Thankfully, this isn't nearly as complicated as this.
In short, for one week only, and despite what they would have you believe, the Eagles have a new cheering section in Tallahassee.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Graphical Representation of the Atlantic Division Race
Why? Why not. And because it's been a long, long week at work ...
Thankfully, this isn't nearly as complicated as this.
In short, for one week only, and despite what they would have you believe, the Eagles have a new cheering section in Tallahassee.
Thankfully, this isn't nearly as complicated as this.
In short, for one week only, and despite what they would have you believe, the Eagles have a new cheering section in Tallahassee.
Where's the Hype? and the Big Finish
Jeff: Two games left and BC heads to Tampa. So I figured I'd check out The Heights to get an idea of how big the students think this game is. I saw one article referencing a must-win and another titled "A Tale of Two Games." I figured this must be what I was looking for - an article talking about BC winning its next two games and going on to Tampa. But no, the article talks about the Washington-Washington State game and the Texas Tech-Oklahoma game. At this point, I double-checked to make sure I was on the correct site and unfortunately, I was. BC can't be the top story in the city because of the professional sports hype, but now is it not even the top sports story on campus? This is very sad. Student basketball tickets did not sell out this year. The student section at hockey games has been criticized by other Hockey East fans. Do the students as a whole, not just the few die-hards, only care about the Boston College vs. Notre Dame football game and nothing else this year?
Brian: Jeff, apparently you were looking in the wrong place. The first article you saw – the must-win – was the article about the BC-Wake game. Although I agree with you that the coverage of this game hasn’t been what it has been the last three weeks. That probably has something to do with the fact that we have played Clemson, Notre Dame and Florida State in the last three weeks, and little Wake Forest this week. Covering a football game between two of the smallest ACC schools must not generate a lot of media buzz, especially with headlining games like #2 Texas Tech at #5 Oklahoma, #14 BYU at #7 Utah, #20 Pitt at #19 Cincinnati and #15 Michigan State at #8 Penn State.
Jeff: I'm not talking about a national newspaper, I'm talking about the BOSTON COLLEGE STUDENT NEWSPAPER.
Brian: ...
On to the not-so-hyped game this weekend between Wake Forest and Boston College. Here are the various Atlantic Division race scenarios. Stick with me.
The two crucial games in the Atlantic Division are the Eagles game against Wake Forest and the Florida State-Maryland matchup. If the Eagles and Terrapins win, next week’s Maryland-Boston College game would be a virtual Atlantic Division championship game. The winner would go to Tampa.
If the Eagles win but the Terrapins lose to Florida State, the Eagles would go to Tampa if they beat Maryland next week. If BC loses to Maryland, Florida State would represent the Atlantic Division.
With a loss to Wake Forest, the Eagles are eliminated from winning their second straight ACC Atlantic Division title. A Maryland win coupled with an Eagles loss gives the division to Maryland this weekend. A Maryland loss and an Eagles loss would send Wake Forest to their second ACC Championship game appearance.
Simple, right?
Jeff, give me your keys to an Eagles victory.
Jeff: I defer to Eagle in Atlanta and his keys to victory.
Brian: In the notes section of this article, Jeff Smith is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game with a hip flexor. Harris and Robinson will handle kickoff duties. Will we miss Smith on kick returns?
Jeff: Unfortunately, no. Smith has been one of the few disappointments this year and has not really been much of a threat on kickoff returns and a virtual non-factor in the offense after the Kent State game.
Brian: Forecast is for 45 degrees, mostly sunny with little chance of precipitation. Does the weather play a factor tomorrow?
Jeff: Absolutely not.
Big Finish
Jeff: The Boston Globe says Notre Dame needs to earn its way back into a New Year’s Day bowl game. Brian, your thoughts?
Brian: The article is right on the money, but there’s really nothing to be done about it. Notre Dame will continue to go to bowls they don’t deserve to play in and the Eagles will continue to get passed over by bowls that they should be playing in. The only way to solve this problem with the current college football postseason format is to win games. Take the decision out of the bowl selection committees’ hands.
Brian: Matt Ryan’s highlight of every week is watching HBO’s “Entourage.” But if he misses the latest episode on Sunday, apparently he watches the rerun that airs on Friday evenings. What? $72 million can’t buy you TIVO, DVR or the HBO On-Demand package??
Jeff: That is simply pathetic, Matty.
Jeff: ESPN is always criticized for having an east coast bias. However, no one can make that complaint this year. We know the Pac-10 has been terrible in football this year and things are looking no better in basketball. Perennial powerhouse Arizona lost at home to UAB the other night in the preseason NIT. Last night a ranked USC Trojan team lost to Seton Hall. UCLA, who has made it to three straight final fours and was on most people list to return to another, lost to Michigan last night. Is it possible that PAC-10 basketball will be as bad as PAC-10 football this year?
Brian: The conference has lost a ton of talent in this year’s NBA Draft. O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, the Lopez twins, Jerryd Bayless, and Ryan Anderson represent 7 of the 30 kids taken in the first round. Add in 5 second round Pac 10ers and there was certainly a mass exodus of talent. Very possible that Pac 10 bball could have as bad of a year as football.
Jeff: Most of those players were one and done though, shame on the Pac-10 if they are as bad in bball as football this year.
Brian: Georgia Tech cleared up the Coastal Division race last night giving the Baby Canes a good licking in Atlanta – 41-23 (the final score wasn’t nearly indicative of the beatdown Paul Johnson’s kids gave Shannon and the Hurricanes). With the Coastal Division picture a little clearer(?), who ya got representing the other side in Tampa?
Jeff: It's basically down to Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech has Duke and Virginia left and if they win both they will head to Tampa. But, if Virginia can pull off the upset, Georgia Tech is the leader in the clubhouse in the division, already at 5-3.
Jeff: Last one, Eagle in Atlanta, Alex at bcallaccess and Heather Dinich are all predicting Wake Forest to score 17 points in a BC victory. I am predicting Wake to not score a single touchdown. What's your prediction?
Brian: The Eagles are averaging 26.8 points per game while giving up 16.9 points per game. Meanwhile, the Deacs are averaging 20 points per game and giving up 18.5. I think - for once - HD might be onto something. I know Raj says we don’t get full credit for math equations, but if you take the average of the teams points per game, you come out with 22.65 Eagles – 18.45 Deacons. The last few Eagles-Deacons football games have been anything but predictable, so I am going to go against this trend and go with a terribly predictable final score – Eagles 23, Demon Deacons 17. Yes, that is three field goals for the much maligned Steve Aponavicius, who is a perfect 4-for-4 in field goals on the road.
Jeff: My final is Boston College 31, Wake Forest 6.
Picks
Brian: I'll give a little DAP to Jeff for putting a halt to my three week win streak last week with an impressive 4-1 mark. I again pick first this week as I'm still in second place, now 4 games back. I want to go on record and say I LOVE my picks this week and fully expect to go 5-0. Translation: I'm probably looking at a 1-4 week ...
Brian: After spending last week with the NJ Alumni Chapter in Hoboken, my game watch of choice this weekend is NYC's Still. See you there.
