BC-Holy Cross preview

The social media and message board discussion following last week's opening loss had a consistent theme: "Fire Hafley." I am not there yet. My blinders are off, but I see nothing productive from firing him midseason. Let him, his staff and team do what they set out to do. My hunch is that if he stops the bleeding and scrapes together a winning season, he will be safe. Should he be though?

I like Hafley as a person and representative of the school. But now even an apologist like me has to admit he has a limited upside. Great coaches don't lose like this and this often (in Year 4 especially). Do you let a nice guy stick around if he is squeaking out seven wins? We let a jerk like Addazio keep coaching for seven years. 

In this era of college football, you should probably be quick to fire. The rosters churn faster than ever, so you can't wait for a guy to build his team in the traditional way. The new need is for a coach who can put a staff and roster together year to year and out perform his competition.

The timing on this debate is somewhat surreal since one of the most likely Hafley replacements will be on the other sideline this weekend. And if Holy Cross wins, there will be many who want to fire Hafley and hire Chesney on the spot.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
We should play Holy Cross annually and in all sports. The true rivalry was dead long before I arrived at the Heights, but I appreciate it still means something to many people. And I think to this day, there are plenty of students who have friends and family at each school. BC is going to have schedule filler, FCS games for years to come. Might as well make them interesting to some, instead of playing some random school that we have never heard about. 

Three Simple Keys
1. Catch the damn ball. The QBs were bad, but the WRs, TEs and RBs did them no favors when it came to the passing game. They need to clean up their skills (why are guys trying arm catches?) and help out.
2. No more Oline penalties. The good news: the Oline controlled their opponents. Bad news: they still made a ton of mistakes and dumb penalties. 

3. Get more pressure on the QB. Our DLine was supposed to be a strength. Last week they looked mediocre. 

Gambling Notes

-- Hafley has never lost to a FCS team
-- Hafley is 16-20 against the spread

-- Holy Cross last beat BC Football in 1978

The current line is BC-16.5

Factoid
Even with the historic breaks in the series we still have played more games against Holy Cross (83 games) than any other current opponent, including Syracuse.

Scoreboard Watching
Colorado-Nebraska. I don't know if Coach Prime can keep it up, but I am always cheering for quick turnarounds. It gives me hope.

I hope to see...
One QB. The old adage remains true: if you have two quarterbacks you have none.

BC is in trouble if...
It is close late. My fear is that if it is tight, our guys will make mistakes and hand the game to Holy Cross.

Bottom Line
BC takes care of business, looks better and puts more points on the board.

Final Score: BC 38, Holy Cross 17

Post game video roundup

I didn't have time to watch the game back yet, so enjoy these videos for now.

Holy Cross game goes as expected

It turned into a glorified scrimmage. But I will hold my point that if we are going to do that, it might as well be against Holy Cross. No major problems. No major injuries and lots of experience for the backups.

I will have grades up late Sunday.

In-game comments post: Holy Cross

Rivalry renewed or glorified scrimmage? We will find out shortly.

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BC-Holy Cross preview

Last week was exciting -- the start of a new season. This is more subdued. The tradition with Holy Cross is nice and the excitement about this BC team is palpable, but I don't think we will know anything more about BC after playing a bad FCS team.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game) 
I think Holy Cross' Head Coach Bob Chesney will be a FBS head coach real soon. His track record of success building terrible, low resource programs will be enticing to many schools. If he has even the littlest bit of success in Worcester, it looks like he will leverage that for another job. After Holy Cross, the next step would seem to be either FCS power or FBS bottom dweller. Either way, the guy looks like he is going places.

Three Simple Keys
1. Add some more deep passing for Brown. I don't suspect he will be under much pressure. I would like to see BC attempt more deep passes to build his confidence and put pressure on future opponents to not load the box.
2. Get reps for the young guys. The new redshirt rules are a gift. Use it this game to develop young guys and second teamers.
3. Clean up Special Teams. It should be better than last week.

Gambling Notes
-- Addazio has not lost to an FCS school
-- BC leads the all time series 48-31-3
-- BC has won their last three home games against Holy Cross
Because this is a FCS-FBS game, there are no lines on the major sites

Factoid
While Fenway hosted the series for many years, BC also played Holy Cross in Foxboro twice.

