9/19/11 -- Top 25 poll week 4

Here's our preliminary ballot for week four....let us know what to change!

BCDraft Ballot - Week 4

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma Sooners	--
2	LSU Tigers	--
3	Boise St. Broncos	--
4	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
5	Wisconsin Badgers	--
6	Stanford Cardinal	--
7	Virginia Tech Hokies	--
8	Nebraska Cornhuskers	--
9	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	--
10	Florida St. Seminoles	--
11	Oregon Ducks	--
12	South Florida Bulls	--
13	Clemson Tigers	--
14	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	--
15	South Carolina Gamecocks	--
16	West Virginia Mountaineers	--
17	Florida Gators	--
18	Texas A&M Aggies	--
19	Fla. International Golden Panthers	--
20	Arkansas Razorbacks	--
21	Michigan Wolverines	--
22	Texas Longhorns	--
23	Penn St. Nittany Lions	--
24	Iowa St. Cyclones	--
25	Michigan St. Spartans	--

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

9-16-11 Draft: Keys to the Game vs. Duke

Keys to the Game vs. Duke

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1W) O Line Who? (trademark'd )

Lately our once strong point has transformed into a huge question mark, at times we have gone from O Line U, to O Line Who?I think we can salvage this, I think we have the right players in place, they just need to all get on the same page and run the correct assignments.
But the biggest question is Which O line shows up against Duke?


2M) D-Fletch and ALJ locking it down

Duke has a couple of really talented WR’s that we¹ll need our corners to do a number on if we want to stimy the Duke Offense.D-Fletch isn’t at 100% yet I don’t think but we’ll need him to play like he is vs. Vernon and the rest of the Blue Devil WR’s. I though ALJ actually played well vs. UCF, evenif he wasn’t really challenged all that often.
If our corners can step up and shut down Renfree / take advantage of this errant throws if we force them, we could possibly walk out of Alumni with a W.



3W) Throw to the damn TE's

We have some Great TE's, use them for the love of God.. Pantale is a stud, and so is Lars, and their backups are very good. If the WR's are not able to get separation the TE's should be at least somewhat open



4M) Red Zone production

Not that we were actually ever near the Red Zone in week two, but

we were in week one and didn¹t convert.
If were inside the 20 vs. Duke, we really need to stick it in (stick it in, stick it in). This is a non-negotiable. We are literally one of the lowest

scoring teams in the nation currently.

5W) Dave Brock Showcase

Its time to shine. You know you have to think that this is a perfect storm for Brock to look great. 2 rough weeks and then lined up with an easier opponent, at home with a hungry team.. All you have to do is convert. So do it.


6M) D playing for 60 minutes

We clearly were not ready for Northwestern¹s hurry-up and despite a good three (okay, two and a half) quarters of defense vs. UCF, we finally gave up the ghost and allowed them to start to gash us late in the 3rd and throughout the 4th quarter.

We need to play 60 minutes of defense or be ready to don the title of undeniably the worst team in the ACC, and one of the worst teams in the nation.

It’s that big of a game, in a sense.


7W) Time of possession

While Duke isn't necessarily a possession team, they are more of a pass and score as much as they can ( which typically isn't a ton, but they take what they can get) BC will have to give the Duke offense the least amount of time possible to make something happen.

Last week against UCF the BC lost the possession war almost 2 to 1, therefore leaving the D on the field for the majority of the game.



8M) Throw a freakin' TD pass

Let's get this monkey off of our backs early. We’re entering our third game and we don’t have one passing touchdown? Seriously? With Chase?
These things simply don’t add up.

We need both Chase and the WR’s / TE’s / RB’s whoever the heck he’s going tothrow it to…to step up and make it happen. We need to make forward strides in this area.



9W) Out-coach Cutcliffe

Now I admit , I like coach Cutcliffe, I think he is a talented man.. I want to see Spaz out coach Cutcliffe, which will be a daunting task.



10M) Send in the backs

I think out-coaching Cutcliffe is a tall order, Wesley. I think we’ll have our hands full and I think Brock will very likely see looks from Duke they’ve not shown yet…isn’t that what YOU would do to a brand spankin’ new OC who has had the job less than a week?
Not that we needed the additional challenge, mind you. UCF provided a pretty darn good blueprint for others to follow.

