BC-Northern Illinois preview

This is it. I like Hafley and appreciate the different tone he brought when he arrived. I respect how he handled COVID and that unprecedented first season. But since Jurk went down in 2021 in the UMass game, we’ve been adrift. At a base level, this is the time to get things back on track. At a realistic level, if Hafley is anything special we need to bounce back in a big way. The landscape has changed in college football. His bosses have changed twice. The portal and NIL changed the way you recruit and develop talent. It’s tough. However, the great guys not only adapt in times like this…they thrive.

I trust that Hafley has improved his staff and roster. He pivoted and used the portal to plug holes. While lacking in game breakers, we have depth and above average talent across the board. And we have a very favorable schedule. We have four wins baked in the final record with our non-conference slate. There are also three very winnable ACC games. That means seven games is a reasonable goal. I would like to win more than that. Whatever the upside is, it starts Saturday.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
The dominant narrative of the college football offseason was once again conference shifting. Games are about to start and the ACC is still in flux for 2024. It has been that way for more than 20 years. I don’t think picking up a few former Pac 12 teams or even SMU (!?!) is going to be the end of anything. As a BC fan, I don’t get too fired up about any of the shifts any more. The train is heading towards the Super League and I don’t think BC controls its own fate. In the meantime, I am a simple man with simple desires. Are we playing teams I care about? Yes. Are we on TV? Yes. Are the games fun to watch? I hope. Are we winning? We better.

Three Simple Keys
1. Hold up against the run. The defensive line needs to be better and more consistent. They have to conrol the line of scrimmage. And we can't allow a back breaking 4th quarter drive like we did in last season's opener. 
2. Stretch the field. We don't have a Zay, but that aggressive mindset can't go away. Morehead can get it downfield. We need to let him go for it a few times per game.
3. Generate more turnovers. Considering his defensive background, I would think by now Hafley would have instilled a bigger turnover mentality. But we don't sit back like Spaz's schemes and wait but we don't strip many either. We need to have some things go our way and it starts this weekend.

Gambling Notes
-- Hafley is 2-1 in season openers
-- BC is 17-1 against the MAC all-time
-- Hafley is 16-19 against the spread 
The current line is BC-8.5

Factoid
This is the second time we have opened the season with Northern Illinois.

Scoreboard Watching
LSU vs Florida State. Normally I root for the ACC team under the rationale that it helps BC. But at this point what is Florida State doing for us. They don't want to be part of the conference. They think they belong with the big boys. Well let's see how they do. If they get spanked, I won't shed a tear.

I hope to see...
A dominant win. Openers can go a lot of different ways. For Hafley and this season, I think we need a statement game. Last year is over. BC is back. Don't make this interesting.

BC is in trouble if...
The offensive line is a mess. It should be improved over last year's disaster, but I don't view Applebaum as some sort of savior. The unit was fine when he was here the first time. At BC, the Oline can and should be great. 

Bottom Line 
I want to believe. The experts and the sports books have us as a .500ish team, but I think Hafley still has upside. I think this season is where it starts to turn the corner. BC wins comfortably and looks great on D. 
Final Score: BC 31, Northern Illinois 13

Second viewing thoughts and grades: NIU

Because I had the holiday weekend to read reactions to the game before I had the chance to watch it back, I was a bit surprised by the split among the fanbase. Many thought Brown looked good for a RSF. Others saw him as a mess. I am in the former crew. Watching it back, BC's mistakes and missed opportunities were even more noticeable, but I still think there are enough pieces to compete this season.

Offense: B-

Brown made a few bad throws and a few bad decisions, but he also kept his head up and played with maturity. I like his arm strength. What he needs to do now is work his progressions and make better decisions on when to run. There were a few plays when he could have run to daylight but he threw it out of bounds. His whole upside is still unknown, but I think the first game was good.

During the game, I made many comments about Hilliman. In review they probably weren't all fair. But it was fair to say he did not play well. I know it is hard to look great when defenders are at your feet, but the guy hesitates too much, tries to many cuts and is not great in a crowd. He's not elusive or at the Andre Williams level where he can break tackles. He was decent catching the ball but also inconsistent in pass blocking. Dillon looked good in limited action. He ran hard and found holes.