Go Eagles!
Brian: Jeff, apparently you were looking in the wrong place. The first article you saw – the must-win – was the article about the BC-Wake game. Although I agree with you that the coverage of this game hasn’t been what it has been the last three weeks. That probably has something to do with the fact that we have played Clemson, Notre Dame and Florida State in the last three weeks, and little Wake Forest this week. Covering a football game between two of the smallest ACC schools must not generate a lot of media buzz, especially with headlining games like #2 Texas Tech at #5 Oklahoma, #14 BYU at #7 Utah, #20 Pitt at #19 Cincinnati and #15 Michigan State at #8 Penn State.
Jeff: I'm not talking about a national newspaper, I'm talking about the BOSTON COLLEGE STUDENT NEWSPAPER.
Brian: ...
On to the not-so-hyped game this weekend between Wake Forest and Boston College. Here are the various Atlantic Division race scenarios. Stick with me.
The two crucial games in the Atlantic Division are the Eagles game against Wake Forest and the Florida State-Maryland matchup. If the Eagles and Terrapins win, next week’s Maryland-Boston College game would be a virtual Atlantic Division championship game. The winner would go to Tampa.
If the Eagles win but the Terrapins lose to Florida State, the Eagles would go to Tampa if they beat Maryland next week. If BC loses to Maryland, Florida State would represent the Atlantic Division.
With a loss to Wake Forest, the Eagles are eliminated from winning their second straight ACC Atlantic Division title. A Maryland win coupled with an Eagles loss gives the division to Maryland this weekend. A Maryland loss and an Eagles loss would send Wake Forest to their second ACC Championship game appearance.
Simple, right?
Jeff, give me your keys to an Eagles victory.
Jeff: I defer to Eagle in Atlanta and his keys to victory.
Brian: In the notes section of this article, Jeff Smith is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game with a hip flexor. Harris and Robinson will handle kickoff duties. Will we miss Smith on kick returns?
Jeff: Unfortunately, no. Smith has been one of the few disappointments this year and has not really been much of a threat on kickoff returns and a virtual non-factor in the offense after the Kent State game.
Brian: Forecast is for 45 degrees, mostly sunny with little chance of precipitation. Does the weather play a factor tomorrow?
Jeff: Absolutely not.
Big Finish
Jeff: The Boston Globe says Notre Dame needs to earn its way back into a New Year’s Day bowl game. Brian, your thoughts?
Brian: The article is right on the money, but there’s really nothing to be done about it. Notre Dame will continue to go to bowls they don’t deserve to play in and the Eagles will continue to get passed over by bowls that they should be playing in. The only way to solve this problem with the current college football postseason format is to win games. Take the decision out of the bowl selection committees’ hands.
Brian: Matt Ryan’s highlight of every week is watching HBO’s “Entourage.” But if he misses the latest episode on Sunday, apparently he watches the rerun that airs on Friday evenings. What? $72 million can’t buy you TIVO, DVR or the HBO On-Demand package??
Jeff: That is simply pathetic, Matty.
Jeff: ESPN is always criticized for having an east coast bias. However, no one can make that complaint this year. We know the Pac-10 has been terrible in football this year and things are looking no better in basketball. Perennial powerhouse Arizona lost at home to UAB the other night in the preseason NIT. Last night a ranked USC Trojan team lost to Seton Hall. UCLA, who has made it to three straight final fours and was on most people list to return to another, lost to Michigan last night. Is it possible that PAC-10 basketball will be as bad as PAC-10 football this year?
Brian: The conference has lost a ton of talent in this year’s NBA Draft. O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, the Lopez twins, Jerryd Bayless, and Ryan Anderson represent 7 of the 30 kids taken in the first round. Add in 5 second round Pac 10ers and there was certainly a mass exodus of talent. Very possible that Pac 10 bball could have as bad of a year as football.
Jeff: Most of those players were one and done though, shame on the Pac-10 if they are as bad in bball as football this year.
Brian: Georgia Tech cleared up the Coastal Division race last night giving the Baby Canes a good licking in Atlanta – 41-23 (the final score wasn’t nearly indicative of the beatdown Paul Johnson’s kids gave Shannon and the Hurricanes). With the Coastal Division picture a little clearer(?), who ya got representing the other side in Tampa?
Jeff: It's basically down to Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech has Duke and Virginia left and if they win both they will head to Tampa. But, if Virginia can pull off the upset, Georgia Tech is the leader in the clubhouse in the division, already at 5-3.
Jeff: Last one, Eagle in Atlanta, Alex at bcallaccess and Heather Dinich are all predicting Wake Forest to score 17 points in a BC victory. I am predicting Wake to not score a single touchdown. What's your prediction?
Brian: The Eagles are averaging 26.8 points per game while giving up 16.9 points per game. Meanwhile, the Deacs are averaging 20 points per game and giving up 18.5. I think - for once - HD might be onto something. I know Raj says we don’t get full credit for math equations, but if you take the average of the teams points per game, you come out with 22.65 Eagles – 18.45 Deacons. The last few Eagles-Deacons football games have been anything but predictable, so I am going to go against this trend and go with a terribly predictable final score – Eagles 23, Demon Deacons 17. Yes, that is three field goals for the much maligned Steve Aponavicius, who is a perfect 4-for-4 in field goals on the road.
Jeff: My final is Boston College 31, Wake Forest 6.
Picks
Brian: I'll give a little DAP to Jeff for putting a halt to my three week win streak last week with an impressive 4-1 mark. I again pick first this week as I'm still in second place, now 4 games back. I want to go on record and say I LOVE my picks this week and fully expect to go 5-0. Translation: I'm probably looking at a 1-4 week ...
- NC State +11 at North Carolina
- Tennessee at Vanderbilt -3
- Washington -7 at Washington State
- Texas Tech +7 at Oklahoma
- Michigan State +14.5 at Penn State
- Boston College +2 at Wake Forest
- Pittsburgh +6 at Cincinnati
- Indiana +11 at Purdue
- Michigan at Ohio State -20.5
- Air Force +20 at TCU
Brian: After spending last week with the NJ Alumni Chapter in Hoboken, my game watch of choice this weekend is NYC's Still. See you there.
Go Eagles!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Happy Time: Darren Flutie, Football and the Gator Bowl
Two games, two wins and we are back to the ACC Championship Game ... reason enough to get happy.
Again we are light on BC birthdays, so we wish a Happy belated Birthday to Darren Flutie (November 18). The less famous of the Flutie brothers, Darren played wide receiver at Boston College and went on to a very successful career in the Canadian Football League. He played twelve seasons in the CFL with the British Columbia Lions, Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and retired as the CFL’s all-time leader in receptions (that record was later broken by Terry Vaughan).
Happy Anniversary to the BC football team. On this date four years ago, the 19th ranked Eagles took care of the Temple Owls 34-17 in front of approximately 5 fans at beautiful Lincoln Financial Field. The win was costly, however, as starting quarterback Paul Peterson left the game in the second quarter with a broken right hand. Peterson gave way to a freshman from Exton, Pennsylvania by the name of Matt Ryan. Ryan threw for 115 yards and a score on 8 of 15 passing in his debut. The win pushed the Eagles to 8-2 (4-1 Big East) and tied for first place in the Big East standings with West Virginia with one game to play ...
