Let's check in on what the computers think

With  BC stopping the bleeding and upsets occuring throughout college football, it is time to look at BC's ESPN FPI. As you probably remember, ESPN's systems loved BC after the fast start. At one point we were a favorite in all remaining games aside from Clemson.

With the win over Louisville, BC is 42 in ESPN's system (right behind a resurgent Purdue). As for upcoming games, BC is only considered a favorite in the last two. Miami has a slight edge, VT's larger and Clemson looks to remain a heavy favorite.

Of course none of this really matters. The rankings don't play the games, the players do. And a healthy Dillon would mean BC can win any game left on the schedule.

ESPN still slighting BC in ACC Power Rankings

It is the offseason, but that doesn't slow down ESPN. They continue to fill up their ACC blog with power rankings. Any list or ranking is a good tool as it engages readers and helps improve search engine optimization. The latest poll ranks teams heading into 2015. Not so surprisingly, ESPN ranked BC 11 out of 14 ACC teams heading into next season.

In the power rankings, there is another team tied with BC, leaving only Wake and Cuse as lower than the Eagles. This also isn't surprising. Yet instead of explaining why BC is below so many (new QB, new OL), the recap focuses on Addazio's first two years. Adelson notes his success in beating expectations in Year 1 and Year 2. But she doesn't follow that logic and move him up in this ranking. With his track record, I would have put UVA (with London's hot seats) and Pitt (new staff) behind our Eagles. I also would have used the Power Rankings to question a traditional power. Why not put Virginia Tech low? They've been uneven the past two years. Or give Al Golden's critics fuel by moving BC ahead of the Canes. This is subjective, so ESPN should make it interesting.

In the whole scheme of things, it is good that expectations are so low this year. If BC can show just the littlest aptitude and get to a bowl, it will be viewed as a major accomplishment.

Power Ranking the Power Rankers

I hate that there is so much subjectivity in college football. Instead of W-L records, everyone's got an opinion. Fortunately outside of the Coaches' poll, none of these opinions really matter. They are all just filler content to get people talking. The worst are the various Power Rankings. Someone's subjective list of who is the best team at the moment. Yet for all my eye-rolling at the Power Rankings, I cannot help but get sucked in...every week! I tweet about them, link them and demand respect for "BC" each time. What can I say? I am an idiot. But I am also an idiot with an opinion. So here is my Power Rankings of ACC Power Rankers:

1. Fox Sports South
No one is reading this ranking or talking about it, but that doesn't mean I cannot rate them No. 1 in my rankings. Their top is just like everyone else's but at least they do some things different like ties and punishing BC for our blowout loss to USC. If you are going to use regional bias in your rankings, do it proudly! That's how you shoot up the ATLeagle.com Rankings.

2. ESPN 

The Granddaddy of all the ACC Power Rankings. The the list is co-authored by ESPN's ACC bloggers Heather Dinich and Andrea Adelson. No explanation is given for how they compile their individual lists into one poll. My main gripe with the ESPN list is that they don't move things around that much -- even after really bad performances. What's the point of a subjective ranking if your just going to be predictable about it?

3. ACC Sports
Jim Young does a good job keeping tabs on the ever expansive ACC and his ranking has a little more weekly movement than ESPN's but their lists are still very similar. How can one Power Ranker standout if he is a mirror of another, bigger site? Florida State is scoring like nobodies business. Put them at No. 1. I would! 

4. Shakin the Southland
Many SBNation blogs put up Power Rankings. I am not opposed to it, but wonder if there is much debate when you run a team-specific site? Shouldn't these guys put Clemson on top every week?

5. Testudo Times
Shouldn't they be doing a Big Ten Power Ranking?

No respect for the win and other links

I think most of us were fair in our assessment of BC's win. It wasn't pretty but it was a "W." ESPN didn't see it the same way. Despite winning and many ACC teams losing their respective openers, BC remains at the bottom of the Power Ranking. Unfortunately perception still matters in college football. I guess we will just have to win this week.

Here is the depth chart for the Wake Forest game. I would hope to see more 2nd team defensive guys used this week. Wake Forest's Michael Campanaro will play.

The ACC named Chris Ager the ACC Soccer Player of the Week.

Hockey No. 1, depth chart and other links

USA Hockey released their Preseason Poll and the defending champs are still on top. BC, Minnesota and Michigan were the only teams to receive first place votes.