The OL was bad. Aside from the rotations, some of the issues were just poor play. Baker got pushed around and had a bad snap. Lazard struggled. Maybe going from WVU's near stand up style to our power will be a harder adjustment than previously thought. Monteiro was inconsistent. Christ Lindstrom was okay. Schmal was just ok.

Walker's drop set the tone for the game -- near big plays with execution issues. He did have some nice catches later. White looked great and really went up for the ball. I liked the Smith and Smith end arounds. They both ran them well.

Many of our blocking issues can also be pointed at the Tight Ends. When the other team is crowding the box, we need everyone near the line blocking someone. Garrison wiffed a few times. Marten and Sweeney did too.

Some of Loeffler's play calling was good but a lot of it was head scratching. Why did we keep trying the tosses and power runs with Hilliman? NIU was waiting for it and they stopped it most of the time. When you run 92 plays, can't you figure out an alternative to their run stopping earlier? All things considered, the change in offense is refreshing but the inefficiency is too familiar. If you run 90+ plays and are only scoring 23 points, you are not a great offense.

Defense: B-

Much was made of Landry's ho hum stats. I thought he played pretty well when he was on the field. He drew a lot of attention and forced them to run away from him. I thought Allen did not play as well. He really struggled when NIU isolated him on the zone reads. The interior guys were fine.

The LBs were quiet. Each had a big hit or two but their productivity was down. Schwab was the best of the bunch and was ok in pass coverage. Strachan made a big stop but did not have consistent impact throughout the game. Richardson made a big hit early and then disappeared.

Denis had his best game yet. Good coverage and an INT. Harris made some bad plays. Both led to scores. The late hit was dumb but I can live with it. The running with a slow QB instead of stopping him was really dumb. I don't know why they targeted Moore. He missed an INT but played okay. Yiadom was good.

Considering their lack of talent and experience at QB and OLine, I thought we would bring more pressure. I don't know if the new pace of play will force us to be more conservative, but it raised questions on Friday night. Why not put more pressure on? For the most part, when we did, it led to bad throws. I also think there was some general first game sloppiness and confusion. If that doesn't get corrected, then you know it was a coaching issue.

Special Teams: B+

I know making a big deal out of three converted field goals is setting expectations low, but holy cow! BC made three relatively pressure filled FGs! I don't know if Lichtenberg is going to be dead solid perfect all season, but it was a good start.

Schulze-Geisthovel also looked very good. If he is consistently getting touchbacks it will be a huge asset.

Knoll's punts weren't all pretty but they were effective.

I liked what I saw from Glines on the kick returns. He's pretty aggressive and confident. I think he has the potential to break one.


Overall: B-

Addazio made some clear improvements in his game management. He used timeouts well before the half and was also aggressive on 4th downs. But it still came down to a missed FG to win the game a game that never should have been that close. As I mentioned in the previous sections, I understand how the new tempo will require more substitution. But a key point will be not falling apart when your best players are not on the field.

While I found the silence on the QB starter unnecessary, it did not mess things up and he was willing to put the game in Brown's hands. That speaks to his confidence. Now he just needs to fix the mistakes and help this team reach its potential.

Nothing comes easy in BC's win over NIU

That was a long frustrating way to begin the season. The silver lining is the win and that Anthony Brown showed real potential in his first game. Everything that you feel good about the game also leaves you wondering if Addazio will ever fully deliver. For example, he really committed to the uptempo offense, yet we only scored 23 points and started resting our best defensive players in the 2nd Quarter. Another example: Addazio seemingly adjusted to his game management criticisms and used the clock well at the first half and went for it on 4th down. Yet there was some very stubborn and head scratching play calling. Finally, he has seemed to recruit elite skill players, but our traditional foundation -- the offensive line -- looked sloppy. He has a week to figure it all out.

For now, I am going to use this win to dream about a bright future for Brown and BC Football.

