Michigan speculation shifts to Bates

Michigan forced out Dave Brandon and will begin looking for a new Athletic Director. Expect Brad Bates to get mentioned as a candidate over and over and over again. At this point it is all speculation and there is nothing BC can or should do. We don't need to overpay to keep him. We cannot get into a bidding war with Michigan. If they want him and he wants the job, more power to both. It only becomes interesting from a BC perspective if he leaves. If that happens, look for our AD search to be very different from the last one.

Tweets of the Week

Steve Addazio: dress up like Walter Sobchak and yell Dude all night long #ACCCostumes

— Will Thompson (@thrillis4) October 31, 2014

Only someone in CFB would think a politician could be qualified to be President but not qualified to pick the nation's four best teams.

— Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) October 27, 2014

Definition of student-athlete: Pre-med major & @theACCfootball Player of the Week Kevin Kavalec; The doctor ordered 10 tackles, 2 sacks.

— Chris Cameron (@ChrisMCameron) October 27, 2014

Boston College stopped recruiting Aaron Falzon in order to focus on getting Josh Sharma and Markis McDuffie. Both have committed elsewhere.

— Luke Srodulski (@lsrodulski) October 26, 2014

What the well-dressed pumpkin is wearing. (via Elizabeth Herzberg '10) #wearebc pic.twitter.com/TFniktK0Ek

— Boston College (@BostonCollege) October 28, 2014

Game Watches: Virginia Tech

After a series of afternoon and evening games, it is back to an early start. For those out west, enjoy your breakfast with fellow BC fans at one of the Game Watches. If your Chapter's Watch is not listed, post it in the comments section.

Atlanta Game Watch
The McCunney House
4210 N Mountain Rd NE
Marietta, GA 30066

Boston Game Watch
Warehouse Bar & Grille
40 Broad St
Boston

Chicago Game Watches
Nic and Dino's Tripoli Tap
1147 W Armitage Ave
Chicago

Finley Dunne's
3458 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago

Dallas Game Watch
Corner Bar
4830 McKinney Ave
Dallas

Denver Game Watch
The Whittier Pub
2000 E 28th Ave
Denver

Miami Game Watch
Duffy’s Sports Bar & Grill in Coconut Grove
3015 Grand Ave
Miami, FL 33133

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

Brazen Fox
13th and 3rd

Philadelphia Game Watch
Fox & Hound
1501 Spruce St.
Philadelphia

San Diego Game Watch
The Beer Company
602 Broadway St.
San Diego

San Francisco Game Watch
Shanghai Kelly's
2064 Polk St.
San Francisco

Washington, D.C. Game Watch
Irish Whiskey Public House
1207 19th Street Northwest
Washington, D.C.

BC-Virginia Tech preview

I don't know how a road game as an underdog can feel like a trap game, but this matchup sort of does. All the experts are picking us. The Hokies are struggling. Teams have run all over them and here we come with the best running QB in college football. What's not to like? I think we will win, but I hope the team isn't taking anything for granted.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game) I think how a team performs relative to their expectations means more in college football than any other major sport. At least it does for me personally. The College Football Playoff Committee released their first poll this week and I hardly cared. My team wasn't going to be involved and couldn't be even if we ran the table. However, that doesn't mean I am not enjoying this season and not looking forward to this game. I knew BC wasn't going to be a contender this year. But this team is entertaining and fun to root for and it feels like we are building towards something.

Three Simple Keys
1. Get Alston the ball in space. Did you see what Duke Johnson did last week? Although smaller, Alston has that same sort of allusiveness and can also make guys miss. This is not a great VT Defense. Our best should be able to make a few of their guys miss.
2. Collapse the pocket. Brewer is quick to throw the ball away if he is under pressure.
3. Stick with the run. Stopping the run will be a point of emphasis for them. We need to be patient and keep trying.

