9/11/12: Best of the Best

Well we are thrilled to do a best of the best. A W matters, and its a starting block and hopefully something to build on.

1M) Spiffy return TD

It sure seemed like a longer time ago, but it was Ritchie Gunns who last returned a punt for the Eagles in 2009.  Spiffy had been questioned by some fans—and frankly everyone since pre-concussion Jet Smith has been—and Spiffy shut them up with this terrific runback.

As the commentators noted both on TV and radio, he did what you ask of your return guy: make the first guy miss.  The booming punt did out-kick the coverage (see: BCMike’s wife) giving Spiffy some time to get a head of steam going into the oncoming masses but he did so fearlessly and cut through the Maniacs like a hot knife through buttah.

2W) Coleman TD

So I am a Coleman fan, sue me .. but the smile on his face, how excited he was- that’s what football is all about.

Coleman did a great job of showing how he can out leap a competitor in the corner of the endzone.

3M) Defense doing better

The D gave up some big plays vs. Miami (unlike Kansas State) but rebounded back to only give up three to the Black Bears.  It would have been nice to have kept up the shut-out streak going to over 100 years, but 3 points since 1915 is still pretty good.

There was a chance early in the game that we did let a Maine WR get behind the coverage but thankfully our DL put enough pressure on the QB to force the throw a little long.  If he connected, it would have been a big play but thankfully we didn’t afford them a second opportunity at another big play.

4W) LB second team

You know Keeks is gone. And our LB corp is strong. But I was very impressed with the strength of our second team.

You don’t always get to see the second team. But Joy, Duggan and Daniels are going to be strong for a VERY long time and something to get excited about.

5M) Mihalik's play

We as fans kept on asking for someone on the DL to step up.  We have been fortunate to have many star defenders come through The Heights but no real dominant ones since Kiwi and Raji. 

I know it’s early, but I think Mihalik could be that next star.

Only a true sophomore, Mihalik was all over the field tossing Black Bear defenders aside and wreaking havoc including a TFL and a pass batted down.  He had a great drive on Saturday I hope to see the rest of the season.

6W)Getting a W

sometimes that alone can change your whole day, even if it is against Maine

7W) at least having Meter. (espn3 fail)

While some may have scoffed at my 10^th pick for Keys to the Game, sure enough—ESPN3 wound up being an epic challenge.  I had been able to use my Dad’s Verizon log-in as a go-around for access to The Worldwide Leader’s interweb feed, but for whatever reason that duck no longer flies.  I was going out of my mind being angry about not being able to watch the game, but then I remembered I could get EEI on the ‘net.

So I threw up the Game Tracker on the big screen and streamed Meter and Co. calling the game.  I have to say I actually really enjoyed it, it was a while since I had listened to whole football game on the radio and the guys did a nice job describing the game and giving insight.  In fact, I believe at one point the on-air team leaned on this website as they referred to somewhere that they read that Maine QB Wasilewski and Dave Shinskie played for the same high school.  A shout-out would have been nice, but whatevs.

8M) The deuce was somewhat loose

I know Finch had a fumble but overall Deuce showed that he is back and has the strength and health to be back to his true form. I think Finch if he can stay healthy can be someone we really rely on.

9M) We won't go winless

Sometimes wins lose luster when the opponent you just beat goes out and gets thumped by other teams in succession after you’ve played them.  At the time, it looked like a great win but in retrospect that team is just pretty poor.

Unfortunately for BC fans, we have now had two consecutive years of “not a bad loss” turning into a “bad loss”. 

When we dropped an early game to Central Florida last year, some folks were even calling for the Golden Knights to be a dark horse BCS contender.  They certainly looked like a strong team shutting down our offense (admittedly not tough to do, particularly last year), and I left Orlando thinking “Yeah, we lost—but I’m looking forward to seeing what this UCF team does—they’re going to surprise a lot of people!”

Well, they did.  Mainly UCF fans, as the Knights finished the season 5-7 including wins against hapless Memphis, Charleston Southern, and other season-opener type schools. 

If you haven’t connected the points yet, let me do it for you.  The Miami loss was a bad loss.  That Miami team is not good.  K-State threw up over 50 points and nearly 500 yards of offense—and held the Canes in check, to put it lightly.

The good news here?  The best of the best?

We’ve won a game.  We can’t possibly go winless this season now.

10W) Rettig confidence with 0 INT

I think one of the biggest things right now is to keep Rettig’s confidence high. That’s something that you cannot understate. He has gotten roughed up multiple times in the past, but lately hes had the time he needed, and when he does hes excelled.  His confidence has grown, and so has his decision making. I think Rettig continues to grow and we love how he looks