BC-Arizona preview

One of the things I forgot about when your team goes bowling is how long the layoff feels. The Syracuse game seems like ages ago. Even though we got healthy, I don't know how much the layoff helps us. We were playing well when the season ended. Now we have to regroup and execute. I know Addazio will have the team pumped up for the game. The bigger question is will the OL and Andre have any rust?

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
Next year the pseudo College Playoff starts. That probably means the end to all the bowls like this. Since the playoff begins with just four teams, these meaningless bowls will keep going for a few years, but eventually the playoff will expand to eight teams and then 16. With all that money going to the college football tournament, ESPN will not need to keep supporting this many bowls. This means fewer games for BC, but at the same time it is encouraging. We will never be rewarded or recognized in the current set up (for a variety of reasons). But we should encourage a system where we can play our way in. Plus the pressure created by the "playoff" will create a lot more instability with traditional powers. That pressure will leave opportunities for BC as the powers go through frequent coaching changes.

Three Simple Keys
1. Go big early. Arizona runs a 3-3-5. That means we should have huge size advantages in the run game. I say start the game with multiple Tight Ends and make them stop us.
2. Pass to keep the honest. I am sure they will try to duplicate Syracuse's strategy of crashing all the gaps to stop Andre. As we saw against Syracuse, that will open up big pass plays.
3. Don't let other guys beat us. Carey is going to get big numbers and Arizona is out to prove he's the best running back. While we obviously have to do our best to stop him, we cannot let other guys go off. This means play sound assignments, tackle well, bring pressure and all that "dude" stuff.

Gambling Notes
-- ESPN's projections favor Arizona by 11
-- Addazio is 1-0 in bowls
-- Rodriguez is 3-5 in bowl games
The current lines is BC+7.5

Factoid
There are now 35 Bowl games. BC has played in 15 of them. We've played in three others that are no longer active. (This depends on who claims each defunct bowl's history.)

Scoreboard Watching
The only game that really matters (other than this one) is the BCS Championship. I don't care how you feel about Florida State, but we need them to win. It will be great for the conference and good for BC. It might seem lame to sell another school as part of your recruiting pitch, but it works. If Florida State wins, Addazio can go into homes and say "you'll play against the best team in the country and you can win a Championship from the ACC."

I hope to see...
Amidon and Rettig connect for at least one more big touchdown. Because of our record in the final Spaz years and because of Andre Wiliams' emergence this season, these two have been somewhat overlooked. They are going to finish their BC careers as the most productive QB-WR duo in school history. Congrats to both.

BC is in trouble if...
We drop catchable balls. Rettig's stats would have been better if the guys were able to hold on to all the passes that came their way. I think this game will be high scoring. We cannot let good plays go bad in this game. 

Bottom Line
My guess is neither Defensive Coordinator has slept well since this pairing was announced. Both teams offenses matchup very well against the opposing team's porous D. In a way I think it will be a bit like the Army game where BC just needs to hold serve for the first half and wait for them to stall out or make a mistake. I think it will be relatively high-scoring and we will wear them down in the end. Andre goes over 200+ yards and BC finishes the season 8-5.
Final Score: BC 35, Arizona 24