Gambling Notes
-- Beamer is 15-7 vs BC
-- BC has only defeated Virginia Tech in consecutive games once
-- Addazio is 5-4 in road games as BC's coach
The current line is BC+3.5

Factoid
Henning and Jags both won on their first visits to Lane Stadium. Neither coach had a second visit while with BC.

Scoreboard Watching
The big game is actually Thursday night: Florida State vs. Louisville. Selfishly I am rooting for the Seminoles. I want BC to be the team that beats them and ends their streak.

I hope to see...
BC have a healthy lead in the 4th quarter. Addazio talks a lot about winning the 4th quarter, but statistically that is not a great strategy. Winning the 1st quarter leads to a better win probability. Obviously we want to win every quarter but playing to keep it close late invites games to slip through your fingers. Let's put people away and avoid another near meltdown.

BC is in trouble if...
We turn the ball over. I think Beamer Ball is mostly dead, but that doesn't mean that a costly turnover won't help VT. Think back to Willis' fumble on the kick return last week. We are lucky that didn't cost BC the game.

Bottom Line
I don't think Bud Foster respects our passing game. I expect him to crowd the box and just try to stuff our run. I am fine with that. I don't mind a sluggish game. I think putting such an emphasis at the line will either open up a passing play or two, or lead to a few long runs when someone misses a tackle. It will be low-scoring but Murphy makes enough big plays for BC to win.
Final Score: BC 21, Virginia Tech 13

Basketball Hots and Nots

The ACC held its annual Basketball Media Days and there are plenty of clips and things to read on BC's official Twitter account. My expectations are relatively high for the season, in part because of the new staff and in part because of the things I am hearing. The results won't be bad as last year. Better defense and a smarter schedule pretty much guarantees that. However, there are plenty of good things coming from practice and some not so great. Here is what I am hearing:

Hots
-- The new staff really like Magarity. His size will be an asset and he won't just be a offense only-euro style big man.
-- Of all the wings that carried over from Donahue, Jackson will probably get the most minutes. He bought in early and is also playing good defense.
-- Garland Owens will also get a lot of time at the wing. His defense alone makes him an asset among the crowded bench.

Nots
-- I don't know where the minutes for Heckmann and Dragicevich. Defense matters now. The transfers are not superstars but they will play. Buying in matters. For holdovers like Heckmann and Drago, you hope they impress early in the season, because when the rotation gets tighter, they might be out.
-- Even without his injury Hicks was unlikely to be a major contributor.

Who knows
-- Everyone loves Clifford. The new staff is salivating and consider him healthy. Keep your fingers crossed. If he plays, this team will be very competitive in ACC play.
-- Diallo is raw, but has a good future.
-- Odio can be a defensive asset. However, his minutes really depend on the other bigs and who is healthy.

Time to kick the Hokies while they are down

Despite his legendary status in Blacksburg there is a sense of unease among Hokie fans about Frank Beamer. The similarities between Beamer and other coaches who outstayed their welcome (Bowden and Paterno) are obvious: declining wins, putting his son in an important position, a more hands-off approach to recruiting. Now there is fear about even getting bowl eligible. BC cannot keep the Hokies out of the postseason single-handedly but getting a win this weekend is critical. First it helps our season and bowl eligibility. Second it might speed up the Hokies' decline.

BC knows what it is like to take advantage of a declining coach. We were 2-0 against Penn State in the aughts. We were 3-1 against Bobby Bowden as a member of the ACC. Beamer is only 68 so it may be premature to call for his retirement, but Bowden and Paterno both proved that it is hard to maintain consistent greatness as a coach ages. Even if the product on the field is not what is once was, the name on the uniform and the coach on the sidelines still matters. BC plays Virginia Tech annually and winning at VT still generates respect among recruits and the media. Let their decline fuel our rise.

VT has some solid building blocks for greatness -- good facilities and fanbase, a great recruiting territory in the Tidewater area, and friendly admissions policies. What Beamer did can be duplicated. However, we don't know when they change will come. For now, let's take advantage of every game we play against them. That sort of killer instinct has been lacking from our program for a long time. Putting VT away would be a good example to show that things are different with Addazio.

