gene should be held accountable for this as well. Speaking of the ego-maniac named Gene, after chasing off BC's winningest football coach, mens basketball coach and women's basketball coach, its now time for the school to chase him off.; 3:16 PM
mod34b said...: To those late to joining the anti-Spaz camp, welcome.

Agreed: For the good of BC, Spaz must go. Not this week, but this year. Spaz is hurting BC by failing to field a competitive ACC team and being a general doofus.

Sure GDF deserves plenty of blame for promoting Spaz (and lots of credit for many good things he has done) , but the name of the game is not to punish bad boys, but to put BC back into a pro-competitive position. Firing GDF and Spaz together will not achieve that goal. The dual upheaval of replacing the AD and HC is too much and would actually hurt BC in the short term.

So I think the question is not WILL GDF fire SPAZ, the question is WHEN -- when does it make most sense for the future good of BC. My guess in December, not now; 3:21 PM
blockparty said...: theres no way spaz is fired during the season. none. if we are lucky, he might be let go or step down or whatever at the end of a 1-11 season. there is still a chance that gene decides to 'honor his contract' and keep him on board though. no way in hell, though, he gets the shown the door before thanksgiving.; 3:32 PM
Big Jack Krack said...: We must root for our players now more than ever - and look for bits of improvement every week.

Maybe we can pull off one unbelievable win this year against a superior opponent. That's where we are and it hurts to watch this downward spiral. I thought we had a chance for 8 and 4 this year with a potential bowl win. To think we will attain something so much less - something so much more shameful is hurtful.

The drop off is astonishing.

Assuming that we do not lose to UMASS, we have reached the bottom point - a home loss to Duke with no expectation of beating anyone else on our schedule after next Saturday. Wow - 3 years removed from the ACCCG

Have the recruiting classes of Spaziani been better than the recruiting classes of Jags? TOB's last class wasn't so hot, so we're on a pretty good streak of sub par recruiting years. That's how long it will take us to get back.; 4:27 PM
Brett said...: I didn't get to watch the first three games on TV (thank goodness!), but is it possible that we win 4-5 games? An 0-12 season would be fantastic in a certain way, as everything would change, but I have this terrible suspicion that the team will pull enough wins out of who-knows-where to keep Spaz's job. Possible?

As a reference point, I'm also a big UW Huskies fan and have vivid memories from Ty Willingham's 0-12 season. By the end the writing was on the wall and you just felt bad for the players. We didn't know it at the time, but this was also Jag's last year. I remember telling a friend that I was really glad to have Jags, a coach that (at the time) I trusted with my team, as opposed to a coach with no idea what was going on. A year later, situation was completely reversed.

There was a great positive in that we saw a TOTAL cleaning house and the current coaching staff (Steve Sarkisian, Nick Holt) is phenomenal. Even without the talent level of some opponents, I always feel like the coaching staff is aggressive enough and smart enough that we have a chance in every game (case in point: leading at #11 Nebraska for most of 1st half this weekend) I just feel like I'm a St. Louis Rams fan hoping my team loses every game so that I can get Sam Bradford.; 5:12 PM
Walter said...: El Miz,

It's equally asinine and illogical to pretend that the kicker didn't cost us this game when you dont need to do anything but to look at the final score to see that had we scored four more points (or even 1 more to force overtime) we would have won.

I'm all about blaming Spaz's horrific playcalling, etc. But give blame where blame is due. Don't miss easy chipshot field goals and we don't lose this game.

BCalum,

I don't expect much of our fans because our fans love to be negative far more than they love to be positive.

Spaz hasn't been a good head coach and he needs to leave. But I don't think it's fair to retroactively go back and say his first 8 win season (and to a lesser extend his second 7 win season) were that abysmal. There was legitimate ACC coach of the year talk for his first season and, like it or not, it was still something for the team to turn around a 2-5 start into a bowl game appearance.; 6:58 PM
Eagles2294 said...: I see UConn is aggressively trying to join the ACC. The hypocrisy of Uconn is nothing short of amazing. what happened to their loyalty to the Big East etc? Syracuse too is a big hypocrite. When the ACC did not invite them several years ago they were very critical of BC's move-mostly because they did not get the invitation. now, per reports, Syracuse and Pitt conducted secret talks with the ACC to leave the Big East. Therefore the lesson learned is that when Uconn and Syracuse do something it is for noble motives when someone else does the same thing it is reprehensible.; 7:32 PM
Ryan said...: Walter - the missed extra point meant nothing. If we made that, Duke doesn't (unsuccessfully) go for two and the score difference is the same. Spaz for ACC coach of the year in his first year? Utter joke.

