Thursday, September 07, 2017

BC-Wake Forest preview

After finishing last season's ACC slate with Wake, the two teams are back at it again. They kick off ACC play at Alumni on Saturday. That means both teams have some familiarity with one another, but are also expecting some new twists. BC will bring a faster pace to this game and Wake has a new Defensive staff. Although it is only Game 2 on the season, this remains critical for Addazio. He needs the momentum and the W heading into the heart of the season.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
This will be Martin Jarmond's first home game as AD. I don't think there will be noticeable changes or any problems since there are enough experienced operations people around to see that everything goes smoothly. I am interested to hear about fan reaction to him and how he mingles with the crowd. I don't think he should be checking IDs at the new beer stand or playing cornhole on among the tailgaters, but I do hope he is visible and engaging. It would mean a lot to the long-time fans.

Three Simple Keys
1. Explosive plays in the running game. Like NIU, Wake will probably crowd the line. If so, BC needs to break through that first level and get some big runs.
2. Bring more pressure. BC was fairly conservative on D last week. This week, I want to see that elite DLine get to the quarterback over and over.
3. Red zone scoring. It was great to convert field goals last week, but we need more drives to get into the end zone. That's on Brown, Loeffler and Addazio.

Gambling Notes
-- Addazio is 10-22 in ACC games at BC
-- Addazio is 14-12 at Alumni
-- Addazio is 3-1 in home openers
Most sites have this game as a pick'em.

Factoid
Addazio's first ACC game as BC head coach was against Wake.

Scoreboard Watching
Auburn-Clemson might not have the same importance as last week's Alabama-FSU game, but it will still be a measuring stick. It is our chance to see how the ACC stacks up against another Power 5 team and our chance to see some of Clemson's new starters.

What I hope to see...
All the running backs get significant touches. There is depth at the position. Let's see what these guys can do. Be creative, Loeffler!

BC is in trouble if...
If we can't get positive plays from the power runs. Even with all the offensive changes, Addazio has staked much of his reputation and BC's personnel on power running between the tackles. It would be a bad sign if we still cannot do it efficiently.

Overall
I think we see real improvement in BC from Week 1 to Week 2. I think the OLine plays better, the D is more aggressive and the mistakes are minimized. I see BC going up early and controlling most of the rest of the way.
Final Score: BC 28, Wake Forest 13

24 comments:

Erik said...

O Line run blocking is still a concernDid I see that Baker is out? Could be a tough break for us, resulting in more Hilliman runs between 1 and -2 yards.

Unknown said...

BC will have to play a hell of a lot better than they did last Friday if they want to beat Wake. Hopefully the o-line can open up some big holes for Hilliman and Dillon. Defense needs to prevent big plays however I guess that comes with the territory of being an aggressive defense. Overall this game is anything but a guaranteed win, BC will have to play their best if they want to win.

John said...

Will we maybe see Levy as well?

John said...

Yes, Baker is out. Oh Boy.

Leonard is out, so Chris Lindstrom - welcome to the ACC.

Didn't we have 2 Sullivan brothers from the South Shore 20 years ago? Now we have 2 Lindstroms.

John said...

Meant to say welcome Alec.

John said...

"Hello - this is Lawrence Kansas - is there anyone there?"

John said...

Which is from the 1983 movie The Day After ....... Relevant today.

But meant in this context Is there any BC fan there who cares to make a comment or offer an observation?

The build up for this game is flat, flat, flat! Not a good sign.

knucklehead said...

I don't care much about Jarmond or the game day operations. I care about the team improving and winning games.

Jarmond is going to increase ROI, "diversify" the athletic department staff(too many Catholics around the department - sarcasm), take all the credit he can for what he has "accomplished" and then leave in 5 years. He has no affiliation to the school other than his paycheck.

He will do a good job and be a footnote in the department history. There won't be "Flynn" fund named for him - in other words.

You cannot be on Shea now without a wristband. So you give them six dollars and then get a wristband.

