What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
There has been a lot of talk about why BC is playing this game and Bates and Addazio keep sticking to the party line that their hands were tied by the New Mexico State cancellation. While there is some truth to that, no one seems to look at the big picture and that we were scheduled to play New Mexico State! Urban Meyer's influence is all over this program and one of the key Addazio takeaways is lighten your schedule when you can. While at Florida, Meyer faced the SEC and Florida State every year. So he made sure all his other games were cupcakes. We are taking on Notre Dame and the ACC in what should be a transition year. Howard might not have been the ideal opponent for Addazio, but they are pretty darn close. We will get some experience but never be threatened. And I am fine with that for now. But I hope that as the program develops we don't go this easy again.
Three Simple Keys
1. Cleaning up Special Teams. Addazio spent much of the week talking about it. Let's see the results. We need better place kicking and better decisions on the returns.
2. Dominant OLine play. Howard might employ the same aggressive scheme as Maine. But regardless of what they do, the talent disparity is so large that we shouldn't have trouble with their pressure.
3. Getting explosive plays. I am sure Addazio wants to control the clock, but I would prefer if we just score early and often and put the game away in the first half.
Gambling Notes
-- Addazio is 4-3 in September as Head Coach at BC
-- Howard has never defeated an FBS team
-- Bethune Cookman and Delaware State are the only MEAC programs to beat an FBS team
There is currently no line for this game on the major betting sites.
Factoid
UPDATED: This is BC Football's
Scoreboard Watching
South Florida vs Florida State. I keep telling myself that next week will be close, but I don't know enough about our team or the Seminoles. They are a home favorite this week, so this shouldn't be in doubt. What will be telling though is how their offense looks.
I hope to see...
Flutie and/or Jeff Smith get extensive playing time in the second half. This might be the only extended playing time either get this year.
BC is in trouble if...
If we cannot put up more than 30 on them. Not in trouble with regards to winning this game, but in trouble for next week.
Bottom Line
In the 21 years I have been following BC closely, I cannot think of a weaker opponent than Howard. The only reason I think the score won't be more lopsided is because I think we eat clock and play the backups extensively. Everything we do works and they have trouble moving the ball. Maybe they get a field goal late when our freshmen are in the game. Let's hope no one gets hurt.
Final Score: BC 35, Howard 3
Posts
19 comments:
"South Florida vs Florida State. I keep telling myself that next week will be close, but I don't know enough about our team..."
Yep.
ATL - we opened the 1983 season against Morgan State - Morgan State University is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland.
We didn't like the competition then (loved the band), and we don't like the competition now (and we don't get the band).
Nothing against HBCU's - but these two schools are not good at football.
Howard lost to Appalachian State 49 - 0 last week.
This game following Maine is an attendance killer and it leads to fan apathy. That's tough to regain. Just look at the plummeting average attendance the past few years - Pitiful. Is the Athletic Department proud of this performance?
Boston requires games against opponents to which it can relate, whether national or regional. This isn't rocket science, Brad.
John,
I think the plummeting attendance is more related to BC's pitiful record over the last six years or so. We had no attendance problems in 2007 with a top 10 team and an NFL caliber quarterback. That said, I don't disagree that having Maine, Howard et al. on the schedule is not going to facilitate fan interest.
It's a matter of degrees...
Bad team + bad opponent is not gonna draw fans. Average team + bad opponent improves from there, but I don't think bad team + good opponent is going to get you many more fans...
If we get back to the levels of the mid-2000s of perennial top 25 with the occasional top 10-15 year we should have no problem selling season ticket packages and filling the stadium, even for the FCS opponents.
I'm not a season ticket holder as I don't live in the area, so with a grain of salt... I'm happy to have these two warm up games so the young guys and the o-line can get their feet under them. Obviously would like to have a low-tier ACC game as a tune up ahead of FSU but perhaps being able to come out with new wrinkles and blitzing schemes from the defense will give us the edge we need to pull the upset.
Let's see who the real BC sports junkies are . . . name me the Boston College athlete who in the last 25 years transferred from Howard?
Xavier Singletary. Baller.
ATL, why on earth do you think we need to get our backups playing time? Wade needs reps, not Flutie. FLutie wouldn't be a 2nd string QB on Howard, how would it benefit us to let him play in the 2nd half on Saturday? Chances are, we won't even be winning at the half. Daz needs to get Wade's confidence up.
John:
I don't think I realized Morgan State was in the MEAC. I will update now. thanks.
Nothing good will come out of this game. Stop playing FCS teams. Even if you play second teasers they are learning nothing, against competition like this.
1983 - we had three division two team son the schedule - Morgan State, Yale & Holy Cross. Were people complaining then (am curious). Without those three wins, that Flutie team is a more pedestrian 6-3
Blist
Allot has changed since then. That schedule came about as a result of the Putrid Clebek years, including an offer season. You can't square the school motto w/ playing those type of teams.
@blist, of course in 1983, BC also played Clemson (#11), WVa (#12), Penn State, 'Bama (#13) and ND -- pretty good competition.
They scheduled Yale when they were really pretty good a few years before the 1983 game.
Not sure when Yale and the Ivy League departed D1 football, but Holy Cross was D-1 back then.
Thanks everyone. You're right, HC was still D-I till 1986 and Yale was forced (so says Wikipedia) to leave D-I for the 1982 season.
Yes sir
I went to the game at Yale Bowl in 1984, Flutie and BC just destroyed them. I believe there was to be at least one more game thereafter which was canceled. HC soon followed. The Flutie factor completely changed how BC looked at football. Prior to that except for a small percentage of fans, particularly students the games were just an excuse for a big pahty.
Over under on the attendance: 17,500?
Going back to the bar now know nothing bitches. Bitching about Holy Cross and Yale being bad opponents. No historical perspective at all. Yes historical perspective.
What does crappy HC football and crappy Yale 35 yrs ago have to do with crappy Maine and crappy Howard in 2015? Sorry to rain on the nostalgia parade but things are a bit different now. Even the beer is better, eh Knuckle? Or is it Old Fashioneds?
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