For my last pick here, I’m asking Spaz & Govs to come out of our sit back, bend-but-do-not-break D.
Yes, in the past it’s been successful. It simply hasn’t been this year. We keep on giving up chunks of yards and consistently giving up positive plays, which keeps our D on the field long enough to get worn down, beaten down, and by the 4th quarter, run down.
We need to start CREATING negative plays on D, give our kids something to get excited about, a reason to get amped. Let’s start sending LB’s, start sending CB’s, start sending safeties. Mix it up. Create pressure.

We need to get pressure on Renfree and our front four hasn't been able to do that yet this year on a consistent basis. We need to bring pressure regardless of the risk that vacating the secondary or middle of the field, I want to see us throwing LB's and d-backs at Renfree to generate pressure and keep Renfree guessing.


RECAP
Wesley drafted: O-Line-Who?, throw to the damn TE's, Brock time to shine, time of possession, out-coach Cutcliffe
BCMike drafted: D-Fletch & ALJ on lockdown, Red Zone scoring, full 60 on D, Passing TD, send the backs

9-16-11 Draft: Keys to the Game vs. Duke
	W: O-Line-Who?, throw to the damn TE's, Brock time to shine, time of possession, out-coach Cutcliffe
	BCM: D-Fletch n ALJ on lockdown, Red Zone scoring, full 60 on D, Passing TD, send the backs
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9/15/11 Draft: The silver lining from UCF

Sure, Saturday's loss to UCF was demoralizing on many levels, and as with all game losses, Wesley and I were forced to write yet another "worst of the worst" post recently.

But you know what? There's always a silver lining. It can be tough to find sometimes, but if you squint hard enough and skew your view, you just might be able to find the good parts of the weekend.

Here's our take.

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1W) Got to go to Disney

You know , Disney isn't just for the kids anymore, Iactually had a 12 hour day full of rides, decent food, and good times with friends,Orlando has a good thing going with that Disney thing.

2M) Free Crazy Bread

For those in attendance, you know that the announcer came on the PA and let everyone know when the score was 16-3 that if UCF got to 21 points, there would be free Crazy Bread offered to all those in attendance at their local Little Caesars pizzeria. When my wife called to see how the game was going, I said “WE WON!!....crazy bread”. It felt better than saying we got rolled 30-3.

3W) Max Ricci played very well for a true frosh

I think Ricci caught a lot of crap even before he committed to the Eagles, well he showed that he belonged on the field when he was on it. He constantly had a greatpush on the Offensive line, and I would really like to see him lined up next to Ramsey, as I feel like it would be our two best Tackles on the field

4W) I didn’t lose my wallet

I wasn’t able to key-in on Ricci as much as you were, but I have to say “I called it!”

http://bcdraft.blogspot.com/2011/02/draft-2-22-draft-new-bc-commitments.html. Max’s early performance is all the more impressive given that he and everyone else was under the impression he would be red-shirtin

g until he was called into action vs. Northwestern unexpectedly. I remember you commenting that he was one of the few DT’s who was actually getting a genuinepush up the middle.

For number four here, I have to take the face that I didn’t lose my wallet. I know, bizarre…but I thought I had, and this made the end of the day that much worse. Thankfully my buddy JC found it and saved me from trying to scavenge the bleachers and campus of Central Florida Sunday morning before my flight back to Atlanta. Let me also just say that as a newly married man I can empathize with all of you who have been telling me this sort of thing for years. While I was bummed about “losing” it, all I could think of was the hard time (and rightfully so) my wife would give me for losing my wallet after tailgating for 8 hours and traveling to an away football game. Thankfully, that conversation never had to happen. Easy top five pick there for me.

5W) Got a suntan and didn’t burn

You know if you follow @BCMike22 on twitter, we had a lot of fun playing the ring toss game at UCF, well we actually spent about 12 hours outside for the game. Well I got a nice tan , no burn,.. Good stuff

6M) Nate Freese was perfect!

Agreed, Wesley. That Central Florida sun was BEAMING early on. I live in Atlanta and I know you live in Alabama…but let me say it’s just noticeably stronger in Orlando. Thankfully we did find some shade to chuck the pigskin around in and knock back some brewkowskis.

