Thursday, September 14, 2023

BC-FSU preview

I don't think I realized at the time how bad the weather delay was for Jeff Hafley. It was nearly two hours of the only BC fans who still care venting online or listening to the BC radio crew discuss their frustrations and the team's stupid mistakes. BC won (thank God), but we went through the emotions of a loss. When the only people who still care lose faith, a win can still be a loss. 

This week can be a different story. BC faces the best team in the conference. They are heavy underdogs. Win and it changes the whole season. Lose close and you get the moral victory. If we get killed, nothing really changes.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
It amazes me how much media attention Deion Sanders and Colorado are getting. Despite their success in the late '80s and mid '90s, the Buffaloes were a non-entity for most of the last twenty years. Yet it only takes one good hire to change everything.

Three Simple Keys
1. Establish the run early.
This needs to feel like the BC Football we all know. Run the ball and control the clock. It is the only way we have to steal the game.
2. Get lucky on some turnovers. I don't know if you can get luckier than BC got last week with the game sealing fumble, but we need similar breaks to go our way this week.
3. Contain Jordan Travis. We can't let him run like we let Sluka run last week.

Gambling notes
-- BC is 4-5 in Red Bandanna games
-- Florida State is 9-1 in their last ten games vs BC
-- Hafley is 1-2 in ACC openers
The current like is BC+26

Factoid
This won't be the first major storm we've had when facing Florida State. In 2007, FSU handed Jags his first loss on a very wet night in Boston.

Scoreboard Watching
It is not a great week for ACC football. Maybe it will be interesting if Duke keeps rolling in their matchup against Norwestern.

BC is in trouble if...
Florida State scores more than 35. We are not built to win a shootout in the rain.

I hope to see...
No personal fouls. Hafley made it a point of emphasis. Let's see if he can get his team to follow his instructions.

Bottom line
I will be shocked if we win this game. I am rooting for BC (as always). But I can't talk myself into some scenario where we pull off an upset. I think FSU is going to go undefeated in the ACC. Hopefully we keep it close.
Final Score: FSU 31, BC 14

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