It is always nice when a top Florida LB prospect is also the son of a former Eagle.
More Hot Seat talk on Spaz. What's interesting is that I don't think we will be looking for the same type of coaches that other hot seat schools will.
BCeagles.com held two different Q&As this week. One with soccer star Alaina Beyar and one with hoops soph Gabe Moton.
Antonio Garay is getting plenty of attention for his new ride.
Here is a nice article on Mark Spinney's little brother.
Three Simple Keys
1. Try different looks against Price. I've watched good portions of Wake's games against Syracuse and NC State. In both, he had time and found open receivers. If we don't mix things up -- like our frustrating game against Duke -- he will pick us apart.
2. Go deep. If you think our corners are challenged wait until you see Wakes. I also think pushing the ball downfield will open up our running game a bit.
3. Passing to our RBs. Given how aggressive teams have been with our WRs and in flushing Chase out, I am surprised we haven't passed more to our RBs. Now that Montel is really back, both he and Kimble should get three or four catches each.
Gambling Notes
- Wake Forest is 1-3 in Alumni
- Jim Grobe is 0-2 against the spread against Spaz
- Spaz is 11-6 at Alumni
The current line is BC+2.5
Factoid
Since the series resumed in 2003, five of the BC-Wake Forest games have been decided by less than a touchdown.
Scoreboard Watching
A similar theme to last week's scorboard watching...future heavyweights on our schedule. If Clemson can come out of Lane with a win, they can claim a deserved spot atop the polls (they won't get it). Since I am not a big believer in Dabo, I think VT wins.
I hope to see...
Very little punting. Wake is improved, but you can still score on them. BC needs to be consistent and aggressive on offense. The winner of this game will be the first team to score 30.
BC is in trouble if…
We cannot establish the run. Montel is finally back, which means BC will and should focus on the run. If we cannot consistently run, we are in trouble.
Bottom Line
This might not make sense, but I think BC plays the game we should have played against Duke. Instead of getting picked apart, I think we pressure Price and force some turnovers. I also think the offense will be more effective.
Final Score: BC 31, Wake Forest 27
This article isn't BC related, but I found it interesting. In a play on Moneyball, the writer identifies college football coaches and programs who exploited inefficiencies in the market place. In a way, BC did this under TOB for many years, by focusing on excellent line play as a way to mask shortcomings at skills positions. I hope whomever takes over the program after Spaz has an OLine background or at least respects that it needs to be BC's focus.
The Hockey East coaches voted BC No. 1 in their preseason poll.
More BC hockey games will be televised nationally this season.
Future Eagle Dan Crimmins was featured in this article.
4. The recruiting rankings
I am not a big believer in the recruiting rankings, but they serve as an objective, generally accepted industry benchmark. Using Rivals.com (which has followed the BC program more closely), this is how our last ten classes stacked up nationally.
2012: Not trending in the top 50 -- Spaz
2011: outside Top 50 -- Spaz
2010: 47 -- Spaz
2009: outside Top 50 -- Spaz
2008: 33 -- Jags
2007: 46 -- Jags
2006: 37 -- TOB
2005: 49 -- TOB
2004: 24 -- TOB
2003: 24 -- TOB
If you want to point to declines, it started before Jags ever returned to college. He maintained the historical BC talent level. The ratings on Spaz's recruiting are not as strong.
I don't think talent is our current issue. It's coaching. But I find the excuse making even worse. The season is far from over, but given how our coach is quick to point out flaws without taking any blame himself, I have real concerns about how this season and Spaz's tenure will end.
The numbers are bad, but what does it mean in revenue? The answer is enough to hurt BC's bottom line but not enough to make wholesale changes just to boost attendance. Let's do some back of the napkin math.
Spaz's average attendance: 36,597
Average attendance for a competent BC coach (avg of TOB and Jags): 40,824
Unsold seats: 4,227
Now you have to estimate the value of the unsold seat. BC has done extensive discounting the past few years, so a fair number is probably under the face value of the ticket. But there is revenue value in getting someone on campus. Those people eat and spend money. So, say that the average value of an attendee is $15.
Now assuming six home games, the lost revenue due to Spaz is $380,430.00 (4,227 unsold tickets x $15 x six home games)
Now this unsold seat number is all very conservative. If you use a full Alumni as the barometer the stats become even less favorable to Spaz. Another factor in this is donations. I hear anecdotally that Flynn Fund donations are down, but don't even have solid projections on any of the data.
