Thursday, September 14, 2017

BC-Notre Dame preview

The losing coach of this game is a dead man. I don't think either will get fired Monday, but the  loser's respective hole would probably be too big to overcome this season. If BC pulls off an upset, the Irish fans will be done with Kelly. It is one thing to lose to good BC teams, but to lose to one that just got waxed by Wake will be hard to rationalize. Addazio needs a big win to change momentum and perception. Winning this week buys him some time this year and gives the fans and team belief that they can win any game on the schedule.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
I know it is hard for me to criticize Shaughnessy's BC hit piece considering I also asked if anyone cared about BC-Notre Dame. But one thing Dan overlooked when talking about Boston as a college town, is that you could argue College Football and BC Football is more popular than the Celtics or Bruins. Our TV ratings and the ratings for non-BC games in Boston are generally higher than those teams' regular season ratings. Even in down times, we have larger per game attendance numbers than those too. I understand that the weekly nature of football vs the multi-night nature of basketball and hockey makes it a little bit of apples and oranges. But my point is that football is still king nationally and locally. BC will always be a niche player in Boston, but being the second biggest football program after the Patriots is a big deal. Now we just need to turn that status into more wins and more tickets sold.

Three Simple Keys
1. Hit open receivers. Wake had 0 respect for our passing game and their pass coverage showed it. I predict Notre Dame will do the same thing, only they have better defensive talent than Wake. If BC has open WRs and TEs, we have to get them the ball.
2. Force Turnovers. Notre Dame fumbled twice against Georgia and Wimbush was lucky not to have a INT. BC needs to overwhelm him with different looks and hope the makes mistakes.
3. Play your best players the vast majority of snaps. Addazio explained that he doesn't want Landry playing 70 or 80 snaps a game. Guess what, coach? By switching to an uptempo offense, everyone is going to get stretched thin and play more. I understand that he needs to be fresh and our offense can help by scoring more, but get your best players out on the field at all times.

Gambling Notes
-- Addazio is 14-13 at home as BC's Head Coach
-- BC has lost five straight to the Irish
-- Addazio is 11-13 following a loss as BC's Head Coach
The current line is BC+13.5

Factoid
It has been nine years since BC last beat Notre Dame. (I know the concept of eras is subjective, but that really feels like a different era of BC Football.)

Scoreboard Watching
The only people outside of Virginia who should care about UConn-UVA are BC fans. When I looked at the season, I saw those two teams as probable wins. Now nothing is probable. Perhaps this game will tell us if either team is really a potential win for us.

What I hope to see...
An explosive offensive play. I may be delusional, but I think there is talent on the offensive side of the ball. I think there are multiple guys who are just one block or one missed tackle away from breaking something. It would be nice for that to happen this week.

BC is in trouble if...
Any of the backup QBs play. Wade showed very little last week. While there is plenty of good word of mouth about the young QBs, do you trust any of them to come off the bench and lead a comeback against Notre Dame?

Overall
I really want BC to win this one. I want to see Brian Kelly turn purple. I want some optimism around the program. I want to look forward to Anthony Brown's future. I am trying to talk myself into a victory, but I am just not seeing it. I think BC comes out fired up and keeps it close for a half. I think some offensive mistakes kill momentum and we lose. The loss is close enough that Daz can still talk his growing pains nonsense.
Final Score: BC 14, Notre Dame 20

24 comments:

JBQ said...

The Landry situation is really a "head scratcher". He is a "cat among mice". He needs to play all four downs and be in the flow and not to cool down when muscles tend to relax.

BCEagles2014 said...

You predicted a blowout win against Wake last week, so maybe things will swing the other way for us.

Ok in all seriousness, ND is going to POUND BC for 4 quarters. Especially after losing a heartbreaker at Georgia, ND is going to blow us out to get back into the top 25. Vegas clearly doesn't know how putrid we really are and have set a very generous betting line at -13.5 ND. I don't gamble much, but this is just easy money.

The silver lining to this beatdown is that it will make it further certain that Daz is gone after this season. I have faith Jarmond can utilize his connections from his days at OSU and MSU to find a much improved replacement. Maybe someone who is also young and hungry and will look to make a big splash in their first head coaching gig. I'm fine with coaches using BC as a stepping stone to advance their careers. If we have a continued period of success by attracting these types of coaches, we'll eventually no longer be viewed as a stepping stone but a desired destination instead.

Shabby1011 said...

52-7 ND... BC scores late TD in 4th vs ND 3rd team..Dazzler fate is sealed...will be there in full force at 12:30 tailgating our asses off thou hoping for a miracle

knucklehead said...

The SEC refs were covering for ND throughout the Georgia game. Expect the same from the ACC refs. BC will start the game well and be excited but the refs will quash that. We aren't able to overcome it and ultimately we get smoked.

3:30 on Saturday is a nice time slot but now everyone will see how poor we are. There is no scenario where we win this game.

Later Dazzler.

John said...

Oh boy - I hope not.

Worst defeats at Alumni:

2010 ND 31 BC 13 - thanks Spaz

2012 ND 21 BC 6 - thanks Spaz

The series is even at Alumni - 3 wins, 3 losses.

Let's go Eagles.

Unknown said...

I really want to see BC win this game. Just one time…breaking the curse so to speak. I also want to see Brian Kelly turn purple; blue would be better. I too want some optimism around the program accompanied with a come to Jesus type of revival meeting. I want to look forward to Anthony Brown becoming a star in the ACC.

