Goodbye 2017

This year involved the usual highs and lows of being a BC fan, however, we did have some moments of hope. Thank you to all the players and coaches who represented BC this year. Thank you to the new Athletic Department leadership. Thank you to the best fans around. I hope we have an even bigger and better 2018.

BC Hoops loses tough road game to UVA

I don't know if this will be a "turn-the-corner" season or just more of the same from other Jim Christian years, but Saturday's loss seemed more encouraging than the typical moral victory. BC went on the road to a ranked UVA team, played UVA's style of game, got an off day from Bowman and nearly upset the Cavaliers.

Jerome Robinson was on fire. He scored 29 of BC's 58 points. It was a real hero game as he drove to the basket, made tough jumpers and a few 3s against UVA's typical disciplined D. The other thing of note as we head towards ACC play is that Christian only played six guys the whole game and Luka Kraljevic only played 14 minutes. This team has no depth but the top guys are clearly ACC-level players. Can he get away with that during the remainder of the ACC season?

If Bowman has his normal game, BC wins. If BC draws up a better inbounds at the end, they win. If UVA's Jerome doesn't nail two NBA 3s late, BC wins. There is a lot to like and the D is improved. Now just turn some of these close games into Ws.

Wade to transfer

BC QB Darius Wade announced his intention to transfer. As a graduate, Wade is free to go anywhere and play immediately. Based on the guys he has followed on Twitter, I assume he will go down to a lower level where he will most likely start.

Beyond getting his degree, Wade deserves credit for hanging around this season. He completed his bachelor's last year, so he could have left already. Instead he stayed with no guarantee of starting and was a contributor this year.

Wade was the guy Addazio wanted to build around and that never happened. Injuries and player development limited him from ever becoming an elite QB. Maybe one last chance will help him reach that potential. Hopefully he has fun in his last year.

There is a rumor going around that Hilliman is set to transfer as a graduate as well. [UPDATE: Hilliman has graduated.] I don't know if he graduated in December or still needs to take classes this spring. Until he is a grad, BC will probably be vague about his status. I will follow it and update as the gossip and news trickles out.

Comparing BC coaches through first five years

You will hear a lot about Addazio's accomplishments in the following weeks, as I assume BC will extend his contract. College Football requires a bit of puffery to keep the recruits coming and the media paying attention. But to BC fans it will feel empty because so many of the accomplishments -- seven win seasons, four bowl games -- are a product of modern college football. The reality is that when you compare him to other BC coaches who have lasted as long at BC, Addazio's accomplishments are similar to his predecessors. And more frustrating, he has not had a real outlying 'high' season, while still having a 'low' season. Take a look.

Here are BC coaches since WWII through their first five consecutive seasons. (I excluded Myers interrupted tenure.) [CLICK TO ENLARGE GRAPHES.]

As you can see, when looking at wins only, Addazio starts and finishes better than most, but doesn't have that one break through season. But it is easier to win seven games when you play 13. Now let's look at the same group of coaches' winning percentages.

The path of Addazio's line on the chart remains the same, but how it compares to others looks a little less impressive. He's now squarely in the middle.

But what about the modern era of scholarship limitations, the FBS/FCS split, TV games, etc? How does Addazio compare to guys like Bicknell and TOB? Take a look.

Once again, Addazio falls into the middle. But I would argue that his first five years are more frustrating because he showed neither the progress of TOB nor the lightning in a bottle moments of Bicknell's early years.

But beyond graphs, here are the simple records of Bicknell, TOB and Addazio through their first five years.

Bicknell --- 36-22-1 (Wn Pct .619)
TOB -- 31-27 (Wn Pct .534)
Addazio -- 31-33 (Win Pct .484)

What do I conclude? Addazio is an average coaching producing slightly below BC's historic norms. He's not special and doesn't seem like the type of guy who will ever break through or capture a special year. He's certainly better than the likes of Henning or Spaz, but the longer he's here the more he seems like TOB.

None of this is fireable. What we don't know is what Martin Jarmond's expectations are. His job gets harder if Addazio keeps winning seven without ever showing signs of anything more.

I will explore this theme throughout the offseason. But after five years, I think it is safe to say we know what we are getting in Addazio and I don't think anyone is excited about it.

Cold end to a roller-coaster season

Bowl games can be tricky things from a fan perspective. The format and setup are such an anomaly, it is hard to put too much into their outcomes. Yet with a month to prepare and it being the final game of the year, you want your team to win. BC did not win and ended the season on a very frustrating note. After dominating the first half, BC only led by seven. In the second half, Iowa looked like a new team and BC couldn't adjust. There were and are plenty of excuses -- the field, the weather, the refs -- but the simple answer is BC lost a winnable game. For the fourth time in five years, Addazio finishes 7-6.