I also did a post-game Periscope. Thanks to all those who interacted. Because of the holiday weekend, I don't know when I will rewatch the game, so grades might not roll out until Tuesday.

NIU win post game Periscope. https://t.co/Ha61fpLU0K

— Bill Maloney (@bcatleagle) September 2, 2017

In-game comments post: Northern Illinois

Another season and maybe a new era of BC Football starts tonight.

Leave your thoughts and comments below.

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Game Watches: Northern Illinois

I am bring back Game Watch posts to help those BC fans looking for other fans. If your local BC Club is hosting an event email or tweet the information and I will post it the day before the game. If I miss you info, post it in the comments section. As I have written before, watching a game with other fans can be worthwhile. Only they understand what you are going through.

Chicago Game Day Bus
The BC Alumni Association is offering bus transportation to and from Chicago for the NIU game on Friday Sept. 1st. Round trip fare is $30 per person. All bus riders are to arrive at Tobacco Road Tap Room (2249 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago) at 2:30 p.m., and the bus will leave promptly at 3:00 p.m. The bus will drop riders off at the location of the BC Tailgate in DeKalb, Fatty's Pub & Grill. Following the game, all bus riders will immediately board the bus at Fatty's Pub and will return to Tobacco Road Tap Room in Chicago.
To sign up, click on this link: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1627/index01.aspx?sid=1627&gid=1&pgid=4794&cid=7954

Denver Game Watch
The Whittier Pub
2000 E 28th ave.
Denver, CO 80205

Los Angeles Game Watch
2615 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403

Phoenix Game Watch
Gallagher's Sports Grill
7575 N. 16th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85020

San Diego Game Watch
Striders
100 J St
San Diego, CA 92101

San Francisco Game Watch
2064 Polk St
San Francisco, CA 94109

BC-Northern Illinois preview

As I stated already this week, I hate the idea that Addazio is not naming his starting QB. Why does the guy do this to himself? He's not hurting Northern Illinois. He's hurting himself. The only film on Brown is BC's own Spring Game. The only film on Wade is from two seasons ago against crappy opponents and under a different offensive scheme. What does Addazio think NIU will change in response to either QB? Instead Addazio is wasting his own time, focus and energy on being coy and secretive. I hate to break it to you, Coach, but you are focusing on the wrong thing. BC wins this game regardless of the starter. And if they don't, it will be in part because the staff did not have them ready to play.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
In a recent interview about his new job, Martin Jarmond said he didn't talk to Urban Meyer about Addazio. His explanation was that he wanted to form his own opinion. I don't think that is how I would approach things. If a friend and colleague has a close relationship with your soon-to-be most important employee, who is responsible for your highest-profile unit, wouldn't you pick the brain of that trusted colleague? Or even get a general opinion? Jarmond will have to make a big decision about Addazio some day. Why not get all the quality information you can? I obviously don't talk to Addazio, but from second hand sources, he clearly reached out to his Ohio State network to check up on Jarmond. He wanted to know what kind of leader he was getting. I wish Jarmond had done the same.

Three Simple Keys
1. Control the line of scrimmage. Even with our potential offensive line rotation, BC has a huge size and talent advantage in the battle between our OL and their DL. We need to pound them and open up holes for the running backs.
2. Get Jeff Smith at least six touches. Smith has the speed and elusiveness to be special. We've shown the willingness to give him special plays in the past. Let's make it a priority this game. He should have a few end arounds and maybe a chance to make a pass.
3. Good clock management. We will see how committed Addazio is to his new 'tempo' offense. My concern is that despite playing at a quicker pace, Addazio will still make questionable decisions in the two minute drill.

Gambling Notes
-- BC leads the series 2-0
-- Addazio is 9-11 on the road while coaching BC
-- Addazio is 3-1 in season openers
The current line is BC-3.5

Factoid
The last time BC played on CBS Sports Network was in 2012 against Army. Before that, it was UCF in 2011. That was the game where Spaz allegedly got in a fight with Rogers. So lots of good memories for BC fans!

