Tweets of the Week

Addazio asked what it will take to give Clemson a game the way they did vs FSU: "Our goal is not to stay in it, our goal is to win it."

— ESPN ACC (@ESPN_ACC) October 9, 2013

Pat Dye laments Condi Rice not being qualified for Playoff Committee. But he's OK w Mike Tranghese who only played golf at St Michael's?

— Bruce Feldman (@BFeldmanCBS) October 7, 2013

VICTORY MEAL!!!! Well deserved treat for a great team win. pic.twitter.com/0rzSmMuMKG

— Ryan P Day (@ryandaytime) October 6, 2013

Your fearless author has a slap bet on the line regarding if Chase goes drafted or UDFA. This will not end well.

— Heights and Lows (@BC_Heights_Lows) October 7, 2013

@davidpollack47 Coach Addazio has to be the favorite with his WWF experience as Sgt. Slaughter. pic.twitter.com/UgleBqtSuj

— Michael D'Andraia (@Moose1857) October 10, 2013

Copying from the best

Bruce Feldman spent a week with Texas A&M and wrote about it for CBS. Any college football fan should read the article just to get a feel for how a program operates. What I found interesting though was how the offensive staff watched the Philadelphia Eagles' opener and copied a play...a play that BC also copied and used early in the USC game.

On the TV is Chip Kelly's NFL debut against the Washington Redskins. The former Oregon coach is having quite a night as the Philadelphia Eagles' new head coach. The Eagles had a staggering 21 first downs in the first half alone while ripping off 53 plays. Kelly's success has caught Sumlin's eye. The Aggies head coach practically bounds into the room and goes right to the grease board on Spavital's wall. He grabs a blue Sharpie and diagrams up a wrinkle that Kelly has been carving up the Redskins with all night. It is a zone-read play with an option of throwing to the tight end with a bubble to the field. Usually a QB has three options on that play but the tight end free-releasing down the field creates a whole other set of problems for defenses.

We didn't target the Tight Ends in the first two games, so it was no surprise that we eventually used them in the passing game. What I appreciate is that instead of using them on a late release in goalline or a play fake off of a power play, we did it from spread, read-option. It shows that at least we are watching others and looking for new ideas. It won't always work, but it is encouraging that our staff thinks this way.

Matt Ryan makes Pro Bowl and other links

The NFL announced its Pro Bowl rosters and Matt Ryan was the lone BC guy to get the invite to Hawaii. While I tweet on the topic, I rarely mention the media narrative building around Ryan. Even here in Atlanta -- where you figure the fanbase would all be defenders -- there are still plenty of Matt Ryan critics. The Pro Bowl is a nice honor, but no one aside from some true believers (like most BC fans) will put Matt in the "great" category until he wins something in the postseason. UPDATE: Chris Snee was also named to the Pro Bowl.

Nick Clancy signed with an agent and is projected to be a late round pick. 

In case you missed it, ESPN's ACC crew predict we won't be bowling in 2013. I am not ready to make a prediction one way or the other yet, but our schedule is now pretty favorable. 

A rising Massachusetts baseball star committed to BC. He won't graduate from high school until 2015. 

Olivier Hanlan was named Co-ACC Rookie of the Week. 

Bruce Feldman likes the staff we are building. 

No King at BC may be a good thing

Nearly everything that needs to be said about Penn State and Joe Paterno has been said. But one point that Bruce Feldman made regarding College Football's King culture reminded me of how different BC is from most FBS schools. We don't and never have had a "King." I've often longed for that iconic winner that could serve as the face of the program, but maybe it is better that we don't. For whatever we miss by not having a "Woody" or a "JoePa" or "Bear" we also avoid the power struggles and corruption that often comes with an all-powerful Head Coach.

What does a King really provide anyway? Branding...a little nostalgia...someone to embrace. But it doesn't really win you football games or make you a better school. Florida State's losing in the final Bowden years proved that and Penn State has a permanent stain on their whole community because of their Kingdom.

BC's had some dynamic leaders, but none have ever stayed long enough to reach statue status. Our winningest coach and longest tenured even left and no one put up a fight to keep him. TOB could have been our icon. A little more fire and one or two more critical wins and we would have celebrated him like other schools have done with their biggest winners. But it wasn't to be and that's probably a good thing.

When I've profiled coaching candidates in the past, I've hoped that one would stay for a long time. That's changed. I don't want a guy who want to be bigger than the University. Things are better that way.

Feldman first national writer to address Spaz-Rogers issue

In his latest mailbag, Bruce Feldman became the first national media member to address the Kevin Rogers issue truthfully. As most BC fans have known from the start, his departure had nothing to do with health issues.

Sources close to the BC program told me Spaziani has had all sorts of trouble with staff chemistry issues. Key assistants Ryan Day and Kevin Rogers bailed to Temple. Spaziani had crossed a personal line with Rogers early last season and the spin that came out of that couldn't solve a fractured staff. Spaziani was a good defensive coach, but hasn't shown he can manage a staff and run a program.

It's been rumored to be a fist fight. A verbal fight. Insubordination. Regardless, it wasn't health and is one of the reasons the season fell apart. Maybe if Spaz had been allowed to hire Brock in the first place, it wouldn't have played out like it did.

Good ESPN, Bad ESPN

I've been surprised by how little attention the Raji-Brace combo recieved in the national publications. ESPN's Bruce Feldman rectified that by calling them one of college football's best-kept secrets. If you haven't read Feldman's book on recruiting yet, go out and pick up a copy. Great read and insight into the recruiting world. (Also, keep an eye on Chip Kelly -- the first guy mentioned in the article. You never know who will end up where.)

On the flip side, I had to mention HD's passing swipe at BC in this post.

Chris Crane won't make you forget Matt Ryan, and Jeff Jagodzinski won't make Eagles fans forget Tom O'Brien.

Poor form and really her first misstep since launching the ACC blog. I hope she doesn't fall into a rut with the BC narrative. Close observers know how BC fans feel about TOB. And no one expects Crane to be Ryan.