Happy Trails, deluxe edition.
Happy Trails Darius McClure. McClure’s college career is over after he injured his knee celebrating his first career interception against Boston College. Here’s to a speedy recovery for McClure. The Seminoles will be lacking depth in their secondary this week against Maryland, as Myron Rolle will also miss the first half of the game as he travels back from Alabama where he finds out if he receives a Rhodes Scholarship. (Jags has never met a Rhodes Scholar before ... and went out of his way to congratulate Rolle on the sidelines during last Saturday’s FSU game).
Happy Trails to the Gator Bowl. I’m willing to bet several vital organs that there is 0% chance that the Eagles land in Jacksonville this year. The Gator Bowl is reportedly courting a, what we will assume will be a 7-5, Notre Dame squad. And there is no way the Gator Bowl would want a rematch of the 17-0 beat down the Eagles gave the Irish two weeks ago. Not to mention there will be two Florida ACC teams bowl eligible, and if neither of those teams win the conference this year, one of the two will most likely be placed in Jacksonville.
Finally, a Happy Trails to this Bobby Bowden pregame speech. Wow, that is pretty sad. No offense to Montel Harris, Chris Crane and the gang, but no wonder Florida State didn’t get up to play Boston College last Saturday ... (HT: Big Lead)
Again we are light on BC birthdays, so we wish a Happy belated Birthday to Darren Flutie (November 18). The less famous of the Flutie brothers, Darren played wide receiver at Boston College and went on to a very successful career in the Canadian Football League. He played twelve seasons in the CFL with the British Columbia Lions, Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and retired as the CFL’s all-time leader in receptions (that record was later broken by Terry Vaughan).
Happy Anniversary to the BC football team. On this date four years ago, the 19th ranked Eagles took care of the Temple Owls 34-17 in front of approximately 5 fans at beautiful Lincoln Financial Field. The win was costly, however, as starting quarterback Paul Peterson left the game in the second quarter with a broken right hand. Peterson gave way to a freshman from Exton, Pennsylvania by the name of Matt Ryan. Ryan threw for 115 yards and a score on 8 of 15 passing in his debut. The win pushed the Eagles to 8-2 (4-1 Big East) and tied for first place in the Big East standings with West Virginia with one game to play ...
Happy Trails, deluxe edition.
Happy Trails Darius McClure. McClure’s college career is over after he injured his knee celebrating his first career interception against Boston College. Here’s to a speedy recovery for McClure. The Seminoles will be lacking depth in their secondary this week against Maryland, as Myron Rolle will also miss the first half of the game as he travels back from Alabama where he finds out if he receives a Rhodes Scholarship. (Jags has never met a Rhodes Scholar before ... and went out of his way to congratulate Rolle on the sidelines during last Saturday’s FSU game).
Happy Trails to the Gator Bowl. I’m willing to bet several vital organs that there is 0% chance that the Eagles land in Jacksonville this year. The Gator Bowl is reportedly courting a, what we will assume will be a 7-5, Notre Dame squad. And there is no way the Gator Bowl would want a rematch of the 17-0 beat down the Eagles gave the Irish two weeks ago. Not to mention there will be two Florida ACC teams bowl eligible, and if neither of those teams win the conference this year, one of the two will most likely be placed in Jacksonville.
Finally, a Happy Trails to this Bobby Bowden pregame speech. Wow, that is pretty sad. No offense to Montel Harris, Chris Crane and the gang, but no wonder Florida State didn’t get up to play Boston College last Saturday ... (HT: Big Lead)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Weekly Hockey Primer: Three Point Weekend, Ranked #4 Nationally
Weekend Recap
Boston College 5, Merrimack 5 (OT)
New Hampshire 5, Boston College 8 - 8 goals!?
The three point weekend was good enough to keep the Eagles in 2nd place in the latest Hockey East standings behind surprising Northeastern.
For his efforts, senior forward Brock Bradford was named Hockey East Player of the Week and INCH Player of the Week. We should think so ... 8 points, 5 goals, 3 assists, +3 and his first collegiate hat trick. Beast mode. Yes, it is still November, but we need to seriously start talking about Bradford for Hobey. Someone get the website name registered ...
Polls and such
Minnesota is your new #1 in the latest USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll, after Boston U had a weekend split of UMass and Northeastern. The Eagles are up 1 spot in the polls to #4 this week, but aren't getting any first place love sitting at 6-3-1.
The College Hockey Blog has the Eagles coming in at #5 and asks the question: How good is the Beanpot going to be this year? Boston U is ranked #2 nationally, BC ranked #4, Northeastern #6 and Harvard #18.
Hockey East fan voting
This week's short term fan vote considers the best goal scorer and best playmaker in Hockey East history. There are a lot of Eagle greats on the list and it's a little difficult to chose one (there are 10 Eagles up for best goal scorer of 35 candidates!) Lucky for you, we've done some homework for you. Here are the Eagles stats for best goal scorer:
| Player | Years | GP | G | A | Pts | Pts/G |
| Brian Gionta | 1997-2001 | 164 | 123 | 109 | 232 | 1.41 |
| David Emma | 1987-1991 | 147 | 112 | 126 | 239 | 1.63 |
| Scott Harlow | 1982-1986 | 149 | 105 | 118 | 223 | 1.50 |
| Jeff Farkas | 1996-2000 | 159 | 88 | 102 | 190 | 1.19 |
| Bob Sweeney | 1982-1986 | 138 | 78 | 74 | 152 | 1.10 |
| Doug Brown | 1982-1986 | 143 | 73 | 89 | 162 | 1.13 |
| Nathan Gerbe | 2005-2008 | 123 | 71 | 62 | 133 | 1.08 |
| Kevin Stevens | 1983-1987 | 158 | 71 | 99 | 170 | 1.08 |
| Chris Collins | 2002-2006 | 162 | 63 | 59 | 122 | 0.75 |
| Patrick Eaves | 2002-2005 | 84 | 47 | 60 | 107 | 1.27 |
We aren't sure if this is the most goals ... or the best goals ... but regardless, BC Interruption endorses voting for Brian Gionta. Despite not being there in person (doh), five goals in the first period of a home game against Maine (when Maine was ... well ... Maine ... and not the Maine program of the past 2 years) won us over. Voting ends on November 23 so be sure to support your fellow Eagles!
This Week
Friday and Saturday the Eagles face the Massachusetts Minutemen for the first time this year in a home-and-home Hockey East series. The game on Friday night will be played at Conte Forum, while Saturday's match will be played at the Mullins Center. UMass goes into the weekend series with a mark of 5-3-1 overall and 3-2-1 in Hockey East play (good for 4th place).
Over/Under: BC-Wake Forest
We preview this weekend's crucial Atlantic Division game with Wake Forest with a game of over/under.
