Second viewing thoughts and grade report: Independence Bowl

Normally watching a game like this a second time would be frustrating. Despite some defensive issues, the game was going our way. Then Rettig's Pick 6 happened and everything unraveled. I don't want to say the team gave up or lost confidence. I think it was more of a case of giving Arizona just enough of what it needed to take a lead. And we weren't built to catch up.

Offense: C+

Chase Rettig was playing great. He was in command of the offense, making good decisions and good passes (the first INT wasn't on him). Then he got hurt and it wasn't the same. A stalled drive and then a pick 6 that he telegraphed and threw off of his back foot and the game was basically over. He regained his composure in the second half but wasn't as sharp as he was in the beginning. Bordner played in mop up duty. Not much to read into that. But I do think it is a glimpse into the future of having a run-first QB next year.

Andre ran hard but still didn't seem 100%. He still struggled in traffic and didn't break anything big. It is not his game, but there were some cutbacks for him that he didn't take. Willis looked pretty good. Rouse also showed nice burst (but the game was over at that point).

Amidon had a very good game. He was doing a great job getting open and his hands were better than they've been all year. The other WRs weren't as good. Rich bumbled a pass that became a INT. He also cut back on what should have been a first down. Dudeck couldn't pull a pass in. The Tight Ends were better as Parsons and Naples both made nice plays.

The Offensive Line was good but not great. They didn't have breakdowns, but weren't getting to the second level or breaking big holes for Andre. The pass blocking was solid. Patchan whiffed on the play that hurt Rettig. I thought Williams played well and moved well (we just couldn't get any space behind him). Gallik was good.

I thought Day called a good game. We came out with many new looks and moved the ball relatively well in the first half. Although the jumbo stuff didn't work, I think we used it just enough. My only criticism was use of some gimmick/trick plays. When you have a month to prepare the temptation to use those plays is strong (you can practice them over and over, the other team hasn't seen them, etc.). But they didn't really work and hurt momentum in one case and physically hurt Rettig in another. But the score doesn't indicate the solid offensive scheme. It wasn't our best game, but certainly wasn't the reason we lost.

Defense: C-

There was a lot wrong with the defense, but it really started up front with the D Line. No pressure. No push. Some sloppy tackling and a few missed contains. Ramsey -- who was healthy -- was the best of the group. But even then he wasn't making plays behind the line of scrimmage.

KPL also had some troubles. He bit hard on some of the option reads and also had real trouble in pass coverage. Divitto was okay. Daniels wasn't disruptive but he did make a few big tackles that kept big plays from being bigger.

This might not make sense, but the DBs weren't as bad as it looked the first time. There were a few plays when guys got turned around and called for pass interference, but I really think the problems started up front. Our DBs are not particularly speedy, so maintaining coverage when there is no pressure becomes a tough task. They actually tackled well in run support. Asprilla was very active and force a fumble. They picked on Jones a bit, but he recovered to make some tackles. Williams was a bit inconsistent.

RichRod is a great offensive mind. Doing anything other than base is tough, because he has counters for everything. But that said, I was still disappointed how little confusion and pressure we brought. It was not Brown's best scheme. We played better against much better offenses.

Special Teams: B

Freese made his kicks. His punts were solid too.

The two-point conversion attempt wasn't great but I didn't mind the call.

Spiffy was back returning punts but didn't get to do much since we couldn't get them off the field much.

Willis had one good run on a kick return.

Overall: C+

As I wrote shortly after the game, TOB's first bowl team got blown out and turned around and rattled off the famous BC bowl streak. I am not particularly worried about this game or really disappointed in this performance. From an Addazio perspective, the team came out motivated and with a solid gameplan. I am tossing this up to an overachieving team whose carriage turned back into a pumpkin. I was not an Addazio guy or believer when he was hired, but I've seen enough to know that this was a just a first step.

Tough end to a fun season

One quarter went as planned. The rest of the day did not. Ultimately our flaws were exposed by a skilled offensive team. I was frustrated with the defensive effort and defensive mistakes, but I am not going to be too critical of the loss or the performance. Remember TOB's first bowl team got hammered before going on his bowl streak. This was a refreshing season and provided a lot of highlights. In my opinion the team overachieved this year and that bodes well for the future.