Scoreboard Watching
Alabama vs Florida State is important for conference supremacy, but also a good glimpse into FSU. If they beat Bama, you know we will have more than we can handle when they come up to Alumni.

What I hope to see...
A dominant performance signally that we are a different program and Addazio is ready to fulfill his promise of a five-year rebuild.

BC is in trouble if...
Whoever starts (Wade) throws some early, ugly INTs. That will shake the team's confidence and give NIU hope.

Overall
I expect a low scoring, somewhat sloppy season opener. I think BC plays conservatively and is strong enough on D to overcome some questionable plays and decisions on Offense.
Final Score: BC 20, NIU 10

Early look at BC vs Northern Illinois

It may be months before the game kicks off, but College Football News is already doing game by game predictions and previews. In their coverage of opening weekend, they also previewed BC's game against Northern Illinois.

Although the spread is close (BC-2), CFN is relatively confident that BC will win. I'm confident too. Even if BC struggles on Offense, there should be enough pieces in place on D to carry them in the road opener.

Second viewing thoughts and grades: Northern Illinois

During the game, I felt Flutie was terrible and Smith was underutilized. It wasn't that simple, so I sort of understand what Addazio is facing. However, that doesn't justify how they were used and it certainly doesn't explain how we nearly gave this game away. Yet with all of that, I still feel better about the team than I did Saturday. We are so close to everything clicking. The D is there. Can the rest of the team catch up?

Offense: D

Flutie's passes were bad. Not particularly crisp, fast nor accurate. The TD was a good decision. The INT was a terrible decision. His running wasn't good either. He's not fast enough to escape on the option read. He did make a few better touch passes in the second half. And despite his limitations, he seems poised. Smith has great speed and looks very comfortable. The fumble that he recovered was unfortunate. He's got to be more careful. I don't know if you can judge anything off of his passes.

Hilliman looked better. He had more power and explosiveness. Outlow and Willis were non-factors and according to Daz, neither was healthy late in the game. Rouse was fine in mop up duty. Wolford and Wilson were fine.

Callinan did a good job staying in bounds on the TD catch. Swigert looked fine. Alston finally made a big play in a traditional pass pattern. Smith was fine, although his blocking is still not great. He looked good on the sweep even if it didn't break.

The Offensive Line played relatively well. Other than some penalties, there weren't many mistakes. Not many misses either. Williams looked better. Baker was fine at Center. Bowen was good. Lindstrom was better than last week too.

The running game was more effective with Smith. There was no debate. Yet he didn't get the most possessions. I don't know if that is Daz or Fitch or both, but it was frustrating. I felt Fitch should have called more zone options with Smith. Just having him there softened the middle and created holes for Hilliman. Why not run it until NIU shows that it can stop the play? Or create some play action passes for Smith out of it? I also hated switching QBs mid-drive. How does that allow anyone on offense get in rhythm? I don't know how much of our issues are being forced on Fitch, but it is his job to make lemonade out of the lemons. Through four games he hasn't shown he can do that.

Defense: A

The DLine looked great. Wujciak kept pushing their line back. Landry wasn't as disruptive as last week, but still showed a lot of productivity. Abdesmad played well. Kelly finally made a play.

Strachan played his best game. Daniels was pretty good and fortunately the dropped pass late didn't determine the game. Schwab is also coming around.

Johnson's INT was a great play. Moore played really well again. Simmons was very active. Yiadom was good.

Once again, Brown kept things simple and it worked. We gave them different looks and had the DL twisting without exposing the DBs or LBs. We also stayed aggressive late. It brings in the big play, but we had dominated to that point, it didn't make sense to go with excessive prevent.

Special Teams: C-

On a good day, some of the big Special Teams' plays would earn an "A" for the unit. But Special Teams nearly cost BC the game.

The kick return was a complete breakdown. As the announcers said, the shorter kick seemed intentional, yet there didn't seem to be a fail safe? Or at least any player who knew he was the fail safe.

The highlight was Milano's block.

Howell's punts were fine until late. Willis' one return was fine. Alston showed a little more aggressiveness.

