Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Only one thing matters about the Bowl

BC won't officially know what bowl they'll be in until next Sunday. It could anywhere from El Paso to Detroit. Speculation on opponents has varied from traditional Power 5 teams to hot mid-majors. But really the who and the where of bowl season doesn't matter. BC's not going to an top tier bowl and very few BC fans are going to travel to whichever bowl picks BC. All that matters about this bowl is winning the game. That is why I am more concerned about the matchup, not the destination.

As silly as it seems, the difference between 7-6 and 6-7 is huge. BC needs that extra win to move this frustrating season into a winning season. That winning, however hollow, changes the perception of the season and perception still matters in college football. At 7-6, Addazio can spin 2015 as the bottoming out and sell this year at the first step in BC's ascension. If we lose the bowl game and finish 6-7, he can (and still probably will) spin the season as the first on the road back. But the message becomes less believable if BC has a losing record and loses in a bowl game.

To get that win, BC is probably best matched against a run-first, low scoring team. A team sort of like BC. Even our best wins -- Wake and NC State -- were not high scoring. I don't want BC in a shoot out.

I don't know where the players want to go, but I would like to see BC end up in Detroit. We have plenty of Midwest players who would love for their friends and relatives to come. Plus we still recruit Michigan and Ohio. Playing in a bowl nearby can help keep us top of mind for those players and their coaches.

So whenever BC plays, don't view it as a made up bowl. View it as a must win.

25 comments:

mod34b said...

a win is just putting lipstick on a pig.

the team, the program, is in shambles. Let's not pretend otherwise or suggest that a win in a dog-shit bowl means anything.

Keeping Daz means more bull from Daz, more lies, more bad coaching, more bad recruiting, lower attendance, fewer prime TV opportunities,, and a proud program falling further into disrepair, and despair

Get your Irish up ATL... Put down the pom-poms and take a stand that DAZ Sucks and must go for many, many reasons

Bravesbill said...

No thanks ATL. Why give Daz even more ammo for his spin machine? Getting embarrassed on national tv is the only hope we have left in Daz getting fired. Even then, that probably still wouldn't cut it.

Geezer eagle said...

Yawn. Mod is right, ATL. Stop being a Daz apologist.

Max said...

I would have viewed GT, VT, Clemson, FSU and Louisville as "must wins". Silly me I am traditional like that. View a shitty bowl game as "must win" illustrates your apologist mentality. All a win will do is provide additional fodder to the Daz narrative of lies and fantastic truths.
Maybe we could play Wagner again. Or how about Howard.

Soxx22 said...

As much as I'd like to see Daz fired I don't think Bates will be making the next hire. That means Daz gets one more year regardless of what happens in the bowl game. So if a win helps us with recruiting then I'm all for it.

EL MIZ said...

"If we lose the bowl game and finish 6-7, he can (and still probably will) spin the season" - probably?? Daz will undoubtedly spin - he is a Spin Doctor. that is what Daz does best to be honest. i'm excited for the new excuses in Year 5, as most Daz excuses start with "hey i told you this would be a 5 year deal."

hilarious that last game he said, essentially, "we don't have any good players on the team so we have to grind." - hey steve, you recruited and coached all these guys, if they stink its on you!

John said...

Puff piece in the Globe this morning.

Go Steve, you're the man; if you can't do it nobody can.

dixieagle said...

I'd love them to win, simply for the kids who've stuck it out. I also want to see Addazio out of there as quickly as possible, but don't want Bates to make the hire. (I will beyond disgusted if Bates is not out of there at the end of his contract.) This is really a Catch 22 - wanting the players to do well, but knowing that a bowl win likely keeps Daz safer than I'd like.

NEDofSavinHill said...

Finally heard the question asked on ESPN. " Is the SEC the worst of the Power 5 conferences" One panelist dissented and said the Big 12 was the worst. No one argued that the Big 10, Pac 12 or ACC were inferior. Maybe the truth is finally emerging that the emperor ( SEC ) has no clothes. 2. If anyone on this site has been correct about BC football it has been Mod. Under Daz this year BC is 127 out of 128 in total offense at 288 yards per game. Last year they managed 276 yards of offense per game. Combined over the last two years they are the worst in the nation. Does BC has the worst talent? Not even close. They are middle of the pack at worst in talent. They have been coached to the bottom by a gross incompetent. What Dukakis was to politics. What Madoff was to finance and what Hillary is to the truth, Daz is to football.