McDuffie is not an issue, but hoops recruiting might be

My head keeps telling me to be patient with Jim Christian’s recruiting. My heart is wondering what’s going on. This weekend another major target -- Markis McDuffie -- committed to Wichita State. It is not that McDuffie is some sort of program changing talent. It is also normal to lose out on a primary target. The problem is that Christian missed out on so many of his targets and let other seemingly interested targets fade away.

As much as I question the process, it is only fair to remind myself (and everyone else) that Christian has yet to coach a game at BC. As disastrous as the recruiting seems, how the team performs on the court trumps everything. The product on the court will also give an immediate boost to recruiting. Proving he can coach and win in the ACC will open doors more than showing up at a bunch of high school gyms.

When he was hired I predicted Christian would be ok but not a BC lifer. I hope I'm right, but I also hope that he leaves BC better than he found it. To do that, he's got to make sure the 2016 recruiting process goes better than this haphazard cycle.

Louisville kickoff announced and other links

The Louisville game will be a 7:15 kickoff on ESPN2. If we win this weekend, a primetime showcase against the Cardinals is the type of game that might get us ranked.

For the second time in two weeks, Hockey East named Adam Gilmour its Player of the Week.

The ACC named Kevin Kavalec its Defensive Lineman of the Week.

Hanover product Monte Graham committed to BC Hockey over the weekend.

Two future Eagles Davon Jones and Chris Lindstrom are having a strong senior seasons.

Second viewing thoughts and grades: Wake Forest

Watching live I felt that the first half was great and the second half was equally terrible. That wasn't really the case. When the fear and emotions of the live broadcast are gone, you realize that a few executions issues, some borderline penalties and a bad fumble, ratcheted up the anxiety. But BC survived and won. Call it ugly. Call it unlucky. At least it was a win.

Offense: B

Murphy played well. It was one of his better days passing. There weren't as many errant throws and he made good decisions on his progressions. There were some open guys on broken plays, but once a play breaksdown, I think Murphy is running all the way. Given his skills that is not a bad plan. His runs weren't as explosive but they were still productive.

Hilliman's TD was great. It showed his power, speed and ability to make people miss. He ran pretty well and did a good job waiting for holes to open. Willis didn't get as many touches but looked good when he caught the ball as a safety valve.

Who knew Dudeck would have the best hands on the team? He did a good job getting open and holding on to the passes. It was nice to see Phillips finally get a big play (and hold on). Crimmins had a nice catch late. Alston only caught one pass and only had a few runs. I would like to see him targeted more in passing since everyone is focused on him during the jet sweeps.

The Offensive Line played well. We used a lot of pulling and power and the different pulling combos looked good. There weren't any big issues or breakdowns. Murphy mostly had time. They controlled the line. When Wake stopped the run it was more on the edges or just jamming the middle for short gain. Gallik looked good and Silberman keeps getting better.

As much as a I don't want Murphy to pass, the passing scheme is getting much better. We're more efficient and getting more big plays from it. In the second half when we needed an answer, we just picked them apart downfield. The other drives really died from penalties and Wake keying on the run. I thought Day called a good game and had a good plan.

Defense: B

The DLine did well early but had issues in the second half getting to the QB. Wujciak had a few nice tackles. Kavalec was productive. Gutapfel also looked good.

It wasn't the best game for the LBs. They missed a few tackles and didn't have great coverage. Keyes was fine but didn't get as much pressure as last week. Daniels was productive but not dominant. Strizak was fine.

Simmons play was huge. It ended the game and was in tight coverage. Sylvia played a lot in nickel and looked good. Brown made some plays early but then got beat over the middle later. Asprilla played well. Williams was good.