Spaz has lost this team. If it isn't apparent by their body language and quotes in interviews, you aren't looking hard enough.; 7:39 PM
EL MIZ said...: walter, the point you are missing is that it shouldn't come down to making a chipshot field goal to win a home game against duke. that was a game we should have won but deserved to lose due to the embarassing "coaching not to lose" strategy.

i get it, the kicker missed the field goal and simple math shows that a field goal would have won the game. but when the final score should have been 31-17 BC, you can't blame a kicker for missing a kick on the last play when BC offense and defense was so thoroughly outplayed for the entire second half. the game is 60 minutes long and a kicker is on the field for like 5 plays. yes, had he made the kick we would have won the game, but his missing the kick was not the reason BC lost.

the only way i can see spaz getting fired during the season is if we lose next week to umass at home. if we are 0-4 after the 4 easiest games on the schedule, and we lose to a regional 1-AA "rival" at home on parents weekend, that justifies a firing. otherwise, i think spaz will be forced to coach out the season.; 8:03 PM
Colin said...: Agree with El Miz. Only way he goes before the season out is if he squeezes out a turd against UMass. And at this point, I don't think I'd rule it out.

Otherwise, I think we're stuck with the Stache until the end of the season at least. Makes my stomach turn. How far we have fallen.

As for ACC shake-up talk. I understand the sentiment put out earlier that if now UConn and potentially Rutgers bring the ACC to 16, then a Northern Division would just be like bringing back the old Big East. However, I think the higher ups in the ACC would recognize this, and try to design a divisional format that includes teams from the whole coastline instead of a Civil War north v south set up.; 9:19 PM
eddierock said...: I have been watching BC since 1978. This is the most inept I have seen, by far. I wish I were optimistic that BC would make the required changes. Sadly, I am not.; 9:32 PM
Walter said...: Ryan/El Miz,

I don't disagree that we should never have been in that position. But we were and the players need to perform when we need them to. Freese shouldn't have missed that last kick and that was the sole non-hypothetical reason why we lost the game. It's all well and good to say BC should beat certain opponents by such and such a score. But for the six years I"ve been following BC fb, we always play to our opponents (except when we get crushed) and seldom put any away with authority.

That's not all on Spaz.; 9:38 PM
janebc said...: Yes Walter, Most importantly they have to keep taking a knee with 40 seconds left in the half, so they wont run the risk of putting any points on the board.; 9:51 PM
CT said...: The fact that we're now competitive with Duke at home is hilarious.

"We should have made two kicks. We would've won...."

Welcome to minor-league football...

Loyal minor-league football, though...

To think how far this team/program is from big boy football is depressing...; 10:07 PM
blockparty said...: walter, if freese makes that kick yesterday and we win 22-20, do you feel good about the win, about the team, about the direction we are headed?

hell. no.; 10:34 PM
Walter said...: Yeah I get that Charles. But if we're 1-2 do you honestly think that game still generates nearly the same level of vitriol and hyperbole as it has?

Had we won, we would have been 1-0 in the ACC and in a more reasonable place to assess what the heck went down with our recently hired and fired (?) offensive coordinator. Instead, we have everyone and their mother coming out of the woodwork to say the program is in a shambles (after three games) and that nothing can be done short of firing everyone.

I admit I have a biased, optimistic perspective on BC since I had the great fortune to be introduced to it during Matt Ryan's best years. I don't reasonably believe those years were a fluke and shouldn't be achievable again soon.

And janebc, yeah, our offensive conservatism blows. No one disputes that. Doesn't change the fact that Freese should have made the kicks.; 10:46 PM
BillBarty said...: BC lost to a team that lost to Richmond. End of story! Spaz should be gone after this season. I get that this team is young but there are so many internal issues with the staff. I feel bad for Spaz that his dream job hasn't worked out and I wish he would succeed. He's not a Head Coach. Time to move on and if he's here next year then the suffering is only going to get worse and it will take the next hire quite a long time to rebuild. Football generates a ton of money for BC and the administration cannot afford to have a losing program. Loyal fans are at a minimum. You guys get where I'm going. There's nothing that hasn't been said on this blog that would be earth shattering. We all know in our hearts that Spaz must go after this season or BC is in big trouble.; 12:36 AM
Lenny Sienko said...: For Walter:

Part of being a college head coach and a loyal alum is that you do not criticize some teenage kid for missing a kick. That comes under the heading of an adult assuming responsibility for the program.

I don't care who does it... TOB... Spaz...or the posters on this blog; cliched as it sounds, you don't throw your players "...under the bus...". The classy coach goes over to the who screwed up, puts a hand on his shoulder and tells him "...you'll make the next one...".

That same coach should stand in front of the microphones and take responsibility for the loss and for the status of his program. If anyone criticizes any of his players, coach cuts them off at the knees. The players need to know that their coach believes in them.

The problem is not our kicker or our other kids, the problem is the adults.; 2:32 AM
Darius said...: Lenny: remember #6 OK-State coach Mike Gundy's "I'm a grown man!" press conference rant? A good coach goes to great/embarrassing lengths to protect his players from those who blame them; the buck stops here! A bad coach passes the buck, and does that blaming himself.; 4:18 PM