Second viewing thoughts and grades: Wagner

I've always handed out grades in these recaps, but now I am trying something different: Pass/Fail. This game sort of felt like one of those pass/fail classes from back in the day. All BC had to do was avoid a major screwup. They did, so they get a Pass. I will still nitpick a bit, but how can you judge the OLine in a game like this? How can you judge the play calling when running base stuff dominated? There was little to learn from any of this. I am just glad no one got hurt.

Offense: PASS

I don't think Towles played all that well (considering the circumstances) and was very surprised by how critical the broadcast crew was of his performance. It was true that he missed wide open guys and many of his passes were not crisp. But even with those problems, I see why he is starting. His deep throws are effortless and he's pretty athletic for a big guy. If we can figure out what works, he can help us win games. Wade looked really good. He made quick, accurate throws. Even though it was only garbage time, I feel better about him as a backup.

Other than Wade, Davon Jones benefited the most from this game. Is there any reason to think he can't do that against a real opponent? Maybe he should be getting more touches. Hilliman had a lot of stats, but I thought he was just okay.

Walker made some tough catches. Smith's TD was nice. We should be stretching the field with him more often.

The OL...there isn't much I can say. No glaring errors or consistent problems. They opened holes and gave Towles time.

As Addazio promised, things were simpler. That was primarily because of the opponent, but maybe it benefited the OLine and the QB.

Defense: PASS

Landry had a big game and was just too fast for any of the guys in front of him. Kavalec was also pretty active early. The DTs weren't as disruptive.

The only problem I had with the Linebackers were on Wagner's only TD. All got sucked in and not one waited for the cutback. Plus no one ran him down. That was disappointing. The rest of the time they weren't really in the action. We didn't blitz with any and they were more patient the few times Wagner ran.

The DBs were fine. They played off and tackled well. Nothing stupid nor anything that you can really complain about.

I give Reid another Pass. Once again the one score was off of a broken play. I don't know how you address that, but I am sure they will. We didn't do anything exotic or bring all that much pressure.

Special Teams: PASS

Rouse looked really good. As in, he might be the best punt returner we've had in a decade. He's looked reliable and he's been aggressive. If this continues, he might be a real weapon.

Knoll's punts were fine.

Other than their one long run, the kick coverage was fine.

Overall: PASS

The one awkward thing that stood out to me was the announcing crew sharing a comment that Addazio wanted to play "fast." What does fast mean to Addazio? We rarely play up tempo. He loves to huddle. The clock has been an issue. I don't know. I would love to see BC play faster, but I don't know if Addazio defines it the same way I do.

BC came out a bit flat. I don't know if it was the opponent or lack of crowd, but it wasn't good. Addazio should have had them fired up. In the end it didn't matter. The team rallied and won. We will see if he can build on this.

That was that

It certainly wasn't the most crisp or quality game, but it was a win. Who knows what to make of any of it? The only silver lining was the extended time for the backups.

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

In-game comments post: Wagner

This game shouldn't be interesting. Yet I know that just by thinking (and writing) that way invites all sorts of jinxes. I want to see a dominant performance that starts to erase the problems of last week. We can do this!

Leave your thoughts and comments below.

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BC-Wagner preview

This might be the worst type of game to follow up on last week's disaster. This is such a mismatch, that there is little to nothing we or the staff can learn. I don't even think the guaranteed "W" will boost the team's confidence. They know this is a purchased win. Even if we dominate and Virginia Tech will be on everyone's mind until we beat an ACC team.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
Win their win last week, North Dakota State has now won six straight road games vs FBS teams. Five of the six have been Power 5 teams. I hate the annual FCS game, but thankfully our administrators know how to schedule true cupcakes. I harp on our overly soft scheduling, but I promise that I would bash the administration even more if they couldn't even schedule a guaranteed win without screwing it up.


Three Simple Keys
1. Get some confidence back in the passing game. Things looked good against UMass. There were even some bright spots at the beginning of the Virginia Tech game. Then Towles started rushing things and chucking it out of bounds. Use this game to get back to what worked.
2. Play the backups. We saw some of the backups get in during the final minutes in Blacksburg. This week needs even more. I want to see everyone who is not redshirting. You never know who will step up.
3. Bring the pressure on D. Like the Offense, I want this game to be a tune up. While I don't want BC to give away all their upcoming wrinkles, I do want them to reestablish an aggressive mindset.

Gambling Notes
-- BC has never lost to an FCS team since they started rescheduling these games in the 2000s
-- Wagner is 0-4 all time vs FBS teams
-- Addazio is 2-1 in home openers
The major sports books are not putting a line on this game.

Factoid
This is only the second New York City school BC has faced in Football. Fordham is the other. I was surprised to find that even back in the day we never played Columbia or St. John's.

Scoreboard Watching
Syracuse plays UConn this weekend. Both are future opponents and most of us considered future wins. Playing each other gives us an indicator of which team we should fear more.

I hope to see...
No one get seriously hurt. The last thing we need in this game is to lose a key player.

BC is in trouble if...
BC can't be in trouble in this game. If we some how screw this up, Bates gets fired Saturday night and Addazio should be fired Sunday morning.

Overall
I expect this to be like last year's Howard game. BC will just overwhelm them with size and speed. It won't be close and it won't tell us anything.
Final Score: BC 49, Howard 7

Wagner game marks BC's debut on ACC Network Plus

BC announced the kickoff for the Wagner game in two weeks. It will be at 1 PM. The game itself is not a big deal. And the kickoff time isn't much of a big deal either (although tailgaters prefer the 1 PM games to the noon games). The big deal is that this will be the first BC Football game shown on the new ACC Network Plus.

The Plus is basically ESPN3 but with ACC branding. It is an over-the-top version of the upcoming real ACC Network. What will be important is seeing what, if anything, ESPN adds to the production. The branding is an easy thing to do. I hope they are investing something more. Either better announcers. Better production values. Maybe more camera angles. There should also be a dedicated ACC halftime show.

If ESPN doesn't do anything special, then I fear for the real ACC Network. If they are not investing in the conference now, what makes us think they will break new ground when the network launches in two years?