Early in the 3rd quarter Wake converted their first 3rd down. It was on a blitz. I don't know if that forced Brown to adjust or if he just felt like playing it safe, but we weren't as aggressive from that point out. We rarely used the amoeba. Instead it was a lot of 3-3-5. Wofford adjusted. I don't want to keep pointing the finger at Brown for the second half issues, but it is frustrating when BC cannot get off the field. In the end we held them to 17 and seven of those points were off a really short field via fumble. The D's scheme was solid. The second half was more a matter of easing off and waiting for them to eat clock and make mistakes. Which Wake did.

Special Teams: C-

I love Myles Willis and love his aggressiveness. However, that fumble was terrible. He needs to protect the ball better in situations likes that. Alston only had one return of note.

Howell's mistakes didn't cost us but they certainly added to the tension. The missed PAT was terrible. You've got to get more height on it. The final punt was a useless touchback. Howell's field goal was fine.

Overall: B

It is hard to be overly critical of Addazio's performance Saturday. You can question the coordinators, but the idea of the second half -- avoid quick scores on D and eat some clock on O -- is sound. The execution was a different issue. He made a nice call on the timeout when we only had 10 guys on the field for the punt. He also didn't seem to panic when we needed a stop. If we fix the Special Teams, this game wouldn't have been nearly as close.

Week to week I start to drink the Daz Koolaid even more. He's over the top, but the guys seem to buy in and we have yet to see Daz's emotions overtake his game management. The game could have slipped away, but it didn't. That's because of solid coaching.

It is never easy: BC holds on against Wake

My biggest issue during the end of the Spaz era was that I didn't feel anything. I was so resigned to losing that I was rarely nervous, rarely excited and generally bored. During the USC win, I finally felt those butterflies of excitement again about BC Football. It was nice to have that old familiar feeling again. Saturday an unwelcome old feeling returned. It was the pit in my stomach feeling. The is this really happening feeling. I thought we were going to blow it. Fortunately Justin Simmons picked off Wofford and BC successfully killed clock to hold on for the win at Wake.

The first half was probably the best 30 minutes of BC Football this season. The second half was almost as bad. The Defense just couldn't get off the field and the offense went cold. I was sure the missed PAT was going to cost us the game. I am relieved it is over and relieved BC won.

Despite the drama, the win still means a lot. We are one step closer to the postseason and now back to .500 in conference play.

I will have my grades and second viewing thoughts up late Sunday.

In-game comments post: Wake Forest

Another road game and another chance to bounce back. Let's hope BC comes out firing. Leave your thoughts and comments below.

You can also follow me on Twitter.

Belated thoughts on Clemson

I've been watching the loss to Clemson back in pieces as I could this week. I finally wrapped it up Friday. Obviously I knew the outcome, but that didn't make it any less painful. We could have had that game. As Addazio and everyone else pointed out, two or three more plays and BC wins.

My biggest takeaway though is that we went the wrong way on offense. We passed -- because the guys were open -- and it hurt us. And I am not talking about the drops. None of our primary targets can make anyone miss. Callinan and Crimmins had great downfield catches but are limited. They are not turning those catches into scores. They are not making multiple people miss. Murphy makes people miss. An explosive play from him is much more likely to score. Late in the game when he finally kept it, he was gashing Clemson. We should be doing that more! Even against eight-man fronts. As daunting as the crowded box is, all it takes is one guy to miss and Murphy is off. Do you expect that same sort of scoring from any of our WRs?

Although they gave up a late score off of bad tackling, I thought the D played better. The front four probably had their best game. The DBs were better too.

This was a tough loss, but very encouraging. One and a half seasons in and the evidence is mounting that BC is well coached. If we increase the talent level, there is no reason to think we won't be competing in the division quickly.

Tweets of the Week

Check out this interview of former coach Cathy Inglese talking about #BC and the HOF induction. http://t.co/omlnv8j2I0 #WeAreBC

— BC Womens Basketball (@bc_wbb) October 21, 2014

It's going to be really tough for Steve Addazio to sleep tonight. BC left about 21 points out on field vs Clemson.

— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) October 18, 2014

Yes, Boston College, YES. Thank you so everyone who took part in making this, it just made me SO happy! http://t.co/J65NJC0hUB #ShakeItOff

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) October 17, 2014

Eagles coach Chip Kelly on the sidelines at Boston College & Clemson today pic.twitter.com/izOsSat2FB

— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) October 18, 2014

Game Watches: Wake Forest

BC is a heavy favorite, but you're still nervous. You know who would understand how you feel? Other BC fans! Join them at a regional game watch. List your chapter's watch in the comments section, if it is not listed.

Boston Game Watch
Warehouse Bar & Grille
40 Broad St
Boston

Chicago Game Watches
Nic and Dino's Tripoli Tap
1147 W Armitage Ave
Chicago

Finley Dunne's
3458 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago

Dallas Game Watch
Corner Bar
4830 McKinney Ave.
Dallas

Denver Game Watch
Whittier Pub
2000 East 28th Ave
Denver

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

Brazen Fox NYC
106 3rd Avenue (at 13th Street)
New York, N.Y.

Philadelphia Game Watch
Fox & Hound
1501 Spruce St.
Philadelphia

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

San Diego Game Watch
The Beer Company
602 Broadway St.
San Diego

San Francisco Game Watch
Shanghai Kelly's
2064 Polk St.
San Francisco

Tampa Game Watch
Beef O’Brady’s
4516 S. Dale Mabry Highway
Tampa, Fla.

Washington, D.C. Game Watch
Irish Whiskey Public House
1207 19th Street Northwest
Washington, D.C.

BC-Wake Forest preview

Time for another rebound. My pipedream of us making a run at the Division is probably over, but there is still much on the line. BC needs this game to get closer to bowl eligibility and to keep momentum going into the tougher second half of the season. BC also needs to prove that we have a killer instinct. Wake is struggling right now and leaning on a freshman QB coming back from injury. We need to put them away early and not let another game come down to the wire.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game) 
You don't always need a long history or bad blood to make a series interesting. Think back to the Wake games when we first started playing them. They were close, memorable and once we were in the same conference, important for both teams. As both declined the past few years, the games lost much of their juice. I hope that Clawson gets the Deacons back to consistently winning. I don't think Wake-BC will ever be Ohio State-Michigan or even BC-Syracuse or BC-Notre Dame, but it was fun having competitive, relevant games against them for a few years.

Three Simple Keys
1. Murphy needs to rush for more than 100 yards. It can't get more simple than that. I want him to pass. I want the other players to step up. But the reality is that he is our best playmaker and our best player. Just like Andre Williams last year, if he gets going, everything else opens up. Clemson did a good job on him, but we also got away designed runs a bit. Don't overthink things this week.
2. Bring Wolford down. He's not afraid to get out of the pocket and try to make a play. Wrapping him up will be important.
3. No drops. They are drive killers.

Gambling Notes
-- Clawson is 0-3 in ACC play
-- Addazio is 4-4 on the road
-- Addazio is 1-1 in the state of North Carolina
The current line is BC-13

Factoid
BB&T Field is the smallest stadium in the ACC at 31,500.

Scoreboard Watching
Syracuse at Clemson will be a good indicator of what we can expect from the Orange. It wouldn't be a bad thing to see the Tigers stomp them. I want their season to be over and their players checked out by the time they get to Chestnut Hill.

I hope to see...
One game where the placekicking is not an issue. It wasn't the only reason we lost, but missing the extra point last week did impact the play calling late in the game.

BC is in trouble if...
We cannot establish the run. The Deacons have a decent pass defense. If we cannot grind it out on the ground, I worry about trying to win it in the air.