Scoreboard watching
Most of the ACC is taking on FCS teams this weekend, so there is not much at stake with regards to the division race. The big game is Clemson-Texas A&M. It would be nice for the Tigers to win in convincing fashion, so that the national perception of the ACC remains strong.

I hope to see...
A viral highlight from Dillon. There was talk after last week about whether Dillon's Heisman hopes were ruined by not padding his stats against UMass. I don't think they were and feel like the middle of the season will determine his chances. However, it wouldn't hurt to get on people's radars now. A nice viral moment would lay the groundwork for a Dillon trophy run.

BC is in trouble if...
As always with these lopsided games, the only real trouble for BC is injury. We will survive this game, but a significant injury could ruin the season.

Overall
This won't be close. As much as I long for a spirited rivalry, this is not the year. BC will crush them and we may even have to speed the clock in the second half.
Final Score: BC 52, Holy Cross 10

Why Holy Cross matters

I don't read or hear the conversation as much these days, but BC doesn't really have a rival. The ACC-Notre Dame deal meant we actually play the Irish less. As much as I love some of our ACC matchups, none really earn the rivalry status. We have a nice history and rivalry with BU for hockey and Providence for basketball, but that's not the same. A true college rivalry is formed in football but lives through all sports, and if it is a true rivalry, it bleeds into all aspects of your life with friends and relatives on the other side. BC had something like that for a long time. It was with Holy Cross.

Even explaining this rivalry is a challenge. Half my readers remember it, lived it and know more about it than I do. The other half are still scratching their head at the thought of a heated relationship with Holy Cross. But once upon a time, this was the college football game in New England. Both programs had periods of success. For years games were played at Fenway. Both schools were filled with Catholics from the Boston area. There was a feeling that you knew everyone sitting in the stands, regardless of what team they were rooting for. 

The connection was more than just sports and proximity. Both schools are Jesuit and priests often moved back and forth between the institutions. For a long time both schools also prized athletics. But Holy Cross' size and constantly shifting position on sports changed the rivalry and the school.

Being smaller than BC was always a bit limiting, yet Holy Cross had (and still has a large athletic department). But when the first DIA and DIAA split came, Holy Cross went small and BC stayed large. The additional scholarships and larger stage only made the rivalry more lopsided. As Holy Cross moved to no scholarships, it wasn't even a rivalry anymore. The series ended as it was no longer competitive or fair (with HC having no scholarships). And as the sports connection faded, so did the tightness of the other connections. As both schools became more national and had student bodies from beyond Massachusetts, the familiarity and overlap dwindled too. 

While I know some individual Holy Cross fans who rehash the "would've, should've, could've" aspects of their sports decisions, I don't know how all their alumni feel. It is clear that their leadership values a future in sports and hence the return to scholarships and the return to playing BC. They are a long way away from being competitive, but I do wish them success. I would love for them to become a FCS power and an semi-regular part of our schedule. The nostalgia and association would help both schools and perhaps grow to something new and exciting. Holy Cross was a critical part of BC history. It would be nice to have it as part of our future.

Weather disrupts Baseball/Softball and other links

Maybe we should build a roof over the new baseball/softball complex? I don't know any other way to prevent the early season weather issues BC has every year. The turf and drainage will be an improvement, but you can't stop the rain. 

Former BC Field Hockey players are using the Marathon to raise money for a former teammate. 

BC is going head to head with Don Brown for interest in a Florida DB.

Finally, I came across this BC-Holy Cross game from 1983. You'll see plenty of familiar BC names, plus former BC coach Bill McGovern on the Holy Cross side.

BC needs to get Holy Cross in Hockey East

As BCI points out, it appears Holy Cross wants to join Hockey East. There are lots of hurdles to clear, but if the Crusaders put together a solid proposal, BC needs to be their biggest advocate.

Even though the Holy Cross-BC rivalry doesn't mean much to any BC fan born after 1970, baby steps towards rebuilding it are good for BC. We are headed towards a time of uncertainty for college sports. Paying players, breaking off from the NCAA, and challenges to Title IX are all in play. Given that BC is proudly anti-athletic payment, I could see a situation where our leadership decides to de-emphasizes sports (especially if the Power 5 really starts up player salaries). However, if our historic rival is moving towards big-time sports (like Football and Hockey), it will put pressure on BC. Why would BC give up the marketing and community advantage that sports brings just when Holy Cross is embracing it? Holy Cross learned their lesson when they decided against the Big East basketball and gave up athletic scholarships.