Nate connected on 100% of his tries on the day. Mind you, that was one field goal and the entirety of our scoring for the whole 60 minutes of football, but it was a nice kick from 43 yards out. Can’t say Nate didn’t do his job Saturday—one of the few who improved (if not the only one who improved) from last week’s loss to Northwestern.

7W) Met some cool UCF fans tailgating

Let me just start with the UCF fans do it right, the tailgating is to a Tee, huge and honestlybetter than Alabama , Auburn, Florida, Clemson ,etc BY FAR!! Yes Write that down. We setup camp on the outskirts of the busiesttailgating, ( as we went the free route)

and were right next to a guy that had two grills, a deep fryer, a broiler and a gas stove.. He made his own wings, hot, teriyaki etc, was very impressed, very friendly folks as well.

8M) The Welles Crowther tribute

I have to say I was on “alert” for bad UCF fans given what I had read, particularly those near “Memory Mall”. While we were heckled a little before the game, by and large the UCF folks kept to the themselves and were nice when we approached them. I know one of them was even kind enough to allow us to use their grill to heat up some dip—so some credit definitely goes there.
As far as the UCF fans IN the game, I don’t really give them high or low marks. Some kept to themselves, others clearly were trying to start fights with our fans, and still others (sitting in the BC section) would just constantly chirp at our fans for no good reason. There were a couple shots leaving the stadium and on the way to the car, but all in all no where near as bad as I had been prepared to deal with, and still the majority supported the Welles tribute which earns very high market in my book.

Speaking of Welles, my 4th pick 8th overall here is a steal. While the game greatly diminished the overall spirit of the trip, one could not help but be moved by theamazing tribute the UCF & BC fans did for Welles on Saturday. There were literally red bandanas everywhere. My hat (and bandana) is off to the UCF & BC fans who participated, and for both schools getting behind the cause on such short notice. (insert pics of bandanas as well as pic of the Crowther girls here)

9W) Road Fans
The BC travel group was actually pretty strong! I would actually say they about 2-3k were louder than the non student crowd can be at Alumni. They stood up when they should, and stomped on the metal bleachers with glee.. The travel crowd was definitely into the game.



10M) We’re still in the hunt for the Orange Bowl

I know, I know…but factually, it’s true. As a BC fan you should know there are only two ways we ever play in a BCS bowl game. One, we go undefeated while no other team in FBS does. The second is if we win the ACC Championship game, we go to the Orange Bowl. While it’s completely true that no team in all of the NCAA has a worse record than our Eagles currently do, the folks at the Discover Orange Bowl don’t care (well, I’m sure they do, but contractually they can’t) as long as we win the ACC, which means only ACC games count.


RECAP:
Wesley drafted: Disney, Ricci play, no sunburn, cool UCF fans, BC traveled well
BCMike drafted: Free Crazy Bread, Did not lose wallet, Freese prefect, Welles tribute, Orange Bowl hunt

9-15-11 Draft: The UCF Weekend Silver Lining
	Wesley: Disney, Ricci play, no sunburn, cool UCF fans, BC traveled well
	BCMike: Free Crazy Bread, Did not lose wallet, Freese prefect, Welles tribute, Orange Bowl hunt
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9/13/11 Draft: Worst of the Worst vs. UCF

Well, our Eagles are 0-2 for the first time since...oh hell, I don't know and am too depressed to look it up.

Below are our takes on "Worst of the Worst" for this past week's game in Orlando vs. the UCF Knights.

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1BCMike) Not getting 1 yard on 3rd and 1, 4th and 1

If we are “O-Line-U”, then getting a necessary 3rd and 1 is a foregone conclusion. It should happen. Not some of the time, ALL of the time. On those rare plays that the D just happens to guess right and floods the gap you’re attacking, you TRULY have to be angry enough and embarrassed enough to shove it down their throats on 4th and 1 (presumably less by this point).
With the game still up in the air, down by 13, we went for it under these circumstances and were stuffed twice. Yes, it’s true that we’ve done that to other teams—but other teams aren’t O-Line-U.
I’m not sure we are any longer, either.