There are more important things to the Head Coach's job than filling Alumni. At this point, I want Spaz to focus on winning. The guys who worry about ticket sales should already be worried about a variety of things.
Games I watched
BC-UMass 100% (twice)
Cincinnati-NC State 50%
UNC-Georgia Tech 25%
LSU-West Virginia 50%
Florida-Kentucky 20%
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU Tigers |  3 |
| 2 | Alabama Crimson Tide |  -1 |
| 3 | Oklahoma Sooners | -1 |
| 4 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | 8 |
| 5 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 1 |
| 6 | Wisconsin Badgers | -1 |
| 7 | Clemson Tigers | 2 |
| 8 | Florida Gators | -5 |
| 9 | Virginia Tech Hokies | 5 |
| 10 | Stanford Cardinal | -2 |
| 11 | Michigan Wolverines | 6 |
| 12 | Boise St. Broncos | 1 |
| 13 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 6 |
| 14 | South Florida Bulls | 2 |
| 15 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -5 |
| 16 | Illinois Fighting Illini | 2 |
| 17 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -10 |
| 18 | Iowa St. Cyclones | 6 |
| 19 | Baylor Bears | 6 |
| 20 | Texas Longhorns | -- |
| 21 | Houston Cougars | 2 |
| 22 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
| 23 | North Carolina Tar Heels | -- |
| 24 | Arizona St. Sun Devils | -- |
| 25 | Texas Tech Red Raiders | -- |
| Dropouts: West Virginia Mountaineers, USC Trojans, California Golden Bears, Fla. International Golden Panthers | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
Rettig was aggressive, which was good. But I feel like some of his passes would have been INTs against better defenses. I don't know if it was his timing or what, but the off target throws were of the longer variety. I did like when he tucked and ran. He needs to do that more often. He also showed decent pocket awareness, but like the slightly off throws, I don't know if he could have gotten away with it against a better team. Shinskie got some mopup duty. I don't know what that means for the backup role.
I know he didn't have any explosive plays, but it was nice to see Harris back. You could see what we've been missing. It was reassuring to see Montel make the first tackler miss. Williams was good and seems to be doing better reading the holes. Kimble had one big play and that was it. Finch made the most of his mopup duty. Maybe he can break into the regular offense. Dan Williams continues to play well at FB.
The offensive line was still an issue. I was disappointed to see the number of breakdowns and lost one-on-one battles. White had a few mistakes. Spinney got penalized as did Cleary. Wetzel probably looked the best. Gallik was pretty good.
Larmond had the big day. What was most impressive was his ability to adjust his routs and his ability to win one on one battles. Swigert made some nice plays. Everyone else was fine. I was glad to see Anderson get a TD. He does a good job blocking s it was nice to see him rewarded.
I liked the play calling. I am sure part of it was based on the talent disparity, but I appreciated the downfield passing. If we are ever going to get the offense moving again, it will be with big plays.
Defense: B+
What was disappointing is that the DL didn't dominate against UMass. Neither Holloway nor Edebali put consistent pressure on the QB. Quinn drew some double teams, but didn't do as much. Like Quinn, O'Neal was on the field a lot without making big plays. Williams looked good. Rudolph was okay.
Some of the LBs aside from Kuechly forced their way into the spotlight. Devitto and KPL obviously had the biggest plays with their respective turnovers. Clancy had a good day too. Kuechly did his usual. What was unusual was how often he was chasing the QB on blitzes and delays. Maybe that will be a new wrinkle.
Well at least we adjusted to the bubble screen. I think it shows what a difference Noel and Fletcher can make. Both looked good. Both did a good job supporting the run. And they made some good takles. Hughes had his best game yet. Rositano was fine.
I don't think the scheme was all that unique from what we've been doing for the past few weeks. I guess the adjustment was having the corners play a little closer to the line, and as I mentioned, having the linebackers blitz a bit more. It was successful. But as a whole, there isn't much to take away from the game.
Special Teams: D
How can we have decent kick coverage all year and then allow a touchdown by UMass? I think it was in part because the team had a lead. But we are not good enough to lose our edge. It was also in part because the team got out of place and -- no one could catch the Levengood. Amidon tried but where was the rest of the team?
Glad to see Freese boucne back. Quigley had an uneventful day.
Kimble looked good on his returns.