I know that Holy Cross joining Hockey East is not the same as the Crusaders joining the Big Ten (or even something like the Conference USA), but it is a good first step. And even if it doesn't generate huge athletic momentum for them or start an athletic renaissance for BC and Holy Cross, it would still be good to play them more often. Their return to big-time sports is also a good reminder of what we did right over the years.

Real rivalry renewed

BC scheduled a two-game football series with Holy Cross for 2018 and 2020. This is great news for those who love BC history and for those who want us to schedule wisely.

We have rivalries with Notre Dame and history with plenty of opponents. But our only true historical rival is Holy Cross. Not playing and the changing demographics of the two schools have ended what was THE "game" among Eastern Massachusetts Catholics. Ending the series made sense once Holy Cross stop offering scholarships and BC stopped playing DIAA (now FCS) teams. But the pendulum has swung back. Everyone plays FCS and Holy Cross and some of their conference mates are back to offering scholarships.

I would prefer a tough schedule filled with the best teams in college football. But that is not how the system works. If we have to play one FCS team a year, I want it to be a team that generates some excitement. This game will be fun and should bring out a decent amount of Holy Cross. This is a good for everyone involved.

BC-themed 30 for 30 suggestions for ESPN

ESPN debuts another 30 for 30 tonight with the "Ghosts of Ole Miss" and yet again the series presents a film with a college theme. Mining college sports makes sense since the professional leagues have their own in-house producers focusing on lesser known stories and are experts at crafting a history and mythology for their sports. Because so many college stories are left untold, in my opinion some of the best films in the series have been college focused like "The U" and "Pony Excess." Former BC basketball star Chris Herren was featured in an ESPN Film and BC grad Joe Tessitore produced ESPN Film's "Roll Tide War Eagle" but neither is technically a "30 for 30" film. There are many BC stories that could carry a film. Here are few of my suggestions.


"The miracle before the 'Miracle'"
Flutie's story is well known, but there is much more to it than one Hail Mary. I think a more interesting film might be how he and Jack Bicknell really helped change college football with BC's passing offense. In the early '80s, BC and BYU were shattering records with their prolific passing schemes. The concepts and aggressiveness were way ahead of their time and still influence college and pro football today. How they arrived at the offense, why Flutie succeeded within the system and why it took two more decades to become mainstream would make for a great movie.

"Coughlin in charge"
As Tom Coughlin keeps winning Super Bowls his legend and legacy grow. NFL Films recently produced a special on him, but I still think his time at BC could carry its own feature. What did he face when he arrived? What did his college players think of him then and now? How he has changed? Did he ever consider staying at BC forever? Are all questions that could carry a narrative.

"Goodfellas go to college"
I was a student during the '90s gambling scandal. There wasn't much to it. However, the basketball point shaving scandal could make a great movie. I doubt BC would be very cooperative. And with Henry Hill dead, one of the most intriguing characters is not available to give his side. The other challenge to the film would be player cooperation. All the accused and alleged players have remained relatively silent about what happened. I don't know if ESPN's cameras would be enough to finally get them to talk in more detail.

"The upset that saved BC"
In 1942 undefeated BC lost its final regular season game to Holy Cross at Fenway Park. The loss caused the team and BC fans to cancel their postgame celebration at Coconut Grove night club. That night the club caught on fire killing nearly 500 people. It is assumed that if BC had won and gone on to celebrate, many of the team would have died in the blaze. This is probably a little to dated to draw ESPN's interest, but it could make for a good documentary.

Filmmakers could build full features around Peter Frates, Jay McGillis, Jerry York or Welles Crowther, but I don't think ESPN would see enough marketing dollars to support a "30 for 30" for any of them.  The BU-BC Hockey rivalry has already been a subject of a sports film by another company. I would love to see a film about the rise of the Big East and about the conference shuffles of the 2000s, but ESPN is too involved in those stories to allow someone to make an honest film out of them. If you could give someone a blank check and a camera, what BC story would you want ESPN to tell?