It's less than a week until National Signing Day and Boston College football continues to struggle to get commitments.

If you came here to look for good news regarding BC recruiting, there actually may be some, as opportunity has basically fallen on Frank Spaziani's lap. Rutgers who lost their head coach Greg Schiano to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is about to also take a huge blow to their recruiting class as well.

High School coaches in New Jersey have made it pretty clear that their players are open to exploring other schools. Don Bosco Prep Head Coach Greg Toal take on this makes it pretty clear that kids are going to start looking elsewhere:

"They’re young men, they have to make a decision," Toal said. "Things have changed. If Rutgers is smart they calm the waters right away and make a decision who their guy is. They have to do it before signing day. I would think they have to do it pretty quick because there’s too much riding on it."

There are a ton of quality recruits that Rutgers with pre-exisitng BC offers including:

WR Leonte Carroo
TE Mike Giacone
OL Ryan Brodie

... just to name a few.

It's going to be crucial that the Eagles try and get at least one of these Rutgers recruits, because BC has continued to lose key targeted recruits and not just to FBS schools.

Get a load of which school the Eagles' lost TE recruit Jameson McShea to:

"Boston College hasn't had much luck with in-state recruits from the Class of 2012, and another local player slipped off the hook Wednesday when Boston College High tight end Jameson McShea committed to Harvard."

Harvard beat us to a recruit. I hope to all things holy that this kid is valuing getting a diploma from Harvard more than football or Boston College's program is in worse shape than we thought. So a week after losing Sam Grant, Spaz loses a 2 star to Harvard. This is just too absurd.

“I spent a lot of time with Coach Murphy and not much time with Spaz [BC head coach Frank Spaziani],” McShea said. “That's basically what it came down to."

And it just continues to get worse.

Matt Johns, a 3 star quarterback who played at Matt Ryan's high school has decided to play for the Virginia Cavaliers. What helped make his decision? According to Johns, the coaching staff was a big factor in his decision.

"When I went to Boston College I was like, ‘this is it,’" Johns said. "My parents said, ‘let’s go visit Virginia.’ We actually went down and spent a day with the coaches and got to talk with them and then I had a little sit down with Coach [Mike] London. After that point, there was no No. 2 school."

Yesterday, BC lost a recruit to Mike London and Harvard, and it appears that both have to do with Frank Spaziani not doing his job. Both recruits claim that coaching visits by the other school was the main reason and it appears that Spaz wasn't accessible at all. What is he doing?

Not a good day at all, but again all of this can be turned around if Frank Spaziani and his recruiting staff can go and scoop up some of those Rutgers castaways. Anyone have any faith that he can lock any of those kids up and save BC's offseason?

Hopefully he has his phone turned on this time.

vs.

Boston College Eagles (7-12, 2-3 ACC) vs. No. 19/21 Virginia Cavaliers (15-3, 2-2 ACC)

Time: 9:00 PM Eastern
Date: Thursday, January 26, 2012
Place: Charlottesville, Va.
Arena: John Paul Jones Arena
Capacity: 14,593

TV: ESPNU
TV Announcers: Anish Shroff, Adrian Branch
Online: ESPN3.com
Radio: WRKO 680 AM
Radio Announcers: Jon Meterparel, Malcolm Huckaby
Internet Audio: BCEagles.com

Line: Boston College +19

Last Time Out: Boston College lost to Wake Forest 71-56 to fall to 7-12 on the year (2-3 in conference play)

Series: Boston College and Virginia have met 13 times. Virginia leads the all-time series 7-6.
Last Meeting at JPJA: Boston College 63, Virginia 44 (February 26, 2011)

Last Five Meetings:

W - Boston College 63, Virginia 44 (February 26, 2011)
W - Boston College 70, Virginia 67 (January 19, 2011)
L - Virginia 68, Boston College 62 (March 11, 2010)
W - Boston College 68, Virginia 55 (March 3, 2010)
W - Boston College 76, Virginia 63 (March 12, 2009)

Trends: BC has won the last four regular season meetings with the Cavaliers, dating back to February 17, 2008, and five of the last six overall. All six of BC's victories over Virginia have come since BC joined the ACC. After winning two straight ACC games, the Eagles have dropped its last two ACC games. After starting the season 14-1, Virginia has lost two of its last three games.