Over/Under - 100 yards rushing for Montel Harris for the third consecutive game
Brian: Wake Forest is currently ranked 27th nationally in rushing defense, allowing 118.0 yards per game on the ground through 10 games. The only back that has rushed for over 100 yards all season was Navy's Eric Kettani who ripped off 175 yards on the ground against the Deacons defense. Most games Wake's defense doesn't allow more than 100 yards combined. The flipside is Harris has rushed for over 100 yards in his last two games (Notre Dame and Florida State) and has rushed for 100 yards in four games this year (add Rhode Island and Central Florida). While I think we will have a similar offensive gameplan in the Wake game as we did last weekend at Florida State, I am going to go slightly under on this one. I'll say Harris gets a fair share of yardage on the ground – say around 75-85 yards – but doesn't eclipse the century mark. Under.
Jeff: What will it take for Montel Harris to have a 100 yards on the ground against Wake Forest? Harris needs to break a big run and/or BC needs to have the lead in the fourth quarter and be running the ball to seal the victory. I think the chances of BC having a good lead in the fourth are good and you never know if Harris might break one so I will say Montel does have a 100 yards rushing Saturday. Over!
Over/Under - 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio for Chris Crane this weekend
Jeff: I'll say OVER! I'm saying over though only because this is touchdown-to-interception ratio and not touchdown-to-turnover. This is a very optimistic over because Chris Crane can play well and still throw one pick and no touchdowns or one and one and push.
Brian: Crane's touchdown-to-interception ratio doesn't seem to have any correlation with the outcome of the Eagles games this season. When Crane has less than a 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, the Eagles are 2-2. When he throws for over 1:1, the Eagles are 2-1. And when we throws for exactly a 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, we are 3-0 (Florida State, Rhode Island, Kent State). So I'll play it conservative and push on this one. Crane throws just as many touchdown passes as he does interceptions this weekend, and the Eagles win in Winston-Salem.
Over/Under - 3.5 field goals made by Wake Forest and BC kickers combined on Saturday
Brian: The bad news is that Sam Swank is back for the Demon Deacons after missing the last 6 games. Swank is the school's career leading scorer and one of the best kickers in the country. When Swank was healthy this season, he averaged 2.5 field goals made per game over Wake's first four games. On the other sideline, Aponavicius is averaging 1.0 field goal per game over the Eagles first ten games. But there has been 4 games where Aponavicius hasn't hit a field goal (the most costly of those games being Clemson). I'll say Aponavicius knocks in one this Saturday and Swank hits a pair, but am going under 3.5 as four field goals seems a little steep.
Jeff: 4 field goals in any game is a lot but certainly not unheardof and with the quality of BC's defense and Sam Swank's leg, you would think there would be at least a couple of Wake field goals. The key is how many field goals BC will kick. The planets aligned for Steve to knock in two last week so this week the planets must have drifted apart at least slightly meaning Aponavicius is maxing out at 1 FG make. If Swank hits three I'll be a little surprised, but, Brian is terrible at this game and since he went under I am certainly going OVER!
Brian: We've now seen Brandon Robinson and Billy Flutie throw a pass on the reverse, albeit unsuccessfully. We haven't seen Dominique Davis hit the field since the Rhode Island game ...
Over/Under - 1 Eagle completion from someone other than Chris Crane in our last two regular season games
Jeff: In the final two games there is certainly a chance that someone other than Crane completes a pass. It can either come off a trick play or it can come from a Chris Crane injury, or it can come from Dominique Davis getting some playing time in mop up duty after we are up three touchdowns at Wake Saturday. However, someone completing a pass is still only a push and I'm not going to take the easy way out and push so I am going under. Chris Crane will be the only QB to complete a pass for BC in the next two games. This is not what I want, but it is what I think will happen. The chances to insert Davis for a series have passed. We need Crane playing every snap. At this point all our eggs are in Chris Crane's basket.
Brian: With Megwa out for the season, I liked getting Brandon Robinson and Rich Gunnell more involved in the offense with end-arounds, trick plays and reverses. I think we'll see more of the same in our last two games as Logan will be opportunistic in his play calling. I am optimistically going to go over on this one. We will steal a play from Wake Forest's playbook with a gimmicky WR completion this Saturday, and will get an unconventional completion from someone else in the Maryland game – be it a fake punt pass or an end-around. You don't have to be accurate … you just have to throw it up for Momah to come down with it.
Over/Under - 1.5 Eagles wins on the gridiron to finish the regular season
Jeff: This can certainly go either way but I am predicted the Eagles get it done and make it to the ACC Championship game. OVER!
Brian: This is a tough question. While I am optimistic, I also have some reservations about these last two games. The Wake Forest game is always interesting and Jim Grobe's offenses always seem to give the Eagles fits. Maryland has been playing well but I'm a bit more confident about that game as the Eagles will enjoy the home field advantage. I will agree with you Jeff and go over, although I'm not going to go out and buy a non-refundable plane ticket to Tampa just yet.
Over/Under - 1.5 Eagles wins in the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden
Brian: Our semifinal game in the Preseason NIT is agaist Purdue, who is ranked #10 in the nation and straight up smacked around its opponents in the North Region. Purdue is led by sophomore guard E'Twaun Moore (averaging 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds per game). While I am ever the BC optimist, I don't think that the Eagles can get past Purdue in the Garden. I hope to be in attendance, but I am not expecting an Eagles victory in the semifinal. Under.
Jeff: I would not be terribly surprised if BC gets past Purdue. I think Purdue is a little overrated this year. They have a bunch of players returning after having a decent season in the Big Ten last year but the Big Ten in basketball is similar to the Big Ten in football the last two years in that it has seen better days. After the Boilermakers, the Eagles would play the winner of Arizona/UAB vs. Oklahoma and I am just not going to predict a Boston College victory in that game. So I will go under here as well.
Brian: Last one, a bit off topic, clearing up the ACC bowl picture ...
Over/Under - 1.5 more wins for (Jeff's) Clemson Tigers
Jeff: I have been on the road a lot yesterday and today listening to Columbia sports talk radio and Gamecock fans talk about Spurrier and their dismal performance in Gainesville on Saturday. Every radio host and seemingly every caller predicted Clemson to win the Clemson vs. South Carolina game in two weeks. I agree with them there. The only question then is can Clemson win Saturday at Virginia. Clemson is favored by a field goal Saturday so I will hesitantly go with that and say OVER. Clemson will go bowling this year!
Brian: A Lee Corso-esque "Not so fast my friend!" Clemson is not going bowling this year. I am surprised that Virginia is a home underdog in this Saturday's ACC matchup. Virginia has some impressive home wins this year in conference. They shut out Maryland 31-0, survived North Carolina in overtime, and pushed Miami (FL) to overtime. The Cavaliers are 4-2 at home this season, with their only losses coming to USC and Miami (FL) in overtime. Clemson is a mere 1-3 on the road / neutral site, and we all know the one win Clemson was able to get on the road. And don't forget, the Cavaliers are still playing for an outside shot at playing in Tampa representing the Coastal Division, while the Tigers are merely playing for a bowl berth.