2Wesley) CJ Jones injured on kickoff

Now this is football and there are going to be injuries, but ones to people that show a lot of promise, on a team that’s already been through the ringer with injuries is hard, especially in an area that we are already very thin.



3M) 30 unanswered

Agreed that it was tough to see CJ Jones go down—I was looking forward to seeing him develop this year. I hope he’s able to rehab his knee and gets a medical red shirt—I assume he will.

On the same note—what’s up with using our starters on the kick-off team? I shudder every time I see Luke out there. We’re simply not deep enough to continually have more and more starters get injured on special teams.

On Saturday, BC gave up 30 unanswered points. This is clearly bad on two levels. One, we didn’t score past the opening field goal, and two—we gave up a ton of points for the second straight game.

Before Saturday night, that had only happened TWICE in the past 118 games BC has played. By “that”, I mean giving up 30 unanswered points.

Once, as many of you may have guessed, was vs. VT two years ago in Lane where a Spaz-lead Eagles team was thoroughly embarrassed 34-0 at halftime before throwing a couple meaningless scores up on the board. The other was back in 2003 vs. an insanely talented Miami BCS bowl team—and even then, we did answer late with two scores.

This past Saturday was the first time in modern history we gave up 30 in a row without answering, and without scoring a touchdown.

What did that VT team and that Miami team have in common? Both were BCS bowl participants. Will UCF be? They could be, but it’s safe to say that this loss to UCF goes down as one of the worst in the program’s modern-day history.

Tough also not to note that two of these three outliers have come on Spaz’ watch—both away from The Heights.



4W) Losing the time of possession battle

It's not going to be a bit surprise to anyone that BC likes to run the ball first, to control the clock , get the Defense a breather, well BC was unable to come even close to breaking even, so when BC is unable to get its bread and butter, it will inherently lose. Our Eagles lost the time of possession battle almost two-to-one, which I felt like the Defense played pretty strong for the first half, but by the second half with that amount of time on the field were unable to hold the dam, and the water gushed by.



5M) My Dad showing up in a USF Bulls Green T-Shirt

Now, this takes a little bit of explaining.

Here’s some important base facts that are necessary for the story: My parents retired to Bradenton, Florida about five years ago, my Dad likes to cheer for the local team wherever he is, and he’s been to BC away games with us before where fans have booed us for wearing BC colors.

My Dad, believing he was doing the smart thing by NOT wearing BC colors but rather supporting another area Florida school walks up to our tailgate sporting a USF Bulls T-Shirt. Now, as BC fans you might not know this—but USF and UCF hate each other with an impressive amount of vitriol. Think Alabama-Auburn but without the BCS AQ and mutual respect. I mean they *HATE* each other. You would think that perhaps my Dad would have picked up on this living in Florida for a number of years, but no.

So basically my Dad walked in wearing the one thing that would above all else send the drunken UCF fans (to be fair, they’re tailgating for 8 hours before the game, it’s tough to keep anyone sober for that long) into a tizzy while thinking he’s doing the exact opposite. While the UCF fans weren’t BC fans on that one day, they hate USF 24/7.

Thankfully we had packed another BC shirt he was able to wear instead, but watching my Dad’s face as we told him he was walking into an Indian Village with a “I’m with Custer” Bulls Eye T-Shirt was pretty priceless. Glad we had that shirt; otherwise things could have gotten ugly.



6W) Zero WR separation

Hahaha, that is just hilarious! Well it's only funny because you were able to outfit him in some BC gear.. Agreed that would have been a very unpleasant sight if he would have wore the USF colors.

On number six , I am going to go with zero Wide Receiver separation. I am not going to automatically default our WR's on this one, UCF has a very talented group of DB's and does a great job of defending the pass, but the lack of separation made it near impossible for a pass to be squeezed in to move the chains, and made it for one very long evening.



7M) Giving up in the 4th

I hate to say it, but it looked like we gave up in the 4th quarter. Yes, there was an early score in the 4th but the box score doesn’t lie—21 points in the 4th quarter—again, unanswered. Yes, we were beaten soundly but the final score of 30-3 makes it look like it was a thrashing from the get-go rather than the tight, albeit ugly game it was in reality for the first three quarters at 9-3. The offense did increasingly more three and outs and the D, particularly the D-line, just looked gassed once again and the UCF running attack started picking up steam.