How the fuck did they get to $6 dollars? Not 5 or 10 but 6? There will probably be some asshole there with a credit card "swiper." It costs to much to count the cash, hold it in reserve until Monday and send someone to the bank to deposit it.

Shabby1011 said...

There was tent in Gillette parking lot tonight of BC athletic department reps with sign that said FREE BC Football tickets...MJ has work cut out for him, not good

bceagle91 said...

ATL, all the best to you and your family next week with Irma coming up.

perkindc said...

94% certain a bunch of Jesuit faculty plays cornhole on top of St. Mary's every Thursday night.

Napolean Bonaparte said...

Addazio gets paid well over $2 million a year and has had year's to develop a two deep OL that can compete at the ACC level. And the best he could do at the critical center position is use an underweight inexperienced freshman? WTF.

modest34b said...

Where is the depth chart? Daz is -again - hiding info

Wake released its depth chart a few days ago.

Their OL and DL are experienced. DL has some excellent players.

I hope Loeffler. Continues with an air attack. Running. Into the line won't work vs Wake.

Going to be a tough game.

NEDofSavinHill said...

Hope Baker's injury is short lived. Hope everyone is safe from Irma. Would it make more sense to put the elder Linstrom at center and replace him at guard with Schmal or Petrula? Lazard could play tackle. 2. Tom Brady completes less than half his passes with no TDs. A. Brown hits over 60% with two TDs. Does BC have the best QB in New England?

Geezer eagle said...

TV coverage? Start time?

dtrain1234 said...

Just looked at the betting line...we are only giving 1 point in a home game. I guess that means Vegas thinks Wake is better than us. I disagree, and expect a big win for the Eagles tomorrow.

NYCEagle said...

The loss of Baker scares me. Granted he didn't play well against NIU, he's still the guy making all the calls and adjusting alignments at the line of scrimmage. Would prefer to see a more veteran starter shift over to center and tapping into the 2 deep from another position, but we'll see how the coaching staff handles it

Heights said...

This team program is a joke. Good luck this season! I predict 4-8 as our final record.

Unfortunately, I think we are stuck in this mode for a while. Addazio will be replaced and it will take a few years to get back to respectability. But even then, we won't be competing for ACC championships. We will indefinitely have a middle-of-the-road athletics program.

It is what it is...

Unknown said...

What really is bad (we deserve it) is the TV coverage and times of our games. Other than evaluation of wins and losses in the football program and what he thinks the direction is, Mr Jarmond needs to fix our exposure. If you play ugly football, you better win or no one will watch. Personally, I'd like to see a complete reboot and overhaul. From uniforms, to a plan to improve the stadium, to coaching, to tailgating, to apparel for fan base, to selling the program. Then when we start all over again it will be appear to be different. We are approaching a full decade of pretty bad football and its not going to be easy to erase.

knucklehead said...

Wake is going to have trouble adjusting to us in the first half. They played half-assed Presbyrterian in the first game. If we can get a double digit lead going into the half we can win.

John said...

Yes - let's be aggressive and score some points - especially early.

We have enough talent on offense to spread their defense and hopefully produce daylight!

Go BC - beat WF.

JBQ said...

@Georgia Eagle: start time is 1:00 PM Eastern. TV coverage is ACC Network. I have ATT U-Verse.---Go to yahoo search engine. "espn.com/watch" college football tv schedule. BC game is listed as ACC Network. Under that logo, there is a logo for "watch espn" If you click on that logo, you can watch on your computer. Bing search engine has a very confusing response which appears intentionally to muddle AT&T.

JBQ said...

@Napoleon: Very good question about the issue at center.

modest34b said...

https://www.stubhub.com/boston-college-eagles-football-tickets-boston-college-vs-wake-forest-9-9-2017/event/9807607/?sort=price+asc

stub hub: $6 bucks for ticket to BC v Wake. Note Section D is 50% higher price... of course, the best costs more