Road wins in the ACC are hard to come by, and if the Tigers can somehow get past the Cavaliers, I see them falling to South Carolina in the finale. South Carolina has a week to lick their wounds from their beatdown in the Swamp and will regroup nicely. The Gamecock defense will be too much for the Clemson offensive line, and the Garnet & Black win the battle for South Carolina for only the second time in seven seasons.
(Photo credit: SI Vault)
Over/Under - 100 yards rushing for Montel Harris for the third consecutive game
Brian: Wake Forest is currently ranked 27th nationally in rushing defense, allowing 118.0 yards per game on the ground through 10 games. The only back that has rushed for over 100 yards all season was Navy's Eric Kettani who ripped off 175 yards on the ground against the Deacons defense. Most games Wake's defense doesn't allow more than 100 yards combined. The flipside is Harris has rushed for over 100 yards in his last two games (Notre Dame and Florida State) and has rushed for 100 yards in four games this year (add Rhode Island and Central Florida). While I think we will have a similar offensive gameplan in the Wake game as we did last weekend at Florida State, I am going to go slightly under on this one. I'll say Harris gets a fair share of yardage on the ground – say around 75-85 yards – but doesn't eclipse the century mark. Under.
Jeff: What will it take for Montel Harris to have a 100 yards on the ground against Wake Forest? Harris needs to break a big run and/or BC needs to have the lead in the fourth quarter and be running the ball to seal the victory. I think the chances of BC having a good lead in the fourth are good and you never know if Harris might break one so I will say Montel does have a 100 yards rushing Saturday. Over!
Over/Under - 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio for Chris Crane this weekend
Jeff: I'll say OVER! I'm saying over though only because this is touchdown-to-interception ratio and not touchdown-to-turnover. This is a very optimistic over because Chris Crane can play well and still throw one pick and no touchdowns or one and one and push.
Brian: Crane's touchdown-to-interception ratio doesn't seem to have any correlation with the outcome of the Eagles games this season. When Crane has less than a 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, the Eagles are 2-2. When he throws for over 1:1, the Eagles are 2-1. And when we throws for exactly a 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, we are 3-0 (Florida State, Rhode Island, Kent State). So I'll play it conservative and push on this one. Crane throws just as many touchdown passes as he does interceptions this weekend, and the Eagles win in Winston-Salem.
Over/Under - 3.5 field goals made by Wake Forest and BC kickers combined on Saturday
Brian: The bad news is that Sam Swank is back for the Demon Deacons after missing the last 6 games. Swank is the school's career leading scorer and one of the best kickers in the country. When Swank was healthy this season, he averaged 2.5 field goals made per game over Wake's first four games. On the other sideline, Aponavicius is averaging 1.0 field goal per game over the Eagles first ten games. But there has been 4 games where Aponavicius hasn't hit a field goal (the most costly of those games being Clemson). I'll say Aponavicius knocks in one this Saturday and Swank hits a pair, but am going under 3.5 as four field goals seems a little steep.
Jeff: 4 field goals in any game is a lot but certainly not unheardof and with the quality of BC's defense and Sam Swank's leg, you would think there would be at least a couple of Wake field goals. The key is how many field goals BC will kick. The planets aligned for Steve to knock in two last week so this week the planets must have drifted apart at least slightly meaning Aponavicius is maxing out at 1 FG make. If Swank hits three I'll be a little surprised, but, Brian is terrible at this game and since he went under I am certainly going OVER!
Brian: We've now seen Brandon Robinson and Billy Flutie throw a pass on the reverse, albeit unsuccessfully. We haven't seen Dominique Davis hit the field since the Rhode Island game ...
Over/Under - 1 Eagle completion from someone other than Chris Crane in our last two regular season games
Jeff: In the final two games there is certainly a chance that someone other than Crane completes a pass. It can either come off a trick play or it can come from a Chris Crane injury, or it can come from Dominique Davis getting some playing time in mop up duty after we are up three touchdowns at Wake Saturday. However, someone completing a pass is still only a push and I'm not going to take the easy way out and push so I am going under. Chris Crane will be the only QB to complete a pass for BC in the next two games. This is not what I want, but it is what I think will happen. The chances to insert Davis for a series have passed. We need Crane playing every snap. At this point all our eggs are in Chris Crane's basket.
Brian: With Megwa out for the season, I liked getting Brandon Robinson and Rich Gunnell more involved in the offense with end-arounds, trick plays and reverses. I think we'll see more of the same in our last two games as Logan will be opportunistic in his play calling. I am optimistically going to go over on this one. We will steal a play from Wake Forest's playbook with a gimmicky WR completion this Saturday, and will get an unconventional completion from someone else in the Maryland game – be it a fake punt pass or an end-around. You don't have to be accurate … you just have to throw it up for Momah to come down with it.
Over/Under - 1.5 Eagles wins on the gridiron to finish the regular season
Jeff: This can certainly go either way but I am predicted the Eagles get it done and make it to the ACC Championship game. OVER!
Brian: This is a tough question. While I am optimistic, I also have some reservations about these last two games. The Wake Forest game is always interesting and Jim Grobe's offenses always seem to give the Eagles fits. Maryland has been playing well but I'm a bit more confident about that game as the Eagles will enjoy the home field advantage. I will agree with you Jeff and go over, although I'm not going to go out and buy a non-refundable plane ticket to Tampa just yet.
Over/Under - 1.5 Eagles wins in the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden
Brian: Our semifinal game in the Preseason NIT is agaist Purdue, who is ranked #10 in the nation and straight up smacked around its opponents in the North Region. Purdue is led by sophomore guard E'Twaun Moore (averaging 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds per game). While I am ever the BC optimist, I don't think that the Eagles can get past Purdue in the Garden. I hope to be in attendance, but I am not expecting an Eagles victory in the semifinal. Under.
Jeff: I would not be terribly surprised if BC gets past Purdue. I think Purdue is a little overrated this year. They have a bunch of players returning after having a decent season in the Big Ten last year but the Big Ten in basketball is similar to the Big Ten in football the last two years in that it has seen better days. After the Boilermakers, the Eagles would play the winner of Arizona/UAB vs. Oklahoma and I am just not going to predict a Boston College victory in that game. So I will go under here as well.
Brian: Last one, a bit off topic, clearing up the ACC bowl picture ...
Over/Under - 1.5 more wins for (Jeff's) Clemson Tigers
Jeff: I have been on the road a lot yesterday and today listening to Columbia sports talk radio and Gamecock fans talk about Spurrier and their dismal performance in Gainesville on Saturday. Every radio host and seemingly every caller predicted Clemson to win the Clemson vs. South Carolina game in two weeks. I agree with them there. The only question then is can Clemson win Saturday at Virginia. Clemson is favored by a field goal Saturday so I will hesitantly go with that and say OVER. Clemson will go bowling this year!