I'll try to have my grades and second viewing thoughts up late New Year's Day.

In-game comments post: Independence Bowl

Before the season most felt that a bowl game would be a bonus. Now the game is actually here and it is an interesting matchup. Let's hope we get one more exciting game out of this team and one more big day out of Andre Williams. Leave your thoughts and comments below.

You can also follow me on Twitter.

Game Watches: Independence Bowl

I didn't receive much notice regarding Game Watches. If your local Chapter is hosting an event be sure to post it below. Until hockey season kicks into the postseason, this might be the last BC sports event to watch with your fellow fans. Enjoy!

Boston Game Watch
Warehouse Bar & Grille
40 Broad Street
Boston, MA 02109

Phoenix Game Watch
Gallagher's Sports Grill
7575 N. 16th Street,
Phoenix

New York City Game Watch
Joshua Tree
513 3rd Avenue (between 34th and 35th Street)
New York, N.Y.

Twin Cities Game Watch
Hubert's
Downtown Minneapolis

Western Massachusetts Game Watch
Champions Sports Bar in Springfield Marriott

BC-Arizona preview

One of the things I forgot about when your team goes bowling is how long the layoff feels. The Syracuse game seems like ages ago. Even though we got healthy, I don't know how much the layoff helps us. We were playing well when the season ended. Now we have to regroup and execute. I know Addazio will have the team pumped up for the game. The bigger question is will the OL and Andre have any rust?

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
Next year the pseudo College Playoff starts. That probably means the end to all the bowls like this. Since the playoff begins with just four teams, these meaningless bowls will keep going for a few years, but eventually the playoff will expand to eight teams and then 16. With all that money going to the college football tournament, ESPN will not need to keep supporting this many bowls. This means fewer games for BC, but at the same time it is encouraging. We will never be rewarded or recognized in the current set up (for a variety of reasons). But we should encourage a system where we can play our way in. Plus the pressure created by the "playoff" will create a lot more instability with traditional powers. That pressure will leave opportunities for BC as the powers go through frequent coaching changes.

Three Simple Keys
1. Go big early. Arizona runs a 3-3-5. That means we should have huge size advantages in the run game. I say start the game with multiple Tight Ends and make them stop us.
2. Pass to keep the honest. I am sure they will try to duplicate Syracuse's strategy of crashing all the gaps to stop Andre. As we saw against Syracuse, that will open up big pass plays.
3. Don't let other guys beat us. Carey is going to get big numbers and Arizona is out to prove he's the best running back. While we obviously have to do our best to stop him, we cannot let other guys go off. This means play sound assignments, tackle well, bring pressure and all that "dude" stuff.

Gambling Notes
-- ESPN's projections favor Arizona by 11
-- Addazio is 1-0 in bowls
-- Rodriguez is 3-5 in bowl games
The current lines is BC+7.5

Factoid
There are now 35 Bowl games. BC has played in 15 of them. We've played in three others that are no longer active. (This depends on who claims each defunct bowl's history.)

Scoreboard Watching
The only game that really matters (other than this one) is the BCS Championship. I don't care how you feel about Florida State, but we need them to win. It will be great for the conference and good for BC. It might seem lame to sell another school as part of your recruiting pitch, but it works. If Florida State wins, Addazio can go into homes and say "you'll play against the best team in the country and you can win a Championship from the ACC."

I hope to see...
Amidon and Rettig connect for at least one more big touchdown. Because of our record in the final Spaz years and because of Andre Wiliams' emergence this season, these two have been somewhat overlooked. They are going to finish their BC careers as the most productive QB-WR duo in school history. Congrats to both.

BC is in trouble if...
We drop catchable balls. Rettig's stats would have been better if the guys were able to hold on to all the passes that came their way. I think this game will be high scoring. We cannot let good plays go bad in this game. 

