BC's 2026 season opener was not good. There were lots of mistakes and some of the recurring problems of the Bill O'Brien era to cause concern. It was so frustrating that when we went down three scores, I suggested bringing in Wilson and throwing out Mason McKenzie with the bathwater. Fortunately McKenzie and the D made the final score less disastrous than it felt at times. And that's why I am not giving up already. There were times in the first half when I felt good and equally times in the second half when I was encouraged. I think there is enough to build on and I still believe we can go bowling. If we don't it is firmly on O'Brien because most of his excuses are gone and this is his team and his offense. Now onto the things that gave me (some) hope...
-- The Defense is much better. The tackling was still a mixed bag and the final score doesn't represent an elite squad, but for long stretches BC's D contained Cincy. When your own offense is not scoring and turning things over, eventually you will give up some points. But the team got more penetration than they did most of last year. There were fewer blown assignments. The new guys made plays. It was encouraging.
-- O'Brien really believes in McKenzie. I was surprised by how passionate O'Brien was talking about McKenzie in the postgame. He seemed more invested in Mason than any of the QBs who have taken snaps for him at BC. Did McKenzie look great out there? Ehh. He had his moments. I think he is a gamer but his passing is still a bit suspect. But maybe after having me first or passive guys at QB, Billy O is embracing a kid who wants to fight and wants to win. I did see enough to believe that we can put a functional offense around McKenzie. But that will be on O'Brien. We need to see a lot more bootlegs, play fakes and rollouts. The guy is not a pocket passer.
-- Many of the issues are fixable. Bad snaps, fumbles, missed field goals, false starts, and poor tackling are frustrating but not the end of the world. O'Brien deserves blame for the sloppy play, but if we play clean, we probably win that game. I will give him credit that he usually gets that stuff straightened out.
Posts
