Thursday, September 18, 2014

BC-Maine preview

This is probably the perfect opponent to follow USC. Even with Mr. Motivation as Head Coach, a comedown is only natural. But if the team starts slow, we have enough talent and size that controlling this game should not be an issue. Like every FCS matchup, you just hope for a nice win and to avoid any injuries or issues.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game) 
The Boston City Council keeps moving forward with their new rules for college athletics. Because Marty Walsh has yet to see the Bill, this is all still grandstanding, but at what point does BC need to get involved to curtail this nonsense? Exploitation and college athletics go hand in hand and that needs to change. However, these local legislators don't have a clue and are not the ones to fix it. I hope it doesn't go much further because then BC and any team we play in Boston will be impacted.

Three Simple Keys
1. Win without trying anything unique. There are plenty of twists BC can use in our offense, especially now that every team will key on the run. Don't use any of those this week. Just beat Maine with a simple vanilla package. 
2. Work out the kinks in the kicking game. I don't want to settle for field goals, but I do hope that whoever is kicking PATs and FGs starts making them.
3. Take control early. Think of how Villanova surprised BC last year or how the drives against UMass stalled out this year. That shouldn't happen this week. BC needs to set the tone early and control throughout.

Gambling Notes
-- Addazio is 6-2 at Alumni
-- Maine was 1-1 vs FBS last season
-- Addazio is 3-0 vs FCS teams
The is no point spread on the major betting sites.

Factoid
The first three games of the series were played in Maine. Since then all the games have been played in Chestnut Hill.

Scoreboard Watching
Even before the Winston half-game suspension, the FSU-Clemson showdown was critical to our division. How the 'Noles play without Winston will be a decent barometer of how good they are and how good Clemson is.

I hope to see...
The backup Offensive Line play for long stretches. Not only will this mean BC is in control of the game, it will also be a chance for BC to test next year's starters in live game conditions.

BC is in trouble if...
Murphy gets hurt. I don't think losing Murphy would mean we lose the game, but it would be disastrous for the remainder of the season.

Bottom Line
There is always a risk to taking an opponent lightly (just ask USC). But I don't see it this week. It would be one thing if this were even a great Maine team, but this is a Black Bear squad coming off a loss. I think like the UMass game, BC's lines should dominate enough that the contest is never really in doubt. Maybe Maine gets a late garbage TD, but otherwise it is BC all day.
Final Score: BC 35, Maine 10

4 comments:

mod10aeagle said...

I wouldn't mind seeing BC, after quickly jumping out to a solid lead, use a chunk of this game to improve the passing game.

Hoib said...

Mod10


I'm w/ you. We are going to have to have a pass game if we are going to continue to make noise this year.

mod34b said...

Sherm, here is some inspiration for Saturday

Spffiy Returns Punt for TD against Maine

CatabEagle said...

Atl,
I'm curious you're opposition to the City Council ordinance. It requires independent head trauma experts at lacrosse, hockey, and football collegiate sporting events in Boston. Where's the downside? BC should be doing this in the first place, and if they're not, good on the City Council for ensuring athlete safety (which BC has not done in the past, See Montel Harris)