JBQ said...

Detroit in the winter, now there's a nice vacation spot. It is sort of like snow in Vermont and reminds one of Bing Crosby.

Bravesbill said...

Ned, for once your SEC hatred makes sense. Outside of Alabama, it's a bad conference this year.

notfadeaway said...

The rationale of this article is everything that's wrong with BC football. So we want to get matched against a powder puff opponent so we can notch another low-quality win and Addazio can keep his job even though the program is in a tailspin? Really? Sure, I want the school and the kids to win but if opponents and quality opponents or even mediocre opponents can expose our weakness they should. No more excuses.

mod34b said...

BB - meant to mention this yesterday, but I loved this comment you made: "Daz is starting to sound more and more like Baghdad Bob, or that idiot writer the athletic department hired from BCI (?) to write their Pravda-like propaganda pieces."

That guy from BCI is a hack's hack. I am sure we will see him writing for the Globe before long....

Guido said...

Though I appreciate this blog and the opportunity to read mod34b and others to get some honest perspective on the football program ,I am disappointed in your recent comment Atlanta Eagle. You basically said that the destination is secondary to getting an opponent that we can beat !!!! That has been the philosophy of this program for 4 years and has been a major component of our current dreadful situation. I would hope for an opponent with a high powered offense that will test our "D". In addition , a team with a stout "D" that will also make Loeffler come up with a "WORTHY GAMEPLAN" for a change. Though it would be difficult to be scheduled against such an opponent with our record (6-6) ,it is what will lead to growth in the BC program; we do not need another "Patsy" to simply get above .500 !!

marcos said...

Very disappointed by this post, ATL. First comment by Mod is dead on.

downtown_resident said...

I agree with ATL based on the following assumptions:

(1) The win over Wake saved Daz's job for now.
(2) Bates will depart BC in the next few months.
(3) Daz is (further) exposed by next season's schedule, including @ Clemson, @ Louisville, Virginia Tech, FSU, Notre Dame, and @ Syracuse. One or both of the coin flip games that we lost to Wake and NC State go the other way, and even @ UVA, @ Northern Illinois and @ UConn are not gimmes. I see a minimum of 7 losses next year, at least a couple of which will be colossal blowouts that make their way onto mod34b's top-10 list.
(4) Daz is fired in 2017 by the new AD.

If this is the scenario, you want Daz's recruiting to go as well as possible with the 2017 class in order to mitigate the damage for the next coach. A small part of that is winning the bowl game and finishing this year with a winning record.

baldysheehan said...

Word on the street us Malik Zaire from the Irish will be starting QB at BC next year. Don't let on you first heard of this from me.

Hario said...

I mean I dont see the problem with rooting for a BC win, considering it seems like a loss will not get Daz fired this season anyway.

Under the assumption that Daz is safe regardless of the outcome of the bowl game of course the bowl win is better than a loss? -- how is that even being debated

Eagle Esquire said...

I would love to see us play Houston in the St. Petersburg bowl.

STL_eagle said...

I am hoping for a BC win against the highest quality opponent in the best destination. That will do the most good for the program/recruiting and will be nice for the players.

Regarding Daz it does not matter much whether he wins the bowl game or not given that a new AD is on the way in. If the AD is at all competent they will review Daz's entire body of work and will make judgment based on his overall performance. The new AD will want to make a mark on the program by making a coaching change. The only question is whether they pull the trigger right away or they give Daz one more year with a performance mandate of at least 4 ACC wins to keep his job. My sense is that Daz will get a stay of execution and then will be let go next year but it all depends on who they hire as the new AD.

Does anybody have a line on potential AD candidates? That is where we should be focusing our attention at this point not the coach.

Bravesbill said...

Mod, the guy's articles are unreadable and infuriating. He's the official mouthpiece of Daz now.

Unknown said...

Didn't BC get enough of these easy wins in the regular season? UConn, Wagner, Buffalo and UMAss. Why root for another inferior opponent in a bowl game? Even if you do end up 7-6 look at the wins. That is nothing to be proud of. At all.

Unknown said...

I'm hoping that BC goes to the Military Bowl, tickets are very affordable and it's in Maryland.

Unknown said...

If BC doesn't win at least 8 games next year, he should be fired.

Unknown said...

Addazio should be fired