It’s easy to get demoralized down by a couple of scores in the 4th quarter, but we expect our guys to fight with every bit of their being on every play. Part of that has to be attributed to the general lack of depth, injuries, and collective age of the unit—but a large portion of this has to be our coach’s responsibility as well.

It was embarrassing being a BC fan on Saturday during that game—but being a BC fan in the 4th was just brutal.



8W) Overall Line play

Now I am aware mike has driving it home as his first pick where he mentions the line. But I want to really drive this point home.

There was not enough holes being made for a successful run, the only successful runs were stretch plays. And Chase was not getting anywhere near the amount of time needed to complete a pass,therefore making have antsy feet. And I do not blame him for having those.

We have a lot of people playing hurt, and a lot of young guys on the line, but to be successful even to hit 500 this year, we need the Offensive line to dominate, or its not going to happen at all.



9M) Rettig firing short-range bullets

Listen—I’m as big of a Chase fan as you’ll find, but Saturday was not his day. While it was true that he wasn’t given much of a line to throw behind and the WR’s weren’t generally getting great separation, his short throws were borderline uncatchable sometimes. It seems that Saturday regardless of how long the throw was, no matter who the throw was to, it was going as hard as Chase could possibly throw it. On those short routes—which by and large was all that we ran vs. UCF, these guys are 3-5 yards away and are having the ball come zipping out at 100 MPH less than two seconds after the play has started.

I’d really like to see Chase put some TOUCH on the short passes. We all know he has the gun necessary to get the ball in to the tight space if need be, but on the routes where it doesn’t have to be 100 MPH it would have been nice to have seen him throw a more catchable ball to our guys.



10W) Starting 0-2 in the season

You know it's hard to dig out of a hole, but 0-2 to start the season, puts a damper on everyone's parade. Maybe we should start with cupcakes? Granted UCF is a talented team. 0-2 to start the season puts the team, fans, coaches and others all at a place they would rather not be.


RECAP:
BCMike drafted: Can't get 1 yard, 30 unanswered, Dad USF shirt, 4th Q give-up, Rettig short bullets
Wesley drafted: CJ injury, Losing TOP, WR 0 separation, overall line play Starting 0-2

9-13-11 Worst of the Worst vs. UCF
	BCMike: Can't get 1 yard, 30 unanswered, Dad USF shirt, 4th Q give-up, Rettig short bullets
	Wesley: CJ injury, Losing TOP, WR 0 separation, overall line play Starting 0-2
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Pics from BC @ UCF

It's taking entirely too long to upload all of these, so...

HERE'S A LINK TO ALL OF THE PHOTOS


Hope you enjoy. If you want a full size version for whatever reason, email us and we'll throw it your way.

9/9/11--Keys to the Game @ UCF

This week, we head south to Florida to take on the Golden Knights of UCF. While other programs feasted on cupcakes in week one and have another on the schedule this week, again we face a bowl team with BCS buster expectations.

Wesley and I will be at this game as well, on the sidelines snapping shots and reporting what we see. Make sure to follow @BCMike and @BCDraft to check in with our posts/pics during the game.

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1Mike) ALAMO UCF

Pissed that we lost the first time in seven season openers?

Embarrassed your line got pushed around?

Angry that you let a team who couldn't pass terrifically well take advantage of your soft passing zone which is completely appropriate for a passing team but is woefully inadequate for a team that wants to pound the ball up the middle or counter runs on the edge put up two bills on you?

Well guess what.

You'll have a chance to replay this game. Channel that anger and disappointment into making what went wrong right.



2W) O line U, n'sync

You know they day when you play golf, drive for show, putt for dough. Well I think this applies to football as well.

As pretty as that deep pass was, the o line helped make it happen, this week.against ucf is critical for the unit to get in.sync for other big things to happen






3M) Converting in the Red Zone

What's next Wesley, backstreet boys? Maybe some nice "O-town" in honor of Orlando?

Last week, we came down in Northwestern's Red Zone multiple times, coming away with 10 points (sorry, I'm giving 7 to Keeks for the pick-almost-six).