Virginia's 2010-2011 Record: 16-15 (7-9 ACC)

Virginia's Probable Starters:

G - Jontel Evans (Jr.) - 5-11, 188 lbs., Hampton, Va. - 5.9 PPG, 3.5 APG, 1.9 RPG
G - Sammy Zeglinski (Sr.) - 6-1, 184 lbs., Philadelphia, Pa. - 9.0 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.9 RPG
G - Joe Harris (So.) - 6-6, 211 lbs., Chelan, Wa. - 12.5 PPG, 1.6 APG, 4.1 RPG
F - Akil Mitchell (So.) - 6-8, 234 lbs., Charlotte, N.C. - 3.4 PPG, 0.7 APG, 3.9 RPG
F - Mike Scott (Sr.) - 6-8, 237 lbs., Chesapeake, Va. - 16.6 PPG, 1.6 APG, 8.7 RPG

Boston College's Projected Starters:

G - Jordan Daniels (Fr.) - 5-8, 153 lbs., Fontana, Ca. - 5.8 PPG, 2.4 APG, 1.3 RPG
G - Matt Humphrey (Jr.) - 6-5, 192 lbs., Chicago, Il. - 9.6 PPG, 1.3 APG, 3.3 RPG
G - Lonnie Jackson (Fr.) - 6-3, 170 lbs., Valencia, Ca. - 7.4 PPG, 1.6 APG, 2.5 RPG
F - Ryan Anderson (Fr.) - 6-8, 217 lbs., Lakewood, Ca. - 9.6 PPG, 1.0 APG, 6.4 RPG
C - Dennis Clifford (Fr.) - 7-0, 241 lbs., Bridgewater, Ma. - 10.1 PPG, 1.1 APG, 5.2 RPG

Leave your pre-, in- and post-game comments below.

Go Eagles!

Virginia basketball vs. Boston College: Short-handed Cavs look for novel ways to score (The Washington Post)
"We have to be all-hands-on-deck and ready to do anything because our numbers now are down and there are three interior guys," Coach Tony Bennett said. "We just have to be fluid with the situation. . . . Nothing’s out of the realm" of possibility.

Boston College Primer (TheSabre.com)
After a heartbreaking home loss to Virginia Tech on Sunday night, the Virginia Cavaliers are back in action Thursday night against the Boston College Eagles. Tabbed by many as the worst Power 6 conference team during out of conference play, BC has looked a bit better in the early stages of ACC competition, winning home contests against Clemson and Virginia Tech. Can the Hoos move back above .500 in ACC play with a win against Steven Donahue's squad?

Young Boston College team trying to find its way (BostonHerald.com)
"We’re so different than Virginia Tech -- it’s hard to simulate what they do," he said. "This is the first time most of my guys have ever played Virginia, so that’s part of the difficulty in playing a team like Virginia because they are a little different than everybody else and are so experienced that you really got to go through it a couple times to understand it.

ACC Midweek Preview Part 3, Jan. 26 (ACC Sports Journal)
Key for the Eagles. Boxing out. Rebounding is their biggest weakness, but it is a major strength for the Cavaliers. The Eagles aren’t going to create many second-chance shots, but they must limit them for the Cavaliers on the other end in order to keep the score close.

Georgia Tech playing to half-empty stands as losses mount in season without true home court (The Washington Post)
According to the ACC, Georgia Tech’s average of 4,455 for home games ranks 10th in the league, ahead of Boston College (4,446) and Miami (3,679).

Boston College Falls To No. 25 North Carolina , 77-46 (BCEagles.com)
Shayra Brown scored 17 points to lead Boston College (5-15, 0-7) which lost 77-46 to No. 25 North Carolina on Wednesday night.