Overall: B-
These sorts of games are the ultimate "no win." If the game had been close, I would have killed Spaz. Yet I don't give him a ton of credit for the big win. I guess what concerns me is that both lines are still issues. When is the head man going to get improvement out of each?
BC had its most uneventful week of the year and it resulted in a win. Now let's hope Spaz builds on this.
Very winnable games
1. Maryland has the type of offense that can pick apart our defense, but they clearly showed they are vulnerable. Not only did West Virginia light them up, but yesterday they got destroyed by Temple! They will probably be favored (since its their home game) but that is a winnable game.
2. NC State looked terrible the other night. If anyone knows how to prep for Bible's offense, it's Spaz. This year they don't have the Wild Card in Russell Wilson keeping plays alive with his feet.
3. Wake Forest earned my respect with their game against NC State. But they also blew a game against Syracuse. If we can contain their offense, their defense is vulnerable.
Those are the three wins that can get us to four. The following all look tough, but I think at least two will be close enough for us to steal a win.
Games where we need some breaks
1. Notre Dame is still Notre Dame. Weird things happen when underdog BC teams go to South Bend. Plus the Irish have shown the bad habit of playing down to their opponents and turning the ball over. I think we go all in on this game.
2. Miami falls at an interesting time in our schedule. We could be playing for a lot or a little. If we are sitting on five wins, I expect us to treat it like the Super Bowl.
3. Florida State is still very talented and will be a heavy favorite when they come to BC. That said, they've now dropped two games. Plus we get them at home on a Thursday. Could be a fluky game.
4. Clemson looks great right now. That said, I could see them taking us lightly. I also don't trust their Head Coach. The talent is there, but will he manage them as the pressure builds?
5. Virgnia Tech will be very tough. They are probably the best team left on our schedule and it is at Lane. Last time Spaz went there, we rolled over. I would be shocked if things were different this time around.
FSU has now lost two games. Granted both were tough opponents and close, but we have them at home.
Wake Forest is probably
I will have more later tonight and second viewing thoughts late Sunday night.
I will probably have the occasional tweet during the game.
Overlooked storyline for the game: Tempo
UMass -- while not Auburn or Oregon yet -- does play at a high tempo. For example they ran 77 plays last week against URI. We are still very thin on defense and fast-paced game could create some other issues.
Three Simple Keys
1. Stop Jonathan Hernandez. He's really their whole offense. For a smaller back, he has shown pretty good durability. BC needs to contain him, especially in the passing game. I could see him killing us on late releases out of the backfield.
2. Run after the catch. You can question our playmakers against the teams we've played so far, but you cannot question that we have more explosive talent than the Minutemen. If our guys cannot make plays in space and cannot run away from UMass, we will have problems.
3. Avoid sacks. Blame the line. Blame Rettig. Regardless, we've allowed some drive killing sacks. Can't let that happen this week.
Gambling Notes
-- UMass's last two FBS games have been decided by less than a touchdown
-- BC hasn't lost to a FCS team in the conference play era
-- BC hasn't lost three-consecutive home games in back to back years since '97-'98
The current line is BC-10.5
Factoid
Even though they have made regular appearances on our schedule lately, we have only played UMass 23 times. For comparison sake, we've played Villanova 45 times.
Scoreboard Watching
The game to make note of is Clemson-Florida State. Both look like they are worlds better than us. It will be interesting to see if Clemson can build off of their big win or if FSU will bounce back from their tough loss. At this point, our only hope is that one of them takes us lightly.
I hope to see...
A healthy Montel Harris break off 200 yards. Montel has never been some sort of highlight real player. What he lacks in Barry Sanders moves though, he makes up for in tough runs. Those, in their own way, are also fun to watch. If he plays well, it could be a silver lining to the season.
BC is in trouble if…
UMass dinks and dunks us down the field. At some point the guys are going to have to step up and stop more drives.
Bottom Line
There are a few fans out there hoping we lose this weekend. The thought is that a BC loss would be enough to force a coaching change. I can't do that. I am not optimistic that a change would be made and I never want to see BC lose. I think this weekend we get a reprieve from our pain. BC looks more explosive on offense and wins by more than one score.
Final Score: BC 30, Duke 20
The answer really depends on Montel's health. If he is 100%, I do think he can make a difference. While Williams and Kimble have shown some upside, neither are a versatile as Harris and neither have Harris's ability to make consistent positive yards in traffic.