I talked myself into a victory, and I am seeing a trap game; another USC type of victory. I think BC comes out fired up, keeps it close for a half and then pulls away in the fourth quarter. GO EAGLES!

Shabby1011 said...

Over/Under for BC scoring is 20pts combined over the next two games and the under is getting buried.

Late meaningless touchdown on Saturday and a shutout in Death Valley.

I hope for better for the players sake but they are not getting the appropriate ACC level coaching. We are going on 3 years of absolutely anemic offensive football. Last week was the low point vs Wake at home to open season

Geezer eagle said...

Will the rah-rahs on here please get a grip on reality. This team is mid- level MAC talent and may even have trouble winning the Patriot League. For God's sake, enough of the rediculous optimism.

Tim said...

John,
The series is 4-5 at BC. The wins were in 94, 01, 03 and 08. I had the pleasure of attending the 01, 03, and 08 games, back when we fielded a competitive football team.

modest34b said...

USC redux? Nah. In fact no way

In 2014 BC had an elite running QB (murphy) 2 future NFL OL (Silverman and Gallic) and 2 On-the-cusp NFLers (vardato and Betancourt). oL with Spaz-men + transfer was good

"The Eagles 452 yards rushing is most allowed by USC since Texas A&M gained 486 in the 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl. The team media guide only lists two games under the "RUSHING YARDAGE game" record, but that number is in the ballpark (477 vs. St. Anselm in 1941 and 511 vs. UMass in 1973). The total is most likely the most rushing yards BC has ever hung on a ranked opponent."

Nothing remotely like this will happen Saturday.

EL MIZ said...

ATL's post a couple days ago said it all - in 3 years post Day, the Daz-led offense has scored over 21 points once against an ACC opponent. ND's ACC affiliation is ambiguous but they are on that level. doubt we score over 21 here, and the Don Brown influence on the D is long gone. Daz will tell us Brown needs more "seasoning" and lament how he needs to burn redshirts in the post game presser as his seat gets scalding hot. ND 45 BC 13

John said...

Tim - thanks. I somehow forgot to include either 01 or 03 from memory.

Re: the 5 ND wins in Boston, I think only 3 occurred at Alumni.
1 was in Foxborough and 1 was in Fenway Park.

So, actually we are 4 and 3 at Alumni.

I was trying to give myself a glimmer of hope. 🙂

Unknown said...

Considering the type of qb Anthony Brown why hasn't Doug Flutie been brought in to work with him? Why isn't Doug the quarter backs coach ?

Lenny Sienko said...

Anne Marie:

Doug Flutie is employed as the"color" commentator on the ND broadcasts.

He's also doing commercials for Dr. Pepper and others.

Add in his charity work and I'd say he has a full plate; but, you are right, if you think DAZ doesn't share the spotlight with anybody.

JERZeagle said...

I've noticed this more and more.... Why do people reference the "USC win" like it was a big deal? They finished 9-4 that year and ended up just outside the top 20 in the rankings. Am I missing something? Yea, and they beat us by 4 scores the year before that anyways.

Also Wasn't their coach at the time the guy who bounced around because of a drinking problem?

We were bad that year and we are even worse now. Betting notre dame will be easy money this weekend. Wish it weren't the case, but this guy Daz is such a clown.

Unknown said...

Addazio already said that Landry is a pass rushing specialist who you save for 3rd down or 2nd and long situations. He's not going to play him every down.

Unknown said...

31-6 ND.

knucklehead said...

Doesn't make sense he would come back in order to improve his draft position and play less.

He is hurt.

Tim said...

JERZ
Agreed. USC was overrated when we played them (it was early in the season) so the win seemed like a bigger accomplishment at the time. That being said, it was an exciting game in front of a packed house on prime time TV and BC beat a marquee opponent. When is the last time we could say that?

Eagle Esquire said...

2008 VT at alumni maybe.

The Tall One said...

There is not a chance in the world I would compare the BC Eagles football program's popularity against the Bruins or Celtics. And to say they're the #2 behind the Patriots - there is no other D1 football program in the Boston area. The only other D1 in the state is UMASS and they're based out in Amherst. So quit fooling yourself. They're #2 because there is no #3. And the margin of difference between your #1 and #2 is infinite. That's how terrible this team is and this program has become.

Vegas's over/under for points is 51.5. I'd be willing to bet ND wins 42-7 or something ridiculous like that. BC is going to get smoked tomorrow and it's going to be extremely painful to watch.

Napolean Bonaparte said...

The reality: We will probably get killed. We are a program that has been largely treading water for nearly a decade and have not beaten them for 9 years.

The hope: The team plays out of their minds and the coaches don't screw it up.

CT said...

More misdirection, less Hilliman, more TEs. Definitely more White. As in, Kobay, for the 'flakes.

Big Jack Krack said...

Quickly checked out the on-line additions of the Boston Globe and Boston Herald this morning.

Friday - with ND arriving and playing BC tomorrow - I didn't see any mention of the game, or coverage of any kind.

Must have missed the articles somehow.

Yeah, I get it. Apathy has set in long ago, and interest is low no matter who the opponent is.

I'm still trying to maintain my own interest from 1,000 miles away, and so I have to believe that a victory is possible.

Go BC - beat Notre Dame.

Guess what - it can be done.