When we enter the Red Zone, we NEED TO SCORE. I don't blame Groza candidate Nate Freese fr missing two kicks last week. Know why? They shouldn't have been tried in the first place---they should have been touchdowns, like his one made field goal from the first drive was.



4W) Freese is Freese

Haha, I knew you would like that one. But I know you have to agree with me on that .

I am not sure you fans noticed it or not but last week, there was a zombie inside of Nate Freese's Jersey. I wasn’t aware of this until after the game , but it was later confirmed, and that Zombie was marched over to Area 51.

This week we will rely, when needed on the real, and very reliable Nate Freese kicking our Field Goals and extra points.



5M) Going Deep Early

Here I'm asking us to go DEEP early. That means Amidon fly route, maybe Larmond.

We need to STRETCH the UCF D. These guys are very stout against the run and we need to loosen up the secondary early and keep them out of the box.

We accumulated a ton of passing yards last week but no real bombs. It's time to stretch the field.



6W) RB showing patience and power

Mike unfortunately I think we lost, what would be a constant great option deep with Momah for the season, but I am calling for that deep threat to be used early and often, too.

Although Andre's numbers showed decent, I overall wasn't impressed. He tried to bust through holes with his speed and not his strength. I think he is a VERY effective back, and I think he will show more of what he is capable of this week vs Central Florida.

Hopefully Montel will get some Reps at RB this week, but I am not holding my breath, as his safety long term is without question the most important.



7M) Loading the box

Frey-frey attempted all of ten passes last week and by all accounts two of those ten should have been picked.

UCF has a veritable stable of backs who can all tote the rock. We need to stack the box and force Godfrey to beat us through the air. If he starts consistently beating us through the air, we revert back to put standard bend-but-don't-break D; but first make him prove it and clamp down on that powerful UCF rushing attack.



8W) BC players focused

Call me crazy, but I believe this will be UCF's Superbowl of the year.

This is the game they want all the fans at, This is the one that is televised.

After having our loss last week, our team is going to have to come out focused and not let the fans, possible downpours, etc be a distraction. We have to want it more than they do!



9M) Special Special Teams

UCF boats some of the best KR and PR numbers in the nation last year. Yes, it’s true this is bolstered by playing in C*USA, however they’re nothing to sneeze at.

Ours, however, sadly are. We called out our KR and PR team last week and didn’t really have much success with it. From being in-person and watching the game, there was a lot of running full speed up to the pile, then limping / mushing forward into the pile (the one exception was the one decent return Kimble had).

We need our guys to hit the hole hard and fast and earn these big play opportunities when they present themselves. On the other side, we need to make sure we are disciplined in our lanes and contain their return guys.

I think we all believe this will be a close game and field position will no doubt play a key factor in deciding who comes away victorious Saturday night.



10W) Keeks being Keeks

Luke had 18 tackles last week, yes 18.

As I am sure other players performance will be better next week, we need Keeks to continue to bring the lumber and be the rock of this team for us to be successful.





RECAP:
BCMike drafted: Alamo UCF, Red Zone conversion, Going deep early, loading the box, special special teams
Wesley drafted: OL-U being nsync, Freese is Freese, RB patience, BC focused, Keeks being Keeks

9-9-11 Draft: Keys to the Game @ UCF
	BCMike: Alamo UCF, Red Zone conversion, Going deep early, loading the box, special special teams
	Wesley: OL-U being nsync, Freese is Freese, RB patience, BC focused, Keeks being Keeks
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9/7/11 Draft:: Worst of the Worst vs. Northwestern

Worst of the Worst

It's been a long time since we started out 0-1. It's also been a long time since someone has run over 200 yards up on us on the ground....and It's been awhile since we had put up 375 in the air. While there truly were a good handful of positives, nothing really matters when you lose. Here, Wesley and I examine the worst of the worst from our 2011 season opener.

==================================================

1Wesley) The last toss of the game

Not only did we lose some valuable time on the clock, it ended up being our last throw, which I was expecting to have three end zone chances.

ground for minutes after making everyone concerned about the seriousness of the injury, fortunately it was reported that it was nothing serious after the game.