Other than the bad kickoff, Lichtenberg looked ok.
 
Overall: B-

Winning close games is luck. Play enough and some will break your way and others won't. The best coaches press their advantages and push relentlessly so that a close game cannot be stolen. Steve Addazio's ultra conservative game management and some bad special teams nearly gave this game away. You could watch this game ten times and not be able to ignore that. As I said, the kick return was a total breakdown. But how does that happen? The play is designed to prevent a big return. How is there not anyone back?

As for the QB decision, I still think we didn't use Smith enough. Even if he makes BC one-dimensional, that one dimension was more effective than Flutie's two dimensions.

Winning while things are falling apart does deserve credit, but we need to show improvement on Offense soon and we need him to pull out more stops, not go more conservative.

Ugly win

Sometimes you feel good after a close win. Not today. That was ugly.

I didn't like the way they used Flutie. I didn't like they way they used Smith. And using Rouse after an official head injury notification that came from BC, is highly questionable.

Once again, BC's defense did everything only to see the O and Special Teams nearly give it away. The D is going to have to carry this team the rest of the way, since everything else from the game management to simple kickoffs is a mess.

I will have my grades and second viewing thoughts up late Sunday.

In-game comments post: Northern Illinois

Every week seems like a new start to the season. We are now a month in and still don't know what to expect due to injuries and easy schedules. The offense has a lot to prove and so do the QBs. Let's hope they are up to the challenge.

Leave your thoughts and comments below.

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BC-Northern Illinois preview

This is going to go one of two ways. Either both QBs are going to be terrible and we come away very frustrated (and probably lose) or one guy stands out early and we roll with him to victory. This game was always going to be a turning point in the season and now with Wade out, it becomes even more critical.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
Most coaches hate being second guessed and generally have thin skin. That sensitivity usually serves as a great motivator and provides some of the drive needed to coach at this level. Addazio clearly heard the critics on his decision to kill the clock on the last drive before the half. At the Gridiron Club dinner, he addressed it over and over again. He can justify it ten ways to Sunday, but we know he knows enough about statistics and Urban Meyer's game management strategies, to know that killing clock there is a wrong move. It became a wasted possession in a game with minimal scoring. I hope this overly conservative decision doesn't influence the remainder of the season. In college football you need to go for it whenever you get the chance.

Three Simple Keys
1. Explosive plays. As much as we are perceived as a plodding, three yards and a cloud of dust team, we are really haven't been that efficient or consistent under Addazio. The reality is we plod, plod and then explode. Last week lacked explosion. This week we need a few big plays if we want to score.
2. Avoid Turnovers. The reason NIU almost upset Ohio State was due to turnovers. We cannot be as careless.
3. Close on Hare. Think of how different Florida State would have been without those few Golson escapes. Hare is not that elusive. We need to hit him for a loss, over and over.

Gambling Notes
-- Addazio is 6-4 after a loss while coaching BC
-- BC has won 16 straight against MAC teams
-- NIU coach Rob Carey is 3-3 vs Power 5 teams
The current line is BC-4.5

Factoid
TOB is part of the ESPN3 team covering this game. Being that he's predictable, I expect him to reference his years at BC early in the game but then declare that he will call it down the middle. And then I expect him to do just that. I know he's done some other ESPN3 games, but I can't imagine he's much fun on the broadcast. He let glimpses of his sense of humor escape over the years, but I don't think now -- in semi-retirement -- he's going to become a laugh a minute.

Scoreboard Watching
We are not a triple option team, but we run almost as much as your typical triple option team. That is why it will be interesting to see how Duke handles Georgia Tech. Let's hope they have a lot of trouble.

I hope to see...
A few interceptions. The DBs were great last week. The only thing missing was a game changing, run back on an INT. If they are challenged this week (which I doubt), it could happen.

BC is in trouble if...
We don't score in the first half. That will put pressure on everyone. The D will think they have to win the game themselves. The Special Teams will make risky plays. In those circumstances, mistakes are made.