If he is not 100% and cannot cut or doesn't have 100% strength, Harris might not be any more effective than our other RBs.
I don't believe in giving up. I want BC to win and play hard for the remainder of the season. Spaz is the lost cause in my mind. But Montel is not. So what do you do? I would wait a week. We should beat UMass without him. If he is still pain free after two weeks of practice, then you play him for Wake. If he's not ok prior to Wake you shut him down for the year. He's earned the rehab time, plus the redshirt would give the apologists one more excuse for this year.
This article takes down Tranghese's nonsensical rant on WFAN.
The Big East is saying the will keep Syracuse and Pitt for 27 more months. I doubt it comes to that. The Big East will have to find a solution for their other schools soon and therefore won't need or want to hold onto the defectors.
In recruiting news, BC lost out on Canaan Severin. He's headed to UVA to play for Mike London. I don't get too caught up in recruiting rankings but it is disheartening to see how many local prospects we missed out on this year.
(big) East Division
Boston College
Maryland
Miami
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Atlantic (coast) Division
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
NC State
Wake Forest
With this set up, you reunite most of the former Big East members in one division. Miami gets to play near their northern alumni. The (overblown) travel costs are somewhat mitigated. Maryland -- the long-time whiner about Tobacco Road's influence -- gets to play the conference newbies. The ACC purests get their own division. The only real loser in this setup is UVA. They have historical ties with most of the ACC. Lumping them in with the old Big East would diminish that. But if you assured UVA their annual game with UNC, they might be on board.
While competitive balance is hard to predict, this split captures current strengths and programs that have inherent historical advantages.
This seems so simple, it probably won't happen. But as I mentioned previously BC's future schedules will have a very familiar feel to them.
DeFilippo dismissed any notion that Spaziani’s future at BC is in doubt.
“Spaz is a terrific coach and doing a great job" he said.
I think at this point, Gene is so tied to Spaz's tenure that Spaz could survive an 0-12 season.
Also, I don't agree with Gene's assessment of Spaz doing a "great job" but I do think the team is close to breaking through and will rattle off some wins here shortly.
Games I watched
Duke- BC 100% twice
Navy-South Carolina 25%
OU-FSU 50%
Iowa Stat-UConn 50%
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 2 | Oklahoma Sooners | 3 |
| 3 | Florida Gators | -- |
| 4 | LSU Tigers | -2 |
| 5 | Wisconsin Badgers | -2 |
| 6 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 5 |
| 7 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 5 |
| 8 | Stanford Cardinal | -1 |
| 9 | Clemson Tigers | -- |
| 10 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 4 |
| 11 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 9 |
| 12 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -4 |
| 13 | Boise St. Broncos | -7 |
| 14 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -1 |
| 15 | USC Trojans | 2 |
| 16 | South Florida Bulls | 6 |
| 17 | Michigan Wolverines | -8 |
| 18 | Illinois Fighting Illini | -- |
| 19 | South Carolina Gamecocks | -3 |
| 20 | Texas Longhorns | 5 |
| 21 | California Golden Bears | -- |
| 22 | Fla. International Golden Panthers | 2 |
| 23 | Houston Cougars | -- |
| 24 | Iowa St. Cyclones | -- |
| 25 | Baylor Bears | -4 |
| Dropouts: Florida St. Seminoles, Auburn Tigers, Central Florida Knights, Ohio St. Buckeyes, Oregon Ducks, North Carolina Tar Heels | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
“With eight seconds left? We had two timeouts, so we were at least going to give it a shot in the endzone. If Denard would have scrambled and got tackled, I think we had enough time to call a timeout. I may have gone for the touchdown and gone for the win [anyway]. Why not? I mean, you play to win. That was a good win.”
Spaz drives me nuts in a lot of ways, but what confounds me is his unwillingness to adjust his style or strategy as the game conditions change. Forget that he's blown double-digit leads before, the biggest concern is that with the game on the line, he limited his number of opportunities to score! He spiked the ball when he didn't need to. He kept running without taking a shot into the endzone. If you are ahead you can rationalize conservatism and playing for the kick. When you are down, you cannot. You need to press until you take the lead!! Later, in the defense section, I will get into Spaz's signature scheme coming back to haunt him.
Spaz apologists can shift blame to multiple people, but no one else controls our approach, time management and strategy. The missed kicks hurt, but Spaz had lost the game long before with his approach.