Eagles & Super Bowl XLVI (BCEagles.com)
As National Football League fans prepare for Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, here's a breakdown of all players, coaches and management currently belonging to either the New England Patriots or the New York Giants with ties to Boston College.

Margin for error gets increasingly smaller in Hockey East (USCHO.com)
The Boston College Eagles opened 8-1, looking every bit the No. 1 team in the country that the polls said they were. Then they went .500 over the next eight games before plummeting to a 2-5-1 stretch recently that included getting swept by Maine last weekend.

Hockey East Power Rankings: 1/25/12 (College Hockey News)
5. Boston College (14-10-1, 10-7-1 HE) — Last week: 2. The Eagles had been on the verge of dropping for a while, and they finally dropped from the top spot last week. They fall even further this week after getting swept by Maine, giving them a 2-5-1 record in their last eight. The offense scored more than it had been, but both goalies struggled, as Chris Venti gave up four goals on 33 shots Friday and Brian Billett gave up five on 33 Saturday.

No. 4 WIH Falls at BU (BCEagles.com)
A three goal third period put game out of reach for the fourth-ranked Boston College women's ice hockey team, as Boston University claimed the upset, 6-0, on Wednesday night in Walter Brown Arena. The loss snapped a six-game unbeaten streak for the Eagles (18-7-2, 11-3-2 Hockey East).

The 2012 ACC football schedule is set to drop at some point in the next two weeks, give or take. But that shouldn't stop us from postulating on what Boston College's 2012 schedule will look between now and then, now should it?

With several non-conference dates previously announced, we can make an educated guess as to which program BC will face to open up the 2012 campaign. Barring some late changes to the season's opening weekend, it's looking more and more like BC will open the season against either the Eagles' I-AA opponent (Maine) or against an ACC opponent for the first time since the 2007 season.

Of BC's eight ACC opponents in 2012, the following are already scheduled to face a non-conference opponent:

Clemson -- vs. Auburn (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic, Atlanta, Ga.)
Florida State -- Murray State
Maryland -- William & Mary
N.C. State -- vs. Tennessee (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic, Atlanta, Ga.)

That leaves BC with either Wake Forest (road), Miami (home), Georgia Tech (road) or Virginia Tech (home) for the opening weekend's opponent.

However, as much as we'd like a full offseason to prepare for Paul Johnson and the Yellow Jackets' triple option offense, it now looks like both Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are off the board for the Eagles season opener.

The Jackets will play their first game on Labor Day at Virginia Tech.

— The Hive GT (@TheHiveGT) January 25, 2012

With the Techs battling it out on Labor Day, that leaves BC with just three possible opponents for the opener -- at home vs. Maine, at home vs. Miami or on the road at Wake Forest.

Wake Forest has yet to schedule its I-AA game against Liberty, while all four non-conference dates for the Canes are set (including that problematic regular season finale against USF). Given the fact that Wake Forest and Miami don't face one another this season, it seems likely that BC would then open the season at home against Miami while Wake hosts Liberty on opening weekend.

The Eagles week 2 opponent is also slowly coming into focus, with the following non-conference dates scheduled for the weekend of September 8.

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The Newport News Daily Press' David Teel has the story:

"First, a glance forward to next week's ACC winter meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

In between poolside margaritas - on the rocks, with salt, barkeep! - league and school officials could well finalize football divisions for the 14-team alignment created by the addition of Syracuse and Pittsburgh."

As we've known for some time now, the smart money is on the ACC simply plugging Syracuse and Pittsburgh into the existing Atlantic and Coastal Divisions. Teel weighs the pros and cons of adding either Syracuse or Pittsburgh to the Coastal Division, ultimately deciding that Pitt is a logical choice for the Coastal Division, if you are a Hokies or Cavaliers fan.