Brian: A Lee Corso-esque "Not so fast my friend!" Clemson is not going bowling this year. I am surprised that Virginia is a home underdog in this Saturday's ACC matchup. Virginia has some impressive home wins this year in conference. They shut out Maryland 31-0, survived North Carolina in overtime, and pushed Miami (FL) to overtime. The Cavaliers are 4-2 at home this season, with their only losses coming to USC and Miami (FL) in overtime. Clemson is a mere 1-3 on the road / neutral site, and we all know the one win Clemson was able to get on the road. And don't forget, the Cavaliers are still playing for an outside shot at playing in Tampa representing the Coastal Division, while the Tigers are merely playing for a bowl berth.
Road wins in the ACC are hard to come by, and if the Tigers can somehow get past the Cavaliers, I see them falling to South Carolina in the finale. South Carolina has a week to lick their wounds from their beatdown in the Swamp and will regroup nicely. The Gamecock defense will be too much for the Clemson offensive line, and the Garnet & Black win the battle for South Carolina for only the second time in seven seasons.
(Photo credit: SI Vault)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
BC-Florida State: Video Highlights
Get pumped for the Wake Forest game by relishing in the highlights of the Eagles 27-17 win in Tallahassee. Thanks to Vincent for the link.
ACC Power Rankings: Week 12 and ACC Roundtable 4
Week 12
Notes
Maryland is our new #1 after surviving Carolina. No one should want to play the tortoises at home. Fear the turtle? Thankfully for Eagles fans, fans of ACC Coastal division teams, and Maryland's bowl opponent, their season-finale, the ACC Championship and the Bowl game won't be played in College Park.
BC takes the 2nd spot from Florida State, Miami moves up (for now) as they have now won five straight. Coastal eliminator Thursday night as Miami travels to Atlanta to take on the Yellow Jackets.
The rest ... meh.
This Week
Miami (FL) at Georgia Tech (Thursday) ... North Carolina State at North Carolina ... Clemson at Virginia ... Boston College at Wake Forest ... Duke at Virginia Tech ... Florida State at Maryland
ACC Roundtable
From Old Virginia is hosting this edition of the ACC Roundtable. We really don't have many feelings either way about the Virginia Cavaliers football team, other than if you take a cheap shot on Mathias Kiwanuka, you are no friend of ours. Putting those feelings aside, From Old Virginia is a primo sports blog on UVA sports. You should check it out. Onto the questions ...
1. Take a look into your team's past, as far back as you like. If you could pick one game and change its outcome, which would you choose and why?
The Miracle in Miami ... no, just kidding. If we had to change one BC game, it probably would have been last year's ACC Championship game. We were the better team and we let the Hokies off the hook in the second half. Not to mention we made a bad quarterback (Sean Glennon) look like Joe Montana.
Change the outcome of that game, BC wins their first ACC conference championship, goes to the Orange Bowl and beats Kansas (I'll take the matchup between Matt Ryan and the Jawhawk secondary. Merely conjecture, but I don't think Ryan throws 3 picks including a pick-six). BC wins the Orange Bowl and puts a temporary halt to the ACC's BCS bowl skid.
2. What non-ACC program most resembles yours?
I dunno. This year, it might be Louisiana State. Nasty defense, shaky offense, inexperienced quarterback. Don't put away teams when the game is all but handed to you (LSU: Alabama, BC: Georgia Tech, Clemson). We sorta look like LSU this year, less being one year removed from the National Championship and the obnoxious fan base. Historically, let's go with TCU. Perenially underrated, underappreciated, nasty run defense. Struggled through the late 1990s only to come on strong in the 2000s. Bounced around conferences of late, religiously affiliated school, the list goes on ...
3. Which do you prefer? The ACC of 2008: not too well respected around the nation, but a conference in which almost any team has a shot at the conference title? Or the ACC of 1998: getting plenty of respect from football pundits as a good conference, but dominated by one hegemonic superpower that we all hate?
We were in the Big East in 1998, were coming off a 4-7 season and two years removed from a gambling scandal. We'll take what's behind door #2 please (the 2008 season).
4. Hey, it's basketball season! What are your expectations for your team? What kind of season would make you happy?
NIT, baby! We have a young and talented team. Bubble team for the NCAA tournaments would be nice but isn't expected. Looking to improve on last year's 14-17 season.
- Maryland (7-3, 4-2 ACC)
- Boston College (7-3, 3-3)
- North Carolina (7-3, 3-3)
- Miami (7-3, 4-2)
- Florida State (7-3, 4-3)
- Georgia Tech (7-3, 4-3)
- Virginia Tech (6-4, 3-3)
- Clemson (5-5, 3-4)
- Virginia (5-5, 3-3)
- NC State (4-6, 2-4)
- Wake Forest (6-4, 4-3)
- Duke (4-6, 1-5)
Notes
Maryland is our new #1 after surviving Carolina. No one should want to play the tortoises at home. Fear the turtle? Thankfully for Eagles fans, fans of ACC Coastal division teams, and Maryland's bowl opponent, their season-finale, the ACC Championship and the Bowl game won't be played in College Park.
BC takes the 2nd spot from Florida State, Miami moves up (for now) as they have now won five straight. Coastal eliminator Thursday night as Miami travels to Atlanta to take on the Yellow Jackets.
The rest ... meh.
This Week
Miami (FL) at Georgia Tech (Thursday) ... North Carolina State at North Carolina ... Clemson at Virginia ... Boston College at Wake Forest ... Duke at Virginia Tech ... Florida State at Maryland
ACC Roundtable
From Old Virginia is hosting this edition of the ACC Roundtable. We really don't have many feelings either way about the Virginia Cavaliers football team, other than if you take a cheap shot on Mathias Kiwanuka, you are no friend of ours. Putting those feelings aside, From Old Virginia is a primo sports blog on UVA sports. You should check it out. Onto the questions ...
1. Take a look into your team's past, as far back as you like. If you could pick one game and change its outcome, which would you choose and why?
The Miracle in Miami ... no, just kidding. If we had to change one BC game, it probably would have been last year's ACC Championship game. We were the better team and we let the Hokies off the hook in the second half. Not to mention we made a bad quarterback (Sean Glennon) look like Joe Montana.
Change the outcome of that game, BC wins their first ACC conference championship, goes to the Orange Bowl and beats Kansas (I'll take the matchup between Matt Ryan and the Jawhawk secondary. Merely conjecture, but I don't think Ryan throws 3 picks including a pick-six). BC wins the Orange Bowl and puts a temporary halt to the ACC's BCS bowl skid.
2. What non-ACC program most resembles yours?
I dunno. This year, it might be Louisiana State. Nasty defense, shaky offense, inexperienced quarterback. Don't put away teams when the game is all but handed to you (LSU: Alabama, BC: Georgia Tech, Clemson). We sorta look like LSU this year, less being one year removed from the National Championship and the obnoxious fan base. Historically, let's go with TCU. Perenially underrated, underappreciated, nasty run defense. Struggled through the late 1990s only to come on strong in the 2000s. Bounced around conferences of late, religiously affiliated school, the list goes on ...
3. Which do you prefer? The ACC of 2008: not too well respected around the nation, but a conference in which almost any team has a shot at the conference title? Or the ACC of 1998: getting plenty of respect from football pundits as a good conference, but dominated by one hegemonic superpower that we all hate?