Bottom Line
Wake is not a good team. They barely beat Army and haven't been competitive in most of their ACC games. My only real fear is facing them on the road. But I think like our last road game in North Carolina, BC will put a huge emphasis on running and overpower them. I think we control the clock and the ball and win comfortably.
Final Score: BC 28, Wake Forest 13

Another class of New England hoops stars slips away

Despite being located in a talent rich region, in the last 25 years much of BC's basketball success was on the backs of outsiders. The last great Massachusetts player to carry a team was Sconnie Penn and he didn't even finish his career at BC. Blame the AAU leaders. Blame the BC Admissions office. Point to Skinner or Donahue or now Christian. While we have landed some kids via New England prep schools (Smith, Hanlan), they are unfortunately the outliers and not the norm. That was supposed to change this year. This was going to be the best group of Massachusetts and New England recruits in years. Donahue was building towards this class (supposedly) and Christian hired New England recruiters in order to close on the local kids. It didn't happen. The last hope for a star player -- Josh Sharma -- committed to Stanford Wednesday.

2015 Northfield Mount Hermon (MA) C Josh Sharma has committed to Stanford. (HT @AdamFinkelstein) @josharma42 http://t.co/6i4UbCdbw3
— Verbal Commits (@VerbalCommits) October 22, 2014

Recruiting is not over and Christian has yet to coach a game at BC, so I will continue to preach patience. We don't need to own New England to be great, but it would be nice. BC shouldn't have to look for hidden gems in California or hope to find a few overlooked transfers. The foundation for a great program is within a three hour drive of campus. Maybe Christian can get next year's locals. But for now another group of Massachusetts stars are headed elsewhere.

What Could've Been: When BC almost hired Dave Clawson

As we know, during any coaching search, plenty of gossip and flatout BS rises to the surfaces. When BC went looking to replace TOB in 2006 many coaches were linked to the job. Some were real discussions and some were nonsense. The one candidate that BC fans rarely harp on is Dave Clawson. The new Wake coach was floated as a possibility and was probably much closer to being hired than any of us ever imagined.

In the closed-knit community of college football, it is important to pick your mentors well. As a rising assistant coach at Villanova, Clawson struck up a friendship with Gene DeFilippo, the Wildcats AD. I don't know what the connection was, but it lasted as Clawson worked his way up the ladder. His first success was reviviing Fordham's moribund football program. From there he jumped to the higher profile Richmond job. It was at Richmond that Gene and Clawson's history would become a factor in both men's future. After three seasons at Richmond, Clawson had the team turned around, but he wasn't on any national radar until he landed an interview for the open BC job. His candidacy caught people by surprise but could be rationalized by the head coaching success and his history with Catholic schools. BC went in a different direction and hired another guy who Gene had mentored in Jags, but the process clearly influenced Gene and Clawson. Gene liked what he saw in Clawson and if not for his lack of experience with BCS-level programs might have gone to bat for him. Clawson clearly appreciated the professional rub he got from being interviewed because the next jump in his career came via GDF.

After missing out on the BC job, Clawson produced another very strong season in Richmond. Yet no big jobs came calling this time around. Maybe too many big programs viewed him as a FCS lifer. The only way to change that was to prove himself at thet next level as a recruiter and coordinator. At the same time, that Clawson was looking to add a different type of experience, Gene's old friend Phil Fulmer was looking for a new Offensive Coordinator. Gene played matchmaker and now his protege would have SEC experience to round out his resume. But his time in Knoxville was a disaster. The offense sputtered and Fulmer was fired. Meanwhile the team he built in Richmond went on to win the National Championship. Instead of being mentioned for ACC level head coaching jobs, Clawson was now looking for any job. He got one as the Head Coach at Bowling Green. It wasn't a career dead-end, but he wasn't considered for the BC job when Gene had an opening a few weeks later and he wasn't on the fast track to a big job like Mike London (the guy who won at Richmond with Clawson's recruits).  A good coach survives though and after five years Clawson had Bowling Green turned around and impressed enough people to land the Wake job. If anything he could point to his track record as a rebuilder as a reason he got the Wake job.