I want to have optimism about the future. I do think there is a ton of talent returning. But right now, I still wonder if Addazio can ever push enough of the right buttons to be more than a 7-6 coach. 

I will have second viewing thoughts and grades up later this week.

Below is my post-game Periscope.

Pinstripe Bowl: post-game Periscope https://t.co/83dvpc4y2H

— Bill Maloney (@bcatleagle) December 28, 2017

In-game comments post: Pinstripe Bowl

It is the last game of the year and a chance for Addazio to get to eight wins. The weather is freezing. The opponent is old school and we are playing in Yankee Stadium. Let's do this!

Leave your thoughts and comments below.

You can also follow me on Twitter.

No Landry in Pinstripe Bowl

According to Addazio and BC, Harold Landry will not play in the Pinstripe Bowl. He is still expected to play in the Senior Bowl. While I am sad that we won't see Landry play one last time, I think this is probably best for him.

BC has played nearly 75% of the season without Landry and when he did play, he didn't seem healthy. We can and should win this game without him. We generated enough pass rush after his injury and shut down Offenses even when he wasn't the focus of the opponent's attack. I don't see this game coming down to one defensive play. If BC can't win without Landry, I don't think they were going to win with him.

If Landry is not 100%, there is no reason to risk further injury to play in an inconsequential bowl game. He took a risk by returning to BC for his senior season. It has not paid off because of his ankle. Yet he is still listed by many as a 1st Round Draft pick. The upside of playing -- moving up higher on Draft boards -- does not outweigh the downside -- further injury, falling Draft stock.

Some might doubt the sincerity of Landry's injury given he is still expected to participate in the Senior Bowl. If he and his family think it is best for him to skip the Pinstripe and are using the lingering injury as their excuse, I don't blame them. He is about to get paid from the NFL. He will get nothing for playing in the Pinstripe. Plenty of players skip bowl games. Until the current model is corrected, they all have every reason to do so. Good luck to Harold.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all. Blogging resumes tomorrow.

BC-Iowa preview

As much as I want an expanded playoff, and as much as I think playing in empty stadiums in random small cities days before Christmas is silly, I have to say, I always get excited about a BC bowl game. I enjoy the fresh matchups against teams we don't often play. I am a sucker for the neutral site aspect and the bowls forcing some sort of local flavor on the game. Finally, it is our last glimpse of BC football for nine months. Even when things are not great, some BC Football is better than no BC Football.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game)
As of Friday, BC did not officially sellout its ticket allotment for this game, but the school came pretty close. I think the primary reason tickets sales went well is the location. Outside of Boston, the New York area is our largest alumni population. With the demise of the Big East and not playing Rutgers or Army on a regular basis, we don't have a ton of big sporting events in the area. Perhaps Jarmond should look into an occasional neutral site game at the Meadowlands. If it is against a desirable opponent (Notre Dame, Penn State, even Syracuse), I think the tickets would sell.

Three Simple Keys
1. Stop the run. This game will be very dependent or Merritt and Smith clogging up the middle. Iowa runs a lot of zones, so disrupting the line and stopping the cut backs is key.
2. Get big plays from someone other than Dillon. When the offense did explode, it wasn't just Dillon. Both Smiths had sweeps for scores. White had big plays. There are playmakers on the offense. We just need to get them the ball at the right time.
3. Don't waste drives with long field goals. We know how this goes on a cold, sloppy baseball field. I hope Addazio thinks of most possessions as 'four-down territory.'

Gambling Notes
-- Addazio is 1-2 in bowl games at BC
-- Ferentz is 6-8 in bowl games at Iowa
-- BC is 14-11 in bowl games
The current line is BC+2.5

Factoid
While BC has played all the Big Ten East schools, our history with the Big Ten West teams is limited. BC has not played games against Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, Nebraska or Wisconsin.

Scoreboard Watching
During Bowl season, the most important game for all ACC teams is the Sugar Bowl. We need Clemson to win. I don't get any real satisfaction from watching our conference foes winning, but seeing ACC teams in the National Championship is a nice recruiting tool and point of validation.

I hope to see...
BC get up early and take Iowa out of the game mentally. Iowa fans don't want to be at this game and based on their body language, Iowa players don't want to be there either. Establishing an early lead could take away all momentum.