Bottom Line
My guess is neither Defensive Coordinator has slept well since this pairing was announced. Both teams offenses matchup very well against the opposing team's porous D. In a way I think it will be a bit like the Army game where BC just needs to hold serve for the first half and wait for them to stall out or make a mistake. I think it will be relatively high-scoring and we will wear them down in the end. Andre goes over 200+ yards and BC finishes the season 8-5.
Final Score: BC 35, Arizona 24

Arizona answers from a Wildcat fan

My BC guest blogger, Daved Dlott, had a friend of his jump in with answers to my questions. He's a U of A grad, so take this for what it is worth.


1. With the understanding that not all fans fall into their respective stereotype, what is the typical Arizona Wildcat fan? Is it someone who follows football just until basketball starts? If ASU is the party school, is Arizona the more serious? Do they have the bigger following in state?

U of A Fan: Arizona fans love their football as much as they love their basketball, but as the saying goes, the football teams seems to always be a day late and a dollar short. Wildcat Fans: Arizona will always be better than ASU in everything... call it sports, academics, partying, everything, even in a marble match up, and of course, Arizona is the more serious school. Arizona has the biggest following of any University in the United States!

2. What is the perception of BC in Arizona? For example, when I first moved to Georgia I still dealt with the occasional person who didn't realize that BC and BU were totally different schools. With the move to the ACC and Matt Ryan firmly in place with the Falcons, that doesn't happen as much any more. Is there general awareness and respect for BC among Arizona fans?

U of A Fan: In Arizona everyone thought Boston College was a Junior College until the Bowl Match ups were announced.

3. Most BC fans remember Rich Rodriquez teams from West Virginia. How is this team different from those? Do you think they will be able to stop Andre Williams? Are they excited enough about this game to fight through the potential cold and BC's bruising style?

U of A Fan: Of course Arizona can beat Boston College.Remember Arizona beat OREGON! Did I mention Arizona has a great running back named Ka'Deem Carey?! Did I mention Arizona has a great running back named Ka'Deem Carey?!

4. Who wins?

U of A Fan: Arizona wins 48-27
Williams rushes for 121 yds
Carey rushes for 250 yds

Guest Bloggers: Eagles in Arizona

I know just two BC alums in Arizona. As it happens, they both are fellow 1998 grads and both are diehard BC fans. Dave Dlott is one of my former roommates. Born and raised in New England, Dave moved to Phoenix 10 years ago. Jim Gruber is a Arizona native and was an editor at the Heights while I was at WZBC. I asked them the following questions to get a better understanding of the Wildcats, their fans and what to expect in the Independence Bowl.

1. With the understanding that not all fans fall into their respective stereotype, what is the typical Arizona Wildcat fan? Is it someone who follows football just until basketball starts? If ASU is the party school, is Arizona the more serious? Do they have the bigger following in state?

Dave Dlott: I asked one of my co-workers who went to U of A what he thought of U of A's matchup against BC. He didn't even know U of A made a bowl game. He said that he stopped paying attention to football once basketball season started. I think that sums up a typical Arizona Wildcat fan.

ASU may have the reputation as a party school, but U of A can party with the best of them. I have been on campus for U of A hoops and football games and they know how to have a good time.

I don't know which school has the bigger following. What I do know is that they can't stand each other. I didn't realize how big the U of A/ASU rivalry was until I got out here.

Jim Gruber: (I will try to answer this objectively and not from the perspective of a fan of my second-favorite college team, the Arizona State Sun Devils.) Sports are a big deal at the University of Arizona. While basketball is clearly the dominant sport at UA, I believe that’s a function of the reality that the Wildcats have in the last 30 years generally been great at hoops and mediocre in football. After 35 seasons in the Pac-10/12, UA still has never played in the Rose Bowl.

I believe that most sports fans in Arizona are football fans first and everything else comes in a distant second (for instance, the excitement surrounding the Suns’ recent playoff runs was dwarfed by the Cardinals 2009 Super Bowl trip). UA fans are no different. If the UA football team ever started winning at a clip similar to the basketball team, I think all the fan attention would move in that direction. As it stands now, your typical UA fan is knowledgeable about sports and savvy enough to quickly shift the conversation from football to basketball, at least when that person is having a discussion with an ASU fan.

