Once again it came down to a kicker and BC got burned. But even though the game seemed in hand at various times in the second half, I don't feel like BC played well. This was not a good Penn State team and yet they dictated much of the tempo and did a lot of what they wanted. We couldn't get them off the field. BC made too many mistakes. The extra point was terrible, but plenty of blame belongs to the coaches and other players.
It was a good season, but that is terrible way to end it. There is a lot to digest for the offseason.
I plan to have second viewing thoughts and grades up late Sunday but it may drag into Monday. This one will take a while to recover.
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Ready to throw up!
Really, I laughed at the missed PAT. The whole of BC Nation saw it coming, at least feared this tragedy, and it happened Ha. All you can do is shake your head and laugh.
Poor Knoll. He just can't be the BC kicker. Something happens to him during game time.
But what was maddening was the Don Brown's defense. Allowing 371 yards passing (140 above PSU's avg) ! 68% completion (54% prior to today) 4 TD (most in a game for PSU). Not good
Where was the pressure? Where were the DBs?? But then again PSU's. Hackenburg has a lot of potential. He showed it today
Every single one of our losses can be tied back to Murphy's inability to pass and convert 3rd downs and our kicking game. The D has played well considering Spaz left the cupboard bare. But, they laid an egg today. Hack embers looked like a Baylor quarterback.
Hackenberger. I hate iPhone auto correct.
Two comments while I wallow in despair and self-pity:
Recruit more than one kicker.
Use Sherm "the Rocket" on the Jet sweep at least once a half, whether it works or not.
I agree, Lenny. Get the ball in the hands of your playmakers and Sherm only touched the ball on returns today.
Long term, BC needs to recruit a better passer. Everyone is going to load up the box on us and we need a semblance of a passing game to keep defenses honest. I like our run first philosophy although the identity of BC football over the past 30 years has been passing QB's (Flutie, Foley, Hasslebecks, St. Pierre, Peterson, Ryan)
Yeah, don't understand not getting your fastest guy the ball a few times a game. Make the defense defend the width of the field.
Murphy is a liability as a thrower, sure, but he was also the reason we won seven games.
Well. Now we find out about Addazio's ability to recruit. I count about 11 starters graduating and three key reserves, too.
Have to improve that front four so that Brown doesn't feel the need to blitz on every down. Except for, you know, the end of games.
So let's talk kicker. A good kicker should be a robot. Emotionless and obsessed with technique - exactly the same stroke every time.
Got to figure Knoll is very good in practice. He drills and drills
He succeed on 3PATs and 1 FG
Then he shanked. Looks like he freaked out and tried to go to fast. Losing footing and swinging too fast. It was not even close.
Conclusions: Knoll can't handle the pressure. I hope they find a nice way to get rid of Knoll.
That's sports guys. Been watching BC for years - still the greatest school on earth. Maybe it will be another 100 years - maybe another 2 years. But we are in it together.
We've got heart - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry8CpIg2fvU
You've gotta have heart
All you really need is heart
When the odds are sayin' you'll never win
That's when the grin should start
You've gotta have hope
Mustn't sit around and mope
When the odds are sayin'
Wait'll next year come and cheer for home
When your luck is battin' zero
Get your chin up off the floor
Mister you can be a hero
You can open any door,
there's nothin' to it but to do it
You've gotta have heart
Miles 'n miles n' miles of heart
Oh, it's fine to be a genius of course
But keep that old horse
Before the cart
First you've gotta have heart
I was at the game. Great atmosphere. I thought Murph played great including his passes. Some were droped, there were penalties on others. He deserved better. We lost because PSU had a month to figure out our blitzes. We all know our DBS aren't power 5 caliber, except Asprilla. There are no words to describe the sinking feeling of the BC crowd after the missed PAT. I hope Knoll makes the most of his educational opportunity, because I don't see how he can come back from this.
Nappy
Very appropriate especially considering it was the Pinstripe Bowl.
what a strangely disappointing season. fair to pile on the kicker and special teams - i think we missed 8 extra points on the year, which is just outrageous and probably worse than most high school teams. but man, that final Penn State drive had shades of that Colorado State game - blowing two 3rd and longs, the offense somehow converting low percentage plays. we left, by my count, three wins on the table this season - Colorado State, Clemson, and this Penn State game. next year, that number needs to go down.
all in all a fun season, and two seasons into Addazio's tenure here i think he is outperforming all of our expectations. but we need to figure out a way to close these games.
Murphy was a terrific runner. But. For how great he was as a runner, he was just as atrocious as a passer. You can certainly blame the kicking game but the BC offense left a lot of points on the field because Murphy could not hit wide open receivers. The worst was throwing 7 feet high to a 5'6" Alston. Murphy cost us several games this year. He also won several but I will always wonder how different this season could have been had we had an average passing game to go along with our dominant running. I love the run but we need a serviceable passer to keep defenses honest.