BC picked up another commitment when Connecticut Linebacker Marquis Little announced his decision over the weekend. We can't seem to get Massachusetts or New Jersey kids any more but are cleaning up in Connecticut and Ohio. I expect this recruiting class to change dramatically come December. Spaz will either be back and able to poach a few kids or a new coach will come in and try to keep most of the class.

Bobby Swigert is back on the depth chart. The only real surprise is Running Back David Dudeck breaking the chart ahead of Kimble.

Spaz was happy with the off week.

CBS still has BC at the bottom of their ACC Power Rankings.

BC Athletics Power Players Ranking

As part of this blog, I get a lot of gossip sent my way. 99% of it never gets vetted and therefore never published. But certain names and places pop up again and again. To put things in perspective, I decided to create a power players ranking. In different ways, these men have dramatic influence on BC sports. By nature these sorts of rankings are subjective. All of the men below reach far beyond the football field. I ranked them in terms of overall impact and power. Leave your thoughts below.

1. Gene DeFilippo. Director of Athletics, Boston College. At some schools the AD is a figure head, fundraiser and administrator. Not at BC. DeFilippo is very high touch and active on many fronts throughout the school. His backroom politicing helped get BC into the ACC when things looked hopeless. As further proof of the power Gene wields, look no further than Tom O’Brien and Kathy Inglese. At other schools those two coaches would have been untouchable. Yet Gene was able to steer the respective programs in new directions and avoid major alumni or media interference.

2. John Swofford. Commissioner, Atlantic Coast Conference. Swofford and his office dictate things as minute as schedules and referee assignments to critical deals related to television and bowls. BC would not be where we are today if Swofford hadn’t pushed for expansion.


3. Leo Sullivan. Vice President of Human Resources, Boston College. This name might be less familiar to BC sports fans, but Sullivan is certainly a power player in Chestnut Hill. He was very involved with the football coaching search and his office has to clear hires for assistants. They also help negotiate compensation.

4. Mike Dee. Chief Operating Officer, Boston Red Sox. Dee’s primary employer is the Red Sox, but his other role, as head of the Fenway Sports Group, makes him a power player within BC sports. The landmark deal between FSG and BC gave the Sox a foothold in the college marketplace and greatly increased BC's revenue for things like signage and advertising. Dee is spread pretty thin, so he is not intimately involved in all of the BC decisions, but his staff is. They are one of the reasons the past few years have been so lucrative for the school.

5. Dave Brown. VP of Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN. Want to know why BC’s game is on ESPN U at 1 pm vs a Thursday night primetime game? That’s Brown’s call. Brown doesn’t even touch the majority of what BC sports does. But what he does has a huge impact. Appearances on ESPN are invaluable. They change perception among recruits, media and alumni.

6. Father Leahy, SJ. President, Boston College. Leahy isn’t on Eagle Action following practice schedules or recruiting updates, but he is a bigger fan of BC sports than most give him credit for. Rather than make mistakes in an area where he is not an expert, he rightly leans of DeFilippo. And when needed he stands up and provides the voice and direction his role requires (see: ACC Expansion and the battle over the Brighton Campus).

7. Jeff Jagodinski. Head Football Coach, Boston College. At many schools the football coach would be No. 1 on this list. In only his second year, Jags doesn’t have that type of clout nor the internal and external power network that a more tenured coach would have. I also don’t know if Jags cares about the politics around the program. If Jags keeps winning, things will take care of themselves.

8. Jerry York. Head Hockey Coach, Boston College. Like Jags, I don’t know if York even cares where he stands on the BC sports landscape. However, his successes and good nature leave him well liked and hugely popular among alumni.

9. John Mahoney. Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Boston College. Before anyone takes the field at BC, they first must get admitted by the school. Hardcore fans and the media probably overplay the difficulty of the student athlete admissions process. Coaches do get some leeway and get to call in the occasional favor. However, it is not a rubber stamp. Fortunately Admissions works closely with all the teams in order to avoid a fallout similar to the Jim O’Brien fiasco in 1996.

10. Jim Paquette. Associate Athletic Director – Development, Boston College. Upset over the donor-based seating or the cost of a parking spot on Shea? Those are initiatives from Paquette's office. Development doesn’t win or lose games, but it does offset the huge costs associated with running a major athletic department.