Offense: D+
Rettig has moments of brilliance, some moments where he shows his age and then makes some flat out bad throws. What concerns me about the bad throws is that there is often no need. He has time. He has enough strength and often has good footwork, so I don't know why some of these are off. On the bright side Rettig looked great and made good decisions on the broken plays. Maybe we should use more shot gun and just let him chuck it over and over.
Swigert made some nice catches. Larmond was good. Coleman made a nice catch, but is still raw. For example, he should have been ready for Rettig's back shoulder throw. Pantale and Anderson were good...I wish we tried to get it to them in the redzone.
Kimble's TD was nice, but I was more impressed with some of his catches in traffic. He has good hands and uses his body well in one-on-one matchups. Carrying the ball wasn't as effective. It was nice to see Finch back. He might be better at cutting and blasting through the hole than the other two guys. Williams showed great power but still doesn't have that elusiveness nor instincts in traffic. Dan Williams did a great job as a lead blocker.
Wetzel and Clearly both played well. Too bad the interior guys weren't as strong. I don't know what is up with Richman. It doesn't seem like he is 100% as he had some mental lapses (missing late blitzers) and got overpowered. Gallik was ok. White probably had his most uneven performance of the season. Vardaro was ok.
There were simple plays I liked that were perfect calls at the perfect time: like Kimble's screen. We also had some more play action and downfield throws. All of that was positive. Yet there were still multiple drives that were just ugly. Even though we didn't win, I think Brock called a decent game. I don't think he was the problem.
Defense: D
I've been killing the DTs, but this week the DEs didn't do much. Quinn made the most news with his boneheaded penalties. He also started flushing their pocket late in the game. Now we need him to wreck havoc earlier in the game. Ricci was ok. Rudolph was ok. Harris Williams was fine. But as a group they just didn't make enough plays.
I don't want to diminish Kuechly's big day, but KPL was just as good. Luke covered more ground, but KPL was able to be disruptive in their backfield, had some great plays closing on their runners and is getting better in pass coverage. Divitto was solid. Clancy was fine. A few other LBs got on the field but didn't make big plays.
Fletcher was good again. Noel was really good...he did a great job tackling and also helped out on tackles in his area. Louis-Jean was pretty good but didn't play as much. The bigger issue were the safeties. Sylvia has really good instincts but his good plays were negated by his bad ones. He's also got to wrap people up and not just throw his body around. Williams screwed up on their TD where he didn't get the player or the ball. Rositano looked ok. Hughes looked better but still didn't make a big impact play.
We faced this same offense last year and watched them move the ball at will. Why did we think this year would be any different? We couldn't get pressure. We couldn't stop the run. We gave them the flats and they took it. We finally went to man coverage but still gave them huge cushions. What was that going to accomplish? They could still complete the passes. I understand that our defense is built on forcing the other team to make precise passes...and it is usually effective. But when facing a team that wants to dink and dunk in the passing game, you have to mix it up.
Special Teams: F
Freese made two nice kicks...oh, yeah, he also missed an XP and the game-winning field goal. I hate killing a kicker, but he's got to make the easy ones. They're more important since they are a higher percentage play.
The big head scratcher was the squib to end the first half. But are we really surprised by failure to grasp time, distance and timeouts?
I don't know why we started doing the Rugby style punts. Quigley's been one of our most consistent performers. Why screw it up.
Rositano's block was nice. (Did you know that was the first block during Spaz's tenure?).
Our kick returns were fine.
Overall: D
Some would say that losing to Duke would earn an 'F.' I went with a 'D' because we did have a chance to win the game. BC is close, unfortunately the schedule starts to get tougher
I lost hope in Spaz a long time ago. Now my hope lies with the players and assistants. BC is a special place and this team is better than its record. I hope that pride and competence make a difference and we start winning some games despite of the clueless game management from our head coach.
How BC's world got bigger.
No one knows when or how this evolution of the conferences will all stop. But everyone predicts a few Super Conferences will control everything. With the ACC expanding to 14, the conference has solidified its position among the power players. As a member in good standing and located in a Top 10 TV market, BC is assured a seat at the table. If the Super Conferences break away from the NCAA, we will be part of it. A playoff? The ACC will have access. As long as the BCS is around, we will be in position there too.
This will also mean an influx of TV money. These things are always about money. Once the Pac 12 hit the lottery with their TV deal and Texas got its own network, the ACC's once lucrative media contract seemed dated and small. The ACC knew their deal was below market. One of the triggers for a new deal was expansion. Now we can go back to ESPN and the other players and get a lot more money. And that means more money for BC too.