BC is in trouble if...
Wade doesn't get off the easy passes. As explosive as Dillon can be and as solid as the Oline has been, the offense only opens up if Wade is somewhat of a passing threat.

Bottom Line
I've been confident about this matchup since it was announced. I know the similar styles might make for boring football, but it was explosive teams that gave us trouble. If Iowa wants to grind it out, that will play to our strengths. I think BC will move the ball on the ground, force a few key turnovers and win this one with some cushion.
Final Score: BC 28, Iowa 17

BC needs OT to put away Richmond

The good news? BC won again, to make it five in a row. The bad news? It took overtime against Richmond to do it. This was a game where BC's issues on the front line came back to haunt them. Richmond cleaned up on the boards and converted many easy second chance points. BC established a big lead in the first half and then watched the Spiders cut into it throughout the rest of the game. The good news was the Chatman lit it up and carried the team with 30 points.

Bowman and Robinson were decent, but the rest of the team was bad. Popovic made some dumb plays and had trouble inside. BC also missed some foul shots late that could have put the game out of reach.

They get more time off and then it is back to ACC play against UVA.

Pinstripe preview video

Here is a look at the game from the ACC Network. The BC portion might be familiar, but the Iowa interviews were new (to me).

Throwback logo continues comeback

Take a look at the gear Under Armour gave to the team and staff for the Pinstripe Bowl.

More @PinstripeBowl bowl swag for the fellas from @UnderArmour before the trip to New York City Saturday #BCEagles pic.twitter.com/vA9zWjvUhw

— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) December 21, 2017

That's BC's old logo on just a regular UA pullover. If you've been following this stuff, Martin Jarmond has been sporting some BC gear with the throwback logo too. Does this mean there will be more regular merchandise with the "throwback logo" soon? My guess is yes.

Testing the waters with a throwback logo is a good way to see if BC is ready for a new logo. I personally hate the italics logo. From Day 1 it always felt like something designed in a marketing session. It looks dated and silly. I have plenty of logo stuff, but in general, I prefer BC stuff without the logo. I doubt I am the only one. I think a more classic looking logo -- instead of some sort of cliche 'cool sports marketing' logo like we have -- would actually increase merchandise sales.

As someone suggested on Twitter, a new logo that had a more classic look is the best option. And if you want to be cynical, a new logo would boost short-term merchandise sales. In the mean time work the throwback logo into regular items and see if the fans' dollars back up the sentiment.

Signing Day recap

And just like that, Early Signing Day was anti-climatic for Boston College. Addazio signed his entire class. There were no surprise names. He did not mention or hint at any guys they might add in February. He made only passing reference to recruiting rankings. He introduced the guys alphabetically. It was ho-hum. And that's probably for the best.

In the Q&A portion of his press conference, Addazio did explain some of his process. He made a point of how important it is at BC to get a guy on campus over and over. That way the player can evaluate the coaches and the coaches can really see what the player can do.

Here are a few topics that Addazio did not hit hard that I find interesting:

1. There are two more QBs coming in. With Brown, Perry and McDonald all on the roster, two more QBs coming in makes the depth chart very crowded. I have no problem with Addazio bringing in two guys. For such an important position, you always need depth and making projections from high school to Power 5 football is tough. What this means is there probably won't be five underclass QBs on the roster a year from now. Someone will switch positions or leave. I have no idea who.

2. No one from Ohio. It could just be an off year or a shift in BC's preferences. We are getting more guys out of New Jersey than most. Ricky Brown has Ohio roots, so I doubt we will ignore what was once so critical to BC. However, it doesn't really matter where you get the guys. What matters is that they fit and can play.

3. One kid from "ACC Country." Naples, Florida Joseph Sparacio is the only signee from a traditional ACC territory. When we joined the conference it seemed to open doors in places like Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and help our Florida efforts. Recruiting in these areas also makes sense since your assistants can catch local high school games the night before away games. Like the Ohio issue, this may just be a one year blip. You would think that with our recent success with Florida kids, there would be more momentum.

Addazio mentioned that he will be hitting the road again in January. It was implied that he will be focused on 2019 and 2020. But he also spoke of jumping on opportunities as they arise. With the whole class signed, any addition will just be a bonus.

Early Signing Day Eve

In just few short hours, BC will start receiving official letters of intent for players in the 2018 recruiting class. This will be the first year of the Early Signing Period and every team is treating the day differently. From the messaging in the media, it seems like BC is pressuring/encouraging all their current verbals to sign. This won't benefit the players, but it will benefit BC. With their primary targets locked in, they can use the next few weeks to target any potential uncommitted star and get a head start on the 2019 class. Locking in the guys also allows them to shift the staff's focus on the bowl game.