Bottom Line
I believe...still. I think this is the Jeff Smith coming out party. After we putz around a bit in the first half with both QBs, Smith gets all the snaps in the second and runs for at least one long TD. The D mostly contains NIU and get some breathing room with a late field goal.
Final Score: BC 17, Northern Illinois 13

Game time set for Northern Illinois

Back before the 12-game regular season and the annual FCS opponent, BC played their "easiest" game Parents Weekend. It was usually a MAC-level school, Rutgers, Temple or one of the service academies. But now playing Northern Illinois at 1 pm on ESPN3 during Parents Weekend is BC's best non-conference home game.

I thought that this game might make it to one of the ACC Regional Packages, but even with both teams sitting at 2-0, there are better ACC options.

I am not trying to beat the scheduling issues to death, but I just wish Bates and Addazio were a little more forthright when discussing schedules. Bates addressed the issue during the radio broadcast and put a lot of the blame on New Mexico State. Addazio gave more of its out of my hands response when pressed. Here is what is true about scheduling and here is where Bates and Addazio have more ownership than they are implying.

BC's schedules were screwed up by three factors. 1. The ACC retreating from their nine game regular season plan. 2. Losing the Syracuse series as a non-conference game when the Orange joined the ACC. 3. The ACC-Notre Dame deal which restricted how often BC and the Irish could play. But all of those issues took place years ago and forced games like the first New Mexico State game. But now, three seasons into both of their tenures at BC, Addazio and Bates have had ample time to fix the schedule. They are complaining about New Mexico State, yet failing to acknowledge that New Mexico State would have been a horrible home game on its own! They claim their hands are tied, yet they still have not filled their 2016 schedule. Do you think we are going to get Alabama and Texas or two FCS teams?

What I would prefer they say was that "we are still building a program and in light of other scheduling issues, we thought Howard made the most sense for this team in 2015. We are committed to winning and will strengthen our schedule as we grow."

But they won't say that. Instead they will probably keep the non-conference games soft in 2016 too.

Opponent preview roundup

Scout started publishing their team previews. BC's is not up yet, but plenty of our opponents are. I find team-by-team previews from magazines and websites helpful. I don't follow the ins and outs of Syracuse or Northern Illinois like I do BC, so this gives me some insights and helps set expectations for us and them. Here are the ones that are out and a few takeaways...

Florida State -- Like us Florida State has a revamped offensive line and a new QB. Like us, they have a good position coach at OLine (Rick Trickett) so I think they will be ok.

Northern Illinois -- the preview starts with talk of Northern Illinois making the jump to a Power 5 conference, so you know expectations are high. For BC it will be more about stopping the run.

Syracuse -- The Orange are replacing most of their Defense. This team did not score much last year, so a revamped O and a young D could make for a long season. We don't play them until the end of the year, so they will have figured things out or checked out on the season.

Wake Forest -- There schedule is almost as bad as ours. Like us they play Notre Dame. Their other non-conference games are Elon, Indiana, and Army. They are also very young.

More schedule stuff, more hoops recruiting, more links

Tuesday's news felt a lot like Monday's...

Football agreed to a two-game series with Northern Illinois. BC will host next year and the return date is still to be determined, but likely in 2017. Playing a MAC school is always tricky because winning gets you nothing but the risk of losing is real. I don't mind the NIU matchup. We should beat them both years. We needed a game for next year and if we ever play the return date, the Chicagoland area is not a bad place to visit for recruiting and Alumni purposes. The reason I say "if" on the return is that future schedules mean less and less. Look at what happened with our Army games or Ohio State games. Every conference mandate has a ripple effect. I don't know if we will even need Northern Illinois in two years. All we can count on is the 2015 game.

Jim Christian added a second player to his 2015 recruiting class. North Carolina point guard Jerome Robinson committed Tuesday. Robinson is not an elite prospect, but he is a late bloomer and shows good promise. With two guys on board, there is probably room for two more true freshmen and then a few transfers.

BC will honor Welles Crowther this weekend. I don't know if it will inspire the team or overcome USC (like the writer hopes) but it is the right thing to do.