"If I'm a fan of Virginia or Virginia Tech, both Coastal members, I'd prefer the Panthers in the division because a road trip to Pittsburgh every other year is easier than the hike to Syracuse. Plus, Heinz Field parking is far better for tailgating than the Carrier Dome. That said, the dome, though an eyesore, protects spectators from the elements."

Gobbler Country begs to differ, preferring the Orange in the Coastal, Pitt in the Atlantic and replacing BC with Pitt as the Hokies' permanent cross-over rival.

"Currently, the Hokies are the only team in the ACC that has to play at Boston College and at Miami (the league's North and South Pole) in the same season consistently, which they do every even-numbered year. The difference between Syracuse and Boston is about 140 miles one way."

Should the ACC add Syracuse and not Pitt to the Coastal, Teel says not to be surprised if the new inter-divisional protected rivalries become Virginia Tech-Pitt and BC-Syracuse.

But this arrangement seems extremely unnecessary. BC's preference is to continue its long-time rivalry with Syracuse (over Pitt), while I'm sure Syracuse and Pittsburgh don't want to see a 67-game football series hit the schedule once every few years (Don't Oklahoma-Nebraska Syracuse-Pittsburgh!).

If the ACC is bent on preserving the current divisional alignment, then the simplest solution is Syracuse to the Atlantic, Pitt to the Coastal, and Syracuse-Pitt added as a protected cross-over.

To preview tonight's game between the Eagles and the Virginia Cavaliers, we welcome Brian Leung of the Cavs' blog Streaking the Lawn to the site for Five Good Minutes. Our questions and his answers are below.

BC Interruption: After getting off to a fast start winning 14 of their first 15 games, Virginia is just 1-2 in their last three games, including a disappointing 47-45 loss to in-state rival -- and previously winless in ACC play -- Virginia Tech. What happened against the Hokies?

Streaking The Lawn: I've been saying this since well before the loss, but Virginia Tech was the best 0-4 team in the country. I mean honestly, did anyone look at the Hokies, see the 0-4 start, and think, "Wow, this is the worst team in the ACC"? I didn't think so.

Still, I have a hard time looking back at that game and finding things that the Hokies did right. As far as I can tell, the Cavaliers simply beat themselves. They missed seven of 13 free throws in the second half, and shot precisely 7.1% from beyond the arc. That's 1-8 in the first half, 0-6 in the second. You'll lose to any team - ACC or otherwise - if you keep that up. UVa actually only had five buckets in the entire first half.

When your offense isn't running (including your supposed shooting guard going 0-for-7 on the night), that becomes a problem.

BCI: At the beginning of the year, Grantland ran a piece asking whether Virginia is the long-awaited third team in the ACC. A bit premature, no? Where do you think UVa falls in the long-term ACC picture?

STL: Yes, a bit premature. The article came out before the Hoos had even entered ACC play, where as we all know, it's any team, any night. What's more, Virginia didn't exactly have what people consider a "challenging" schedule. The only teams worth noting are Michigan, No. 15 at the time and still a top-25 team, LSU, who has been playing about average in the SEC, and Oregon, who remains 15-5 and on a 4-game win-streak.

At the end of the season, I expect Virginia to still be in the top four of the conference. Before the season, I would have placed North Carolina and Duke at the top, Florida State a clear No. 3, and Virginia at the head of a middling pack of N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Miami. I think Virginia has fought its way out of the middling pack, while Duke, Carolina and Florida State have all started to blur together.

BCI: Virginia is known for its defense, having held all but two opponents this season under 60 points. What has been the secret to the Cavaliers defensive success?

STL: Tony Bennett is the secret to Virginia's defensive success. He's done a fantastic job at Virginia so far getting players to buy into his system. The Hoos' pack-line defense, which basically crowds an imaginary line a couple feet inside the 3-point arc, causes all sorts of congestion in the lane. Simply, it's hard to get an easy layup, which in turn means that, unless you're 100% comfortable launching threes all night long, you're not going to score that frequently. Virginia is also willing to forego the offensive rebound altogether in order to hurry back on defense to prevent any transition points.

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