I don't know if Clawson regrets his stop in Tennessee or thinks about what he could have done at BC with our 2007 talent. I am sure Gene is proud of him and proud of whatever influence he had on Clawson's career. Who knows? If Gene had hired Clawson instead of two other friends of his (Jags and Spaz), Gene might still be the AD at BC.

Clawson won't be the only "what if" of the day. Wake will start John Wolford at QB. He's Bobby's brother and many -- including thsi blogger -- suspected he would be at BC one day. However, he never really fit into Daz's plans. Despite some losing and a recent head injury, the younger Wolford seems to be doing well in Winston-Salem.

Thanks to Will Beekman

I wanted to take a moment to thank my friend Will Beekman for filling in on the blog this weekend and on Monday.  As I mentioned, I was busy with a wedding, the associated travel and then catching up with real life. I will still post my thoughts on the Clemson loss whenever I can fit it in and basically have the blog back on a normal schedule as we get ready for Wake. But I do take your continued support seriously and that's why when I cannot blog, I want to leave it in good hands with someone like Will. He's a good guy and like all of us cares a lot about BC and BC sports.

Virginia Tech kickoff announced and other links

Earlier today the ACC announced the Virginia Tech game will be a 12:30PM kickoff.  TV coverage will be a "split network" with the UNC/Miami game which means check your local listings in the week leading up to the game, especially if you don't live in the New England market.


Over the weekend, the men's hockey team picked up their first victory of the young season with a 6-2 win at RIT.


The Portland Press Herald had a nice write-up on Quinton Porter yesterday.  Nice to read up on what he's been up to since his days at BC.

Will's thoughts on the Clemson game

Just a few quick thoughts about the game.  More will be posted later on.

• There were so many missed opportunities that could have swung the game in BC's direction.  This article touches on a few of them, but the Bordner drop, the under-thrown pass off the reverse, and the Rouse drop are the top 3 in my mind.  Of course we all want to see BC make PATs, but those others hurt more. When you play very good teams (and Clemson is one of them), you have to take advantage of the opportunities you create for yourself.  If BC had executed on any one of those three plays, we would have had a much better chance of winning.  If we had hit two of them, the chances of winning would have jumped exponentially. 
• It's nice to see Clemson travel in such strong numbers, but Alumni was embarrassingly filled with orange yesterday.  There were giant blocks of the upper sideline section closer to the reservoir filled with Clemson fans.  I think it may have been the loudest & largest Clemson fan base I've seen at Alumni.  Clemson fans are incredibly friendly, and it's great to see them come to Boston in the numbers that they do, but it'd be really nice to see much more maroon and gold than orange in the upper sections at kickoff.
• Overall the defense played well, and it's hard to be critical of a group that allowed just 17 points, but we gave up too many 3rd down conversions.  Case in point - the series when BC had Clemson starting on their own 9.  After 2 plays netting negative one yard, Clemson had a 3rd and 11.  They ran for 13 and got to their 21.  BC held the next 2 downs, and on 3rd and 4 Clemson gained 16 to their 43.  BC stopped Clemson on the next set of downs, and they ended up punting....which BC received on their own 6.  To recap - that was a drive that started on Clemson's 9, and BC gave up two big plays on 3rd down which allowed Clemson to get to a place to pin BC within our 10.  It completely shifted the field position game and put a lot of pressure on the offense to move the ball.
• BC's offense (understandably) didn't put up the big numbers like in other games this season, but it was nice to see Day & crew keep installing new looks/formations/plays.  The Bordner pass off the reverse was one, but the Sherman Alston TD reception was another - lining him up in the backfield, pulling a guard to make it look like a run....nice to see new wrinkles develop in our offensive attack each week.
• Steven Daniels is coming on strong. He had a good game stopping the run and lead BC with 11 tackles.
• Murphy's 43-yard run with the game on the line was something special.