Second viewing thoughts and grades: Virginia Tech

During the game it felt like the Offense was the big problem and everything else fell apart later. That wasn't the case. The D was making mistakes from the start and had no answer for VT's new offense. There was no pressure and they made us do things we don't do well (zone). I don't feel good about the team right now. Mostly because of the coaching, but also because of how the players reacted during the game.

Offense: F

Towles looked terrible. His passing was rough and his decision making worse. He gave up on plays way too early. Why is he so quick to throw it out of bounds? If the guys are not open, tuck it and run! We actually moved the ball a bit when he was outside the pocket. Wade got his first real ACC action of the year. He wasn't allowed to do much and what he did, didn't impress. He's not a great runner.

VT was waiting on the run, but Hilliman has got to make at least one guy miss. Or run over a guy or two. When he doesn't break something, his touches become worthless. Rouse and Willis weren't given much to do within the Offense.

The OLine wasn't the problem, but they weren't good. Too many penalties and too many mistakes. The guys who struggled were Schmal, Lowery and Montiero.

The WRs had a rough day. Walker's fumble was huge and in replay you saw that it wasn't some big hit. There was a glancing blow and the ball got loose. Smith didn't make enough plays. Sweeney dropped a near TD. As a group their blocking wasn't great either.

Things looked okay early. Loeffler spread things about and got Towles on the move. But as BC fell behind, we seemed to abandon that idea and go through an awkward mix of big and spread. None of it worked. When things are falling apart like that, I pray that the OC can put some simple series of plays in to calm the team and move the ball just a bit. Clearly Loeffler doesn't think like me. We had nothing that we could execute under pressure.

Defense: F

The problems on defense started up front. Virginia Tech ran to the edges and negated much of our strength inside. But as a group these guys did not control the line. Where was Gutapfel? He usually gets good penetration. Landry lost contain a few times on scoring drives. Kavalec was very active but also got pushed around on the line. Ray made a play, but also missed some tackles.

This was the worst game of Milano's time at BC. He missed too many tackles, looked less aggressive and struggled covering their slot guys and RBs in the passing game. Strachan and Schwab were not great either. None of the guys made plays or disrupted like they did the first two weeks. Because of the score Bletzer got more playing time and looked ok.

McClary got called for Pass Interference twice, but I thought he played better than most of the DBs. He made the play on balls, he just got too handsy with their WRs. Johnson and Harris missed some tackles. Moore and Yiadom -- who were both great last year -- struggled in coverage.

Beyond the missed tackles, we had some scheme issues. BC rarely blitzed and couldn't get pressure with the front four. We played a lot of zone and they picked it apart. They also really made our LBs look bad in coverage. Maybe the UMass and Georgia Tech gave the staff a false sense of what the team can do. We need to start blitzing more soon. It is what this program was built to do.

Special Teams: C

I felt bad for Max Richardson being called for a block in the back on Willis' return. It was a borderline call and would have changed the mood of the game.

The punts were decent and the coverage was okay considering how many times BC kicked it away!

Overall: F

Good programs and good coaches are occasionally on the wrong end of an ass kicking. Look at Florida State this weekend. When I went back through BC's history, Notre Dame pounding Coughlin nears the top of the list of worst defeats. It is forgivable. But how you handle it in the game and after is what really matters.

I thought Addazio should have done more during the game. Why not try to score on fourth down? Why not go with Wade earlier? Why not air it out? Find a spark. Find a new answer. Don't just mail in the game. That sort of attitude teaches the team nothing and provides no helpful data to the coaches.

I don't think this team is as bad as the score. But I think the Addazio version of BC Football is on life support. If he is truly going to build a winner here, he needs to salvage this season and avoid further embarrassment. He's let games slip away, but at least BC fought in those games. If BC can't even keep things close, then we've entered lame duck mode.