Now that I have beaten up Murphy, let me pay him a compliment. He was an excellent game manger this year. He hardly ever turned the ball over. Remember all of the Pick 6s that Matt Ryan threw? Murphy never had those.
Disappointing finish but great season. In 2013 BC came within one play of eight wins. This year they were within three plays of ten wins. Last year not competitive in their bowl game. This year an OT loss. PSU was the number one rushing defense in the land at 86 yards a game. BC put up 285. Game was similar to Wake . The D was stout in the first half. Seven points on one play. In the second half they couldn't stop the quick passing attack. Too many third down conversions. 2. The refs had a bad day. When the Steelers won the Super Bowl over the Seattle Coach Holmgren said he didn't know they had to play against Pittsburg and the officials. BC had to confront PSU and the refs. SEC refs should never do ACC games. Not on the level. They are part of the propaganda campaign, along with ESPN to hype the SEC and minimize it's competitors. Now that McConnell is the US Senate Majority leader he has to act. He is a Louisville grad and a Cards fan. Thus an ACC supporter. He should pass a law that SEC and BE officials are prohibited from doing ACC post season games. ACC refs could be excluded from SEC and AAC post season. He should also enact a pay equity act requiring the networks to pay colleges an equal amount for their broadcast rights as they pay pro sports. The networks would be precluded from paying X dollars for a million pro viewers and paying one half X for the college rights for the same number of viewers. They should also abolish the CFP committee. Have an investigation to find out what criteria they used to advance MSU in the rankings and thus denied the ACC a better bowl. If the ACC lost money Alvarez ,Long and Tranghese should be compelled to pay the conference restitution. 3. The football schools in the ACC should assert themselves. They should move their conference headquarters to Orlando. Replace Swofford a UNC grad, with Elaine Chow, former Federal Department head and Mrs. McConnell. Break the glass ceiling. Apply Title IX to pro sports.
First two seasons record
Spaz: 15-11
Daz: 14-12
Just sayin
^^^ What an asinine comparison
BC 2 years prior to Spaz - 20-8
BC 2 years prior to Daz - 6-18
I'd say expectations were a little different when each inherited the program.
This one is going to hurt for a long time. Daz needs to rewind the tape and look again at all the games where we had leads in the second half, and then went on to lose. Why couldn't we hold a lead? Look at play calling, both sides of the ball, what did we do to let the other team back in? I say this one will hurt for a long time because it was clear that the players were giving it their all. 110% for sure. Coaches need to deliver a better outcome. Daz has done a great job in creating a buzz about the program, but at the end of the day, it is all about W-L's. Need to figure this out.
I seriously hope Ryan Day finds a new job this off season and Daz finds a new kicker. That was one of the most depressing games I've attended. The train ride home with cocky PSU fans was worse..
Was the offensive play calling by the OC? I didn't see one shot of Ryan Day and no mention of him. It was as though he wasn't there. I find that odd.
What troubles me more is the refusal to use sets and series we used successfully all year.
The "read option" with Sherman Alston in motion from the slot was not employed once. This formation and series allowed a choice of the handoff to the set back, Murphy puling the ball out and running himself, and the handoff to Sherman. The mere threat of the handoff to Sherman made this series effective.
Sherman was also at his best sprinting for the corner on the "jet sweep". At 5'6" he is not destined to be the "go-to" wide receiver. Yet, the only touches he had were the returns, which were smothered and a couple of passes with no touch on them.
The insistence on the "straight ahead" run game is not the problem, especially if the o-line is having a good day. If you win, you can get away with it. If not, then you start to understand why the Florida fans were so impatient with Daz as their offensive coordinator. There has got to be a willingness to adjust enough to take into account what's happening on the field. We will not be able to impose our will on every team and every defensive scheme without using other tools in our kit.
Reverse, screen pass, draw, quarterback draw...were all missing yesterday. I understand that getting burned on a couple of gadget plays that didn't work would make the staff gun shy; but the game of football has to have an element of surprise. Although I admit that the one one play with misdirection worked as written; but Murphy was not able to get any "touch" on the ball early on.
Finally, just a thought, were the gloves Murphy was wearing really necessary? I read the temp at kickoff as 55F. It probably got colder; but I can't help but think that those gloves were a problem with his inability to come anywhere near his receivers.
When Flutie was in Canada, he used glazier's gloves to improve his control and feel for the ball in the cold. BC ought to be able to get something similar for our qb's.
That 10:54 comment made my year.
Welcome to Earth.
Eddirock
We don't have at least one lockdown corner. That is why we blew those leads. W/ as much blitzing as we do you must have top flight CBs, we don't. Now to that those kind of guys is easier said than done, they are typically the best athletes on the field, BC has rarely had them, Blackmon? You can hide your weaknesses on offense, which we do well, on defense it's another matter entirely.
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