As for the reputation of the two schools, ASU still has the rap of being the bigger party school, although the school’s president has really tried hard to change that over the past decade. UA has the higher US News ranking, for what that’s worth, but my understanding has always been that ASU was superior in certain disciplines such as engineering. ASU has the bigger following statewide and has a natural advantage due to its massive size (roughly 70,000 undergrads), although UA is by far the favorite team in Tucson and most of southern Arizona. As far as partying goes, ASU is probably bigger, but the kinds of things that take place at either of these two schools would make a Saturday night in the mods look like my two-year old daughter’s tea parties.

2. What is the perception of BC in Arizona? For example, when I first moved to Georgia I still dealt with the occasional person who didn't realize that BC and BU were totally different schools. With the move to the ACC and Matt Ryan firmly in place with the Falcons, that doesn't happen as much any more. Is there general awareness and respect for BC among Arizona fans?

Jim Gruber: Academically, I’d say the perception of Boston College in Arizona is a good one, and perhaps even better than the reputation BC enjoys in New England. People generally seem to see BC as a good school located in a part of the country known for good schools. Athletically, BC’s brand is still largely limited to Doug Flutie and perhaps Matt Ryan and now Andre Williams.

A couple years ago a co-worker who is a pretty big sports fan mentioned that he thought BC was in the Big East, and I remember another co-worker and huge sports fan who thought JOB was the BC hoops coach (during Year 8 of the Al Skinner era). Having Jared Dudley in town as a Phoenix Sun for a few years probably raised the profile of BC’s teams a little, and this bowl game will probably help somewhat too.

Dave Dlott: I don't think there is much respect for BC here in Arizona. Hopefully, that will change after the bowl game.

3. Most BC fans remember Rich Rodriquez teams from West Virginia. How is this team different from those? Do you think they will be able to stop Andre Williams? Are they excited enough about this game to fight through the potential cold and BC's bruising style?

Dave Dlott: This team is similar to Rich Rod's West Virginia teams. They run a spread offense, and they can put a lot of points on the board. They lit up Oregon a few weeks ago. They have an outstanding running back in Ka'deem Carey.

I don't think they will be able to stop Andre Williams, but I think they will slow him down, and they will force Rettig to air it out. BC will have to be able throw the ball to win.

Jim Gruber: My take is that RichRod’s spread in his second year at UA isn’t nearly as efficient as he’d like, and doesn’t yet compare to his great years at WVU with White and Slaton. Denker’s done a decent job at QB in his only season as the starter, but this offense functions better with a guy like White or even last year’s UA QB, Matt Scott, at the helm. The Wildcats have a couple highly-recruited QBs ready to take over next year, plus they get a lot of injured wideouts back.

As for controlling Andre Williams, the UA defense is an unusual 3-3-5 system that wasn’t great at stopping the run in 2013 and doesn’t match up well against a power run game like BC’s. They also have yet to play a team that uses the multiple tight ends and unbalanced lines that BC will throw at them on the ground (Stanford wasn’t on this year’s UA schedule). In short, I don’t think they will stop Williams. However, I expect their offense to have a lot of success moving the ball against the BC defense. I also think they’ll be up for the game and motivated to show that Ka’Deem Carey is better than Williams despite the Doak Walker and Heisman consideration that Williams received over Carey. For BC to win this game, we’ll need to keep the UA offense off the field with some long, sustained drives.

4. Who wins?

Dave Dlott: My wife and her siblings are U of A grads. I have a lot of friendly wagers with them on the game, so BC better win.

BC 27
U of A 24

Jim Gruber:  I've gotten more pessimistic as the game gets closer, but I can't pick against BC.

28-27, Eagles.

Looks like weather won't be a factor in the Independence Bowl

Brick is standing right in front of Shreveport.

Shreveport in December would never be confused for Iceland, but it can still be colder than many bowl destinations. Rain, sleet and even snow have been factors in the past Independence Bowls. When I found out that BC would be playing Arizona, I hoped we would get bad weather. So much for that. The forecast for December 31 is 54 degrees with 0% chance of rain. Now we cannot expect rain to slow the Wildcat spread or a chill to break their spirit. It will have to be Andre and our ground attack to break their spirit instead.