2Mike) O-line U takes a vacation

Rettig scrambled right, and got blindsided sacked, to top that off, he laid on the Worst run blocking I have seen at BC in years. Pass blocking was bad early and got a little better by the end of the game but as a whole this was a day to forget for the starting five.


3W) Missed kicks

Mike I agree, run blocking wasn't near where it should be, I

am still not understanding all of the position changes on the line

(outside of injury) just a week or so prior to game time.

We have gotten spoiled with field goals lately, there is no doubt about that. When Freese missed two in a row, it hurt, badly. I think he is entitled to a bad game, but missing these could have altered the outcome of the game, hopefully Freese is back to his normal self against UCF.


4M) Not punching it in opening drive

The first play was a great play for BC and accounted for more than half of DreW

ill's rushing yards on the day.It was a phenomenal start but Andre got pushed out just two yards short.
Our inability to punch it in on that run / on first down / on second down / on third down gave NU the first real victory of the game as the Wildcat defense forced a FG instead of a TD shoved down their throats on the road the first drive / play of the year.
It as a huge missed opportunity and set the tone for the rest of the game--which wasn't good for BC.

5W) Mobile QB

Mike I have to agree there as well, definitely a momentum breaker, when you start off that strong you have to be able to finish the job. Andre ran high, and tried to beat

the defense with his speed only, he is a very talented back, but needs to be a little

more patient. I am not sure what it is, if we just have a mental block, unable to make adjustments, or what, but a dual threat QB continues to give us fits.
This is a lot of the reason that I was hoping that Persa would play. Id rather have someone that tries to beat us constant in the air than have to worry about them
optioning or running it themselves.

6M) Lack of vertical passing game (until it was too late)

Agreed with the mobile QB hurting us. Colter rushed 23 times on us and ran the

read option going to the back another 15 easy. We just consistently gave up positive yards and that hurt for sure.

Six here I'm saying lack of deep passing. It seemed like when we did actually go downfield, we had a great deal of success even tough several of those were lucky "500!" balls that Momah got.
Regardless, we continue the short passing game / inside rushing game despite facing 10 in the box on press coverage. We needed to go deep early to prove we were capable (link to keys) and we simply didn't do it enough to have them respect the mid to deep passing game.

7W) Poor Tackling

This is one of those things that probably irritates me the most.
Goes hand in hand with O line U, how did what we were known for end up being a weak point? There were several plays where we just had a hard time wrapping up

. I am not sure if this is attributed to youth, people out of position, or just a very mobile team. I expect BC to be able to be a solid tackling team, and I expect to see that soon.

8M) Being unprepared for the hurry-up

It was blatantly clear that our D, specially our D-line was

unprepared for the hurry-up offense that Northwestern ran. We were gassed early and gave up numerous easy four to six yard runs after plays that gained yardage.

I don't know if that falls on the coaches or players for lack of conditioning, but it was embarrassing to see.

9W) Not able to stop the line

Mike I agree, with being unprepared for the hurry up, and it made it even worse that there were no adjustments made.
On number nine I am going with the run d not showing up, another BC staple is stopping the run, they were number 1 in the nation last year in that area.. that¹s correct, number 1!
Meanwhile on Saturday Northwestern was able to put up more than 200 yards on the ground, hence beating Boston College at their own game.


10M) Forcing ALJ to play 10+ yards off the ball

I don't typically complain about the BC D-back cushion, but our staff had to

A) Reevaluate when Colter was the QB and B) when Northwestern through a five yard out for the 15th time to ALJ's side.

I get it that he's a true frosh. I get it that you don't want to get beat deep. However, you're facing a run-first QB that showed early he could not throw downfield early if any pressure was applied.

This non-adjustment allowed NW to drive down the field in the last two minutes of the first half in painfully easy fashion and tie the game up before halftime.


RECAP
Wesley drafted: Last toss, missed kicks, mobile QB, poor tackling, unable to stop the line
BCMike drafted: O-Line U vaca, not punching it in, no vert passing, unprepared 4 hurry up, ALJ cushion

9-7-11 Draft: Worst of the Worst vs. Northwestern
	W: Last toss, missed kicks, mobile QB, poor tackling, unable to stop the line
	M: O-Line U vaca, not punching it in, no vert passing, unprepared 4 hurry up, ALJ cushion
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