We were in the Big East in 1998, were coming off a 4-7 season and two years removed from a gambling scandal. We'll take what's behind door #2 please (the 2008 season).
4. Hey, it's basketball season! What are your expectations for your team? What kind of season would make you happy?
NIT, baby! We have a young and talented team. Bubble team for the NCAA tournaments would be nice but isn't expected. Looking to improve on last year's 14-17 season.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Headlines: BC-Maryland Gametime Set for ...
Huh?
Full ACC schedule for the week of November 22 after the jump.
The following games will be played either at noon or 3:30 on the last Saturday of ACC regular season action (on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ABC or Raycom):
Maryland at Boston College
South Carolina at Clemson
North Carolina at Duke
Miami at NC State
Virginia at Virginia Tech
Florida at Florida State will be played at either 3:30 or in primetime on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.
Georgia at Georgia Tech will be at noon on CBS. Vanderbilt at Wake Forest is set for 7:00pm on ESPNU.
ESPN/ABC declared a six-day option for the games of Nov. 29. The game times and networks for these games will be announced no later than by noon this Sunday, Nov. 23.OK. Sounds like ESPN/ABC needs another week to see how this whole ACC race will shake out. Still, I'm surprised that Maryland at BC has no shot of being the primetime game considering it could be the ACC Atlantic Division championship game.
Full ACC schedule for the week of November 22 after the jump.
The following games will be played either at noon or 3:30 on the last Saturday of ACC regular season action (on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ABC or Raycom):
Maryland at Boston College
South Carolina at Clemson
North Carolina at Duke
Miami at NC State
Virginia at Virginia Tech
Florida at Florida State will be played at either 3:30 or in primetime on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.
Georgia at Georgia Tech will be at noon on CBS. Vanderbilt at Wake Forest is set for 7:00pm on ESPNU.
Headlines: BC 2, FSU Blackout 0
Brian: We've both now watched this game back a second time. Let's start with how the Eagles were able to beat the Seminoles Saturday night 27-17.
Jeff: The Eagles controlled the line of scrimmage first and foremost. In passing situations, FSU blitzed with what looked at times like 15 guys, but somehow the line and the backs were able to give Chris Crane just enough time to get off a pass. Then on defense, Brace and Raji did a great job of clogging up the middle. I wanna say that when Brace got hurt, FSU had less than 10 yards rushing to that point. Finally, we didn't lose the turnover battle. We came up with three interceptions to equal the three times Chris Crane coughed it up although the interception wasn't really his fault.
Brian: Your game ball goes to ...?
Jeff: I want to say Steve Aponavicius. He did what was asked of him. He hit the extra pointss and was 2-2 on his short field goals. I was extremely nervous when he stepped onto the field as I'm sure most Eagle fans were but he did not disappoint.
Brian: A lot of individuals get game balls for me.
Chris Crane, Montel Harris and Josh Haden had outstanding games. Props to Steve Logan for mixing up the playcalling and staying committed to the ground game. The call to rush with Haden on a 3rd and 12 in the first quarter was perfectly timed. Harris started off the game strong ripping off a long run on the first drive. There were a few play-action and misdirection plays that faked out even the cameramen. Even though a few of the plays didn't really get going, I liked the end-around and reverse calls getting Rich Gunnell more involved on the offensive side of the ball. The aggressive play-calling was nothing short of outstanding. The on-side kick recovered in the first quarter set the tone for the rest of the game.
The difference for me, though, was the dominance of the Eagles defensive line against the Seminole offensive line. Ron Brace and B.J. Raji blew up rushing play after rushing play in the Seminoles backfield. The Florida State offense was really only successful when they called for screens, outs and end-arounds. When they tried to pound the ball inside, the Eagles defense pushed around the Seminole offensive line, and FSU's rushing game was virtually non-existent for most of the game. The only time FSU got a lot of yardage on the ground was when Ponder moved the ball with his feet when coverage broke down. When your leading rusher was your punter/placekicker on the third quarter fake punt, I'd say the BC defense got the job down against the FSU run. FSU went into the game as the second ranked rushing attack in the ACC. Mike McLaughin and Mark Herzlich were all over the field all night. The Bowman pick-6 was set up by Herzlich blitzing and going airborne on a Seminole 2nd and 13 deep in BC territory. Jeff, what did you like about BC's ball-hawking secondary's effort?
Jeff: BC's defense absolutely got the job done and it really was the fake punt and some great field position that allowed Florida State to put as many points on the board as they did. The secondary was great. Everyone knows that if you are going to beat BC, you're going to have to be able to throw the ball against them. But when the team comes up with three INTs against a favored Seminoles team in their house, it'll be interesting to see what Wake Forest and Maryland come up with for an offensive game plan in the next two games.
Brian: Also, one of my keys to the game was answered: converting on 3rd down. The Eagles converted 9 of 16 3rd downs, including several third and longs. On the other side of the ball, the BC defense kept the Seminoles in check, allowing only 2 conversions out of 10 third down tries.
In your opinion, did the suspension of 5 Florida State wide receivers have an impact on the final result of this game?
Jeff: If you mean, the final score, yes. Who won or lost, no. I can't say that the FSU recievers suspensions didn't change a few plays or the final score, but on Saturday, the Eagles proved that Florida State lacked more than just a 3rd and 4th string receiver in order to be able to beat Boston College.
Brian: The Eagles are now in a strange position, having to win its last two games to make it back to the ACC Championship Game in Tampa. I say strange position because with 2 ACC games to go, while the Eagles control their own destiny to win the Atlantic Division, there's no situation where the Eagles can lose to either Wake Forest or Maryland and still win the division. Maryland and Florida State can still win the division with a loss and some help. The Eagles just have to get it done and it starts this weekend against Wake Forest. I'm really hoping there isn't an emotional letdown as the team has had to get up to play Notre Dame and Florida State in back-to-back weeks. Jeff, do you expect any letdown?
Jeff: No. How could a game at Wake Forest allow for an emotional letdown at this point? Wake Forest was picked by many in the preseason to win the Atlantic so the Eagles have undoubtedly had their eyes on this Saturday's game ever since. Wake has spent most of the year in first in the division since their victory over Florida State in September, only to fall from that spot this past weekend with their loss to NC State.
So as we have been saying for a long time, we can easily forget the painful Clemson and Georgia Tech losses from earlier this season if we can just win our final two games where the Eagles will be favored in both. Exciting times. Who we might be playing in Tampa is anyone's guess with Miami, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech all having legitimate chances.
Tonight on ESPNU we will get our first chance to see the Eagles 2008-09 basketball squad with Tyrese Rice. I'm excited for basketball season to get heated up because our team shows a lot more promise than it did last year. I hope to see a lot of Superfan shirts in the crowd rather than Superfan colored empty chairs sitting behind both the baskets at Conte tonight.
