Saturday was a mixed bag. Some players finished the season strong and played like they cared. Others didn't. It happens when there is little at stake. What's frustrating is that like so many other games this year, BC could have and probably should have won this game.
Offense: C-
Jeff Smith wasn't as bad as his passing stats indicated. He wasn't good through the air, but the INTs were not bad decisions...just somewhat unlucky. Wofford and Robinson dropped catchable balls. And a few were purposely thrown away. His running was his best of the year. He finally kept the ball on more options and it led to a few longer drives. If Daz follows through on his plan to change the offense, then this was probably Smith's last start. I still think the kid has potential. He and BC didn't find it this year.
Tyler Rouse ran hard and made some nice cuts. Willis only played sparingly. Wofford blocked well enough and missed a pass that came his way. Wilson got one touch.
Robinson looked bad. I know he's new to the position, but there is no excuse for so many drops. Smith caught the only pass that counted. Callinan blocked well but also got called for a penalty. So did Dudeck. The Tight Ends didn't catch anything either, but the Burke, Sweeney combo blocked better than Tight Ends have all season.
The Offensive Line was really inconsistent. One play they would look good. The next it looked like they would get Smith killed. Monteiro looked good on the run plays. He missed on a few pass plays. Harris Williams had his best game of the season. Bowen struggled. Baker had some good moments. It was his assignment that tipped the second INT.
The passing game was a mess, the blocking, the catching and Smith's throws. But I feel like if we had used this offense -- Pistol with heavy read option -- all year, we win six games. That may sound silly in a loss, but I feel that sort of commitment would have sprung bigger plays from Smith and might have opened other things. How fitting that Fitch called his best game in our season finale and we still lost.
Defense: C+
Landry and Abdesmad had great games. Wujciak and Gutapfel did not. Those two guys have been huge difference makers all year. Saturday Wujciak looked a step slow and got pushed around. Gutapfel made some mistakes and missed tackles. Kavalec was okay. Moore missed a tackle. Ray got in some action.
Milano was very good. Yet if he makes the INT late, we go to OT. Daniels played well enough. Strachan had a few issues in coverage but was fine.
Simmons played well. Yiadom looked back to his preinjury form. Johnson was just ok. McClary was fine. Harris was ok.
Because Syracuse does a lot of funky stuff (lots of old school options and pitches), you have to play back. Brown didn't get super aggressive and I feel like it cost us. We should have put more pressure on. That was not a good offense and we allowed them to move the ball too freely.
Special Teams: C+
Walker was one of the bright spots of the season. I look forward to him returning kicks next year. We've also been very good in our blocking on returns.
I was glad to see Lichtenberg make a field goal. What was up with the kicks out of bounds? Both were costly.
Howell was fine. As was the punt coverage. We didn't return any punts, but Smith handled them without issue.
Overall: D
Some might wonder, why the lower overall grade when each unit rated higher. No one unit played all that well on Saturday, but all playing poorly leads to another bad grade for Addazio. Most frustrating was his willingness to eat yet another possession before the half. I was also frustrated he didn't use his timeouts earlier on the final drive, but the way Cuse moved the ball meant it didn't matter.
Losing another close game is bad luck but also bad coaching.
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You wouldn't know it from reading this blog, but our men's soccer team just advanced to the elite eight of the NCAA tournament for only the second time in program history, our men's hockey team is 12-1 and Jerry York is closing on on his 1,000th career coaching win, and the women's hockey team is 17-0.
I encourage everyone to take a short break from the usual Steve Addazio hand-wringing to appreciate that BC has several teams that are representing the university in stellar fashion these days.
The clock management before the half was maddening and reminded me of Spaz more than any other moment this season. Forcing a punt with about 1:40 to play and down 3 with all 3 timeouts. BC fielded the punt at the 20. At least try to get to within field goal range with all that time left. Our running in the first half had been strong enough that we could have kept the clock running.
The decision making then just truly, truly made no sense.
ATL - i along with i would assume many others would like your opinion on this season and Addazio's future. does he deserve a 4th year? how hot is his coaching seat right now? any gossip regarding changes to the offensive coaching staff (IE firing Fitch)?
I really dont have a problem with Addazio's pre-half clock management at this point. What do you really expect him to do ?
They're not moving the ball at all and letting Smith go out there and chuck it is going to result in a pick/points/momentum (for Syracuse) going to half. If having Addazio use his timeouts so he can run it 3 times into the half makes you feel better, then fine, but what do you realistically expect him to do on offense with little time left to change the scope of the game.
Have a little perspective, take a step back, and think about what we all just sat thru for the past 3 months. One of the WORST OFFENSES in the country. Pre-half time clock management should be the least of your concerns at this point.
Unknown
Good analysis. How do u manage the clock for a kicker who can't kick, and an offense that's a t/o waiting to happen. So much of what Daz is doing here is trying not to give the game away.
"Losing another close game is bad luck but also bad coaching" 1/2 right. It is actually all just bad coaching at practice and on the field.
As for BC's game #'s, please note that Syracuse has the worst defense in the ACC and allows over 430 yards a game and 32 points. BC got to about half of Syracuse's woeful average.
Is that an improvement? no.
"The passing game was a mess, the blocking, the catching and Smith's throws. But I feel like if we had used this offense -- Pistol with heavy read option -- all year, we win six games. That may sound silly" - Yes, it does sound very silly.
Marcus Outlow transferring out of BC and Eric Hoffses is saying that there are strong rumors of others following. Interesting and would seem to have validity. For instance, why was Tyler Rouse the featured back in SYRACUSE ??? I believe that the continued chaotic substitutions may have " irritated" more than a few kids who feel that they have been sat down for no VALID reason . It will be interesting to follow this situation and " are others going to transfer ?? "
The other RB transfer is going to be Jordan Gowins, no inside info just an educated guess (recently started following Stony Brook coaches on Twitter and was with Outlow in CT this weekend while team was on road in Cuse).
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