Roster management is key through this process. BC has a smallish incoming recruiting class, but still has more incoming than outgoing players. My guess is we will soon hear of what current players are not coming back for the spring either due to early graduation, injury or transfer. 

It seems like Addazio won't have to sign anyone in February if all goes according to plan. But my guess is they won't stop after the Signing Day. Once the smoke clears, BC will know who else to target.  

Senior Bowl invites reinforce BC's talent niche

Isaac Yiadom was added to the Senior Bowl, joining fellow corner Kamrin Moore. As BCI noted, the only other school with two corners at the Senior Bowl will be Alabama. However, Moore and Yiadom had very different paths than their Alabama counterparts.

Yiadom earned three stars from Rivals, but his only other offers were from UConn, Bryant and Holy Cross.

Moore was considered a two star prospect and had no other offers. (In fairness, he did commit early, but no other school throwing offers at him was a sign he wasn't considered a top-level prospect.)

Both players deserve credit for developing beyond anyone's expectations. They've been pretty good from Day 1 and both played very early in their careers. Don Brown also deserves some credit since both were recruited by him out of his familiar stomping grounds (Central Mass and Maryland). But Brown has been gone for two years. Addazio and his current defensive staff deserve credit for their development and success too.

Outliers in the recruiting star system have been used as a crutch around BC by coaches who weren't putting effort into recruiting. We all know that BC has won without stars. But that doesn't happen without effort and a plan. Addazio may be overmatched in some areas of program building but I think he has a good feel for talent identification and development. Obviously you go for obvious stars and people who have an affinity to your message. But you also need pockets where no one else is looking, know those pockets well, and turn those kids into stars. It happened with Yiadom and Moore. Now let's hope it keeps happening this recruiting cycle.

BC handles Central Connecticut

I don't know if you consider these game tune ups or win padders or filler, but BC did what it was supposed to do in their win over Central Connecticut. The first half wasn't great. BC couldn't shake CCSU even as BC was killing them on the boards and forcing turnovers. Yet, Central Connecticut kept making the most of their chances and shot well. 

The second half was a different story. BC pulled away comfortably. Beyond the guards, the good game of note was from Popovic. He did all the things pretty well (even D) and was pretty productive. Mitchell had a good game too and cleaned up on the glass. 

BC is off for the week and then takes on Richmond next weekend. 

RIP Len Ceglarski

Former BC Hockey coach Len Ceglarski passed away Saturday. He was 91.

Ceglarski coached BC for 20 seasons starting in 1972. He won over 400 games at the Heights.

Although he got BC far into the NCAA Tournament numerous times, he never won a National Championship as a coach. He was part of a National Championship team as a student at BC.

This guy had a good week

It's Friday, so I wanted to point out an underappreciated highlight from this week. A BC student nailed a 94-foot putt on the hardwoods of Conte for $1,000 in Under Armour gear. Good for him and good for BC to mix up the ingame promotions a bit. Beating Duke will be the biggest driver in attendance this year, but making the in-game experience fun again won't hurt. It was probably the true highlight of the Columbia game. 

Addazio updates on bowl prep

The football team is right in the middle of their bowl prep. That means there is a certain level of drudgery. But Addazio seems pretty confident and remains on schedule. The team has started working in schemes and Iowa specific preparation. The coach took a few minutes to address the media about the bowl and some other season ending topics below. 

Why national awards matter

It is national awards time in college football and BC has been in the mix for a few. Some were expected and others a pleasant surprise.

-- AJ Dillon made the 247 Freshmen All-America Team.
-- Defensive Backs Coach Anthony Campanile was named 247 National DB Coach of the Year.
-- Lukas Denis made the Walter Camp All America Team.
-- Dillon was also named the ACC Rookie of the Year.
-- Dillon and Petrula made ESPN's All Freshmen Team.
-- Nine players made All-ACC teams.

For a 7-5 team, this was quite a haul. The biggest surprises were Campanile's award and Denis getting a nod from the Camp selectors (which tend to pick "names"). While I would rather have wins than awards, the awards can impact future wins. BC can now sell how great the staff is. BC can now tell recruits, "we turn unheralded players into Camp All Americans and turn elite recruits -- like Dillon -- into stars." 

Addazio spends a lot of time talking about recruiting momentum and buzz. Clearly perception is starting to change. Now he needs to win the bowl game to keep the momentum and positivity going.