The ACC will probably get a TV network out of this. Did you want to watch all sorts of random BC sports? Get ready then because a lot of non-revenue sports programming would probably fill this channel.
This might also not be the end of this all. Our conference could very well expand to 16. If it does, then it BC isn't part of a conference any more. We'd be part of a cartel.
How our world gets small
Remember how the ACC move meant new rivalries and new locales? Well we will soon be in a conference with Pitt and Syracuse again. My prediction is that we will also be in some sort of division with them too. And if the ACC goes to 16 and goes to four pods/division/etc, we will certainly be clustered with former Big East members.
If the ACC gets its own network, that will mean even less coverage on the ESPN family of networks. While I would gladly trade ESPN3.com games for real TV, I think losing coverage on ESPN feels a little smaller. It means we are not getting the random eyeballs and general sports fans that always catch a game or two on ESPN.
Finally, this means more of a closed network. If we go to nine ACC games, add UMass to the schedule and keep the FCS team, that really only leaves one other out of conference game per year. That just means fewer unique opponents and fewer opportunities to travel to our fans in the midwest and west coast.
Bottom line
If things stay like this, the ACC is now an even better place for BC. The new money, old faces and closer geography all ease some of the lingering issues BC has had in the conference. It also provides stability and a conference of peers. Regardless of what happens on the field, the money and winnable conference will always give BC a chance to excel.
I'll have second viewing thoughts and grades late Sunday night.
I will probably be on Twitter throughout the game.
A new mental approach has made all the difference with Charlie Davies' productivity.
Damien Woody plans to lose more than 100 pounds now that he is retired from football.
This CT QB has a BC offer based on his work at BC's camp.
Overlooked storyline for the game: Kimble's return game
He hasn't provided a Jeff Smith or Will Blackmon moment yet, but I think Kimble's aggressiveness on returns will pay off soon. He is clearly not afraid to bring the ball out of the endzone. We also need that spark too since at this point every bit of field position counts.
Three Simple Keys
1. Stop the run. For the first time this season we won't be facing a running QB. We need to revert to our base defense and do what we've traditionally done well.
2. Put more pressure on Renfree. BC sacked him twice last year. BC needs to do more of the same this year. We cannot let Renfree pick us apart again. Last year he almost stole the game.
3. Rettig needs to complete more than 20 passes. If Rettig is that successful, it will mean that our passing game was effective, we drove the ball multiple times and we are keeping our defense off the field.
Gambling Notes
-- Spaz is 0-2 in ACC openers
-- Cutcliffe is 5-11 in ACC road games
-- Cutcliffe is 6-18 coming off a loss while leading Duke
The current line is BC-7
Factoid
Duke only has two players from Massachusetts so this won't be much of a homecoming.
Scoreboard Watching
The biggest game for us is Oklahoma vs Florida State. We need the 'Noles to win for conference pride. A strong FSU team also helps our BCS rating and our bowl attractiveness.
I hope to see...
BC giving Rettig the time to throw. Our oline hasn't done its job so far. Now we need them playing with more consistency and Rettig to make good decisions.
BC is in trouble if…
We are trialing at halftime again. At this point does anyone really trust our offense to generate real points or come from behind?
Bottom Line
I think BC wins this game. The teams will have similar gameplans to last year's meeting. Only this time the game is in Boston and we have some offensive help. As for the first game with Brock calling plays, I just want points...and just enough points to win.
Final Score: BC 28, Duke 17
The blame for the sudden changes lies with Gene and Spaz. Since allowing TOB to walk, Gene has used his position to go beyond the norms of an AD's responsibilities to be sort of a football GM. Spaz gets blame for being the ultimate enabler. He played his cards with Gene to stay on staff and has deferred to Gene enough to get the job when it opened and get an extension last year. Spaz is not unique. Jags played a similar game with Gene to get the job in 2006. But despite both of their relative successes, that is not healthy.
A good program would hire a head coach and let him build the program how he saw fit. It wouldn't be about who is part of the staff or what influence the AD wanted or needed. We would set measurable benchmarks for success (wins, ACC championships, player behavior, and graduation rate). I am not calling for anyone's head yet, but when we make our next football change, the new head coach needs to be empowered and needs to start with a clean slate. If not, we will keep facing these same sort of disruptive problems.
The 'leave' excuse protects both sides from looking worse. In some sense, I actually understand making a change now. If the offense and the staff are not working, you better make a change while there is still time to save the season. I was told that Spaz and Gene were in agreement on the move.
I will post more as it develops. I expect many to say I am wrong on this.
Lost amid the Rogers news was confirmation that CJ Jones is done for the year. He is hoping to get a medical redshirt. Fortunately Donnie Fletcher is healthy enough to provide us with some quality in the defensive backfield.
The UMass game will have a 1 PM kickoff. ESPN3.com will carry the broadcast live.
The ACC honored field hockey back Jacqui Moorfield with its player of the week honors.
Texas to the ACC is in play but contingent upon a lot of issues I don't see working themselves out.
We don't know what could have been with Rogers but we do know who is impacted the most by his departure. Here are the parties who will shape where we go from here.
Dave Brock
It made sense to promote Brock. He's the only one on the staff who has been an Offensive Coordinator in a BCS conference. And he recruited Rettig. If this season is salvageable, we will need Rettig to buy in and execute. Promoting the guy on staff who brought him in makes most sense.
Brock also has Spaz's trust. His connection to Spaz is via Tranq and he is not part of the Gene, Jags, TOB or UNH crowds. As pressure builds, Spaz will need people he trusts, so it makes sense to have his guy calling the plays.
Brock sat next to Rogers and Tranq in the coaches box. He understands the pace of the job and the assets on hand. And unlike a new face that BC might have bought in -- even on short notice -- no one will have the perspective of what we used to run vs what we are trying to do now.
I think we will be fine with him calling the plays. His record as OC at Kansas State and Temple was to use a spread-ish approach and was dependent on passing. I imagine he'll take whatever nomenclature we've adopted from Rogers, tweak it a little and use the plays that he thinks will work best.
Chase Rettig
Imagine what Rettig is thinking now. He committed to one OC only to have it change after his first full ear as the starter. Now the new guy is gone only to be replaced by the guy who recruited him to BC.
Rettig pressed a little last Saturday. Maybe Brock will find the balance between being aggressive and pressing.
How Rettig responds will probably determine the season and Rettig's career. If he doesn't not succeed now, he will probably see another OC before his time as BC is done.
Spaz
Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Regardless of how involved Spaz is on the offensive side of the ball or how much input he had in hiring Rogers, this is his show now. He needs to do everything in his power to make sure Brock succeeds. He also needs to let Brock challenge downfield or whatever else might allow for more big plays.
Gene D.
This is Gene's get out of jail free card. If the season is a total collapse, Gene can point to this moment. "After suffering numerous injuries, the Eagles then lost their OC..." It will allow him to spin Spaz's results and say Spaz deserves to coach BC in 2012.
The fans
We lose nothing. I don't know about you, but I was unemotional Saturday night. After a certain point I didn't believe we would score. That was with Rogers. If the ineptitude carries over to Brock, it won't feel much different. However, there is always upside. Maybe this is the break we need.
Games I watched
ASU-Mizzou 20%
South Carolina-UGA 50%
BC-UCF 100% (twice)
Alabama-Penn State 25%
Michigan-Notre Dame 25%
Wake Forest-NC State 25%
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 2 | LSU Tigers | 1 |
| 3 | Wisconsin Badgers | 3 |
| 4 | Florida St. Seminoles | -2 |
| 5 | Oklahoma Sooners | -1 |
| 6 | Boise St. Broncos | -1 |
| 7 | Stanford Cardinal | 1 |
| 8 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 9 | Michigan Wolverines | 3 |
| 10 | Auburn Tigers | -- |
| 11 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 8 |
| 12 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 2 |
| 13 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -6 |
| 14 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | -4 |
| 15 | Central Florida Knights | -- |
| 16 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 2 |
| 17 | USC Trojans | -- |
| 18 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | 4 |
| 19 | Oregon Ducks | 6 |
| 20 | West Virginia Mountaineers | -11 |
| 21 | Baylor Bears | 3 |
| 22 | South Florida Bulls | 1 |
| 23 | North Carolina Tar Heels | -- |
| 24 | Fla. International Golden Panthers | -- |
| 25 | Texas Longhorns | -4 |
| Dropouts: Michigan St. Spartans, Florida Gators, Mississippi St. Bulldogs, Oregon St. Beavers, Texas A&M Aggies, Air Force Falcons | ||
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