Quickly ... with the loss, Bobby Bowden is now 31-2 on Homecoming weekend ... the Seminoles are 0-2 against the Eagles when wearing their black uniforms (Nike might want to rethink that arrangement) ... Jags wanted to crash the FSU blackout party ... FSU Darius McClure may have torn his ACL after celebrating his fourth quarter interception ... the men's soccer team was ousted from the ACC tournament, falling to Maryland 1-0 (if it's any consolation, Maryland took the tournament defeating Virginia on Sunday) ... the men's hockey team won a wild game 8-5 against New Hampshire, but only skated to a 5-5 tie against Merrimack on Friday night ... HD: things are bound to clear up soon [in the Atlantic Division race] (you think?) ... men's basketball won the season opener without Rice 80-65.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Preliminary Blogpoll: Week 11
Comments/suggestions welcome.
Dropped Out: Florida State (#13), South Carolina (#21), Tulsa (#25).
Welcome! Oregon State, Boston College, Miami (Florida)
Yes, we put aside our East coast bias and woke up to the fact that Oregon State might be a pretty darn good team. They have now beaten Southern Cal and California and have the inside track to the Rose Bowl. Two of their three losses were to what we consider Top 10 teams (Penn State and Utah).
Waiting Room: Florida State, Maryland, Oregon, Nebraska, Northwestern.
Teams We Disagree On The Most: LSU (9.19)
What to do with Louisiana State? Jeff and I have a whopping 13 spot differential between our ballots for the Tigers this week. Jeff is high on LSU, while I'm not. We're really not sure what to do with these guys ... they are currently sitting at 7-3 (3-3). Their best win is a 24-17 victory at South Carolina. Their second best win? That might very well be their 41-13 beat down of Appalachian State back on August 30. Their three losses were at Florida and Georgia and Alabama at home. The Bayou Bengals pushed the #1 team in the country to overtime, but were absolutely pasted by both Florida and Georgia. And then last night they were down to Troy 31-3 in the third quarter before Troy remembered that they were, you know, a Sun Belt Conference team, were probably clearing $1m to play the game, and LSU scored 37 unanswered points (30 in the fourth quarter). Your guess is as good as ours.
Teams We Agree On: Alabama, Texas Tech, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Penn State, Oklahoma State, North Carolina ... we agree on these teams within one spot in the polls (standard deviation 0.71)
By Conference: Big XII 5, SEC 4, ACC 4, Big Ten 3, Mountain West 3, Big East 2, Pac 10 2, WAC 1, Conference USA 1
Games Brian Watched:
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois (50%)
Virginia Tech at Miami (Florida) (50%)
Notre Dame vs. Navy
Northwestern at Michigan (25%)
Ohio State at Illinois (25%)
North Carolina at Maryland
Wake Forest at NC State (50%)
Mississippi State at Alabama (25%)
Boston College at Florida State
Games Jeff Watched:
Virginia Tech at Miami (Florida)
North Carolina at Maryland
Wake Forest at NC State (50%)
Boston College at Florida State
Mississippi State at Alabama
 | ||
| Rank | Team | Delta |
| 1 | Alabama (11-0) | -- |
| 2 | Texas Tech (10-0) | -- |
| 3 | Texas (10-1) | -- |
| 4 | Florida (9-1) | -- |
| 5 | Oklahoma (9-1) | -- |
| 6 | Southern Cal (9-1) | -- |
| 7 | Penn State (10-1) |  1 |
| 8 | Utah (11-0) | 1 |
| 9 | Oklahoma State (9-2) | 2 |
| 10 | Georgia (9-2) |  3 |
| 11 | Missouri (9-2) | 3 |
| 12 | Boise State (10-0) | -- |
| 13 | Oregon State (7-3) | 13 |
| 14 | Ball State (10-0) | 2 |
| 15 | Ohio State (9-2) | -- |
| 16 | Georgia Tech (7-3) | 4 |
| 17 | Michigan State (9-2) | 5 |
| 18 | Brigham Young (10-1) | 1 |
| 19 | Cincinnati (8-2) | 5 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh (7-2) | 3 |
| 21 | TCU (9-2) | 3 |
| 22 | North Carolina (7-3) | 12 |
| 23 | Boston College (7-3) | 3 |
| 24 | LSU (7-3) | 7 |
| 25 | Miami (Florida) (7-3) | 1 |
Dropped Out: Florida State (#13), South Carolina (#21), Tulsa (#25).
Welcome! Oregon State, Boston College, Miami (Florida)
Yes, we put aside our East coast bias and woke up to the fact that Oregon State might be a pretty darn good team. They have now beaten Southern Cal and California and have the inside track to the Rose Bowl. Two of their three losses were to what we consider Top 10 teams (Penn State and Utah).
Waiting Room: Florida State, Maryland, Oregon, Nebraska, Northwestern.
Teams We Disagree On The Most: LSU (9.19)
What to do with Louisiana State? Jeff and I have a whopping 13 spot differential between our ballots for the Tigers this week. Jeff is high on LSU, while I'm not. We're really not sure what to do with these guys ... they are currently sitting at 7-3 (3-3). Their best win is a 24-17 victory at South Carolina. Their second best win? That might very well be their 41-13 beat down of Appalachian State back on August 30. Their three losses were at Florida and Georgia and Alabama at home. The Bayou Bengals pushed the #1 team in the country to overtime, but were absolutely pasted by both Florida and Georgia. And then last night they were down to Troy 31-3 in the third quarter before Troy remembered that they were, you know, a Sun Belt Conference team, were probably clearing $1m to play the game, and LSU scored 37 unanswered points (30 in the fourth quarter). Your guess is as good as ours.
Teams We Agree On: Alabama, Texas Tech, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Penn State, Oklahoma State, North Carolina ... we agree on these teams within one spot in the polls (standard deviation 0.71)
By Conference: Big XII 5, SEC 4, ACC 4, Big Ten 3, Mountain West 3, Big East 2, Pac 10 2, WAC 1, Conference USA 1
Games Brian Watched:
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois (50%)
Virginia Tech at Miami (Florida) (50%)
Notre Dame vs. Navy
Northwestern at Michigan (25%)
Ohio State at Illinois (25%)
North Carolina at Maryland
Wake Forest at NC State (50%)
Mississippi State at Alabama (25%)
Boston College at Florida State
Games Jeff Watched:
Virginia Tech at Miami (Florida)
North Carolina at Maryland
Wake Forest at NC State (50%)
Boston College at Florida State
Mississippi State at Alabama
Friday, November 14, 2008
Irish Revisited, Seminoles and the Big Finish
Jeff: After Tomahawk Nation asked us a few questions yesterday, BCMike commented that you and I are in the 40% minority of BC fans that do not think that the Notre Dame game is that big of a deal. He and the other 60% of BC fans apparently think that ND is still the most important game of the year every year. Do we need to clarify our stance? Tell BCMike that he is right on although his percentages might be slightly off? Or do we need to remind him and other BC fans that Notre Dame is 1-15 in their last 16 games against teams with a winning record?
Brian: Commenter fight!! Look, first props to BCMike for sticking up for us over at Tomahawk Nation. Maybe we are in the minority, but the Notre Dame game doesn't mean much to me. It's a nice out of conference game and a cool rivalry between the two Catholic schools that play D-I football, but that's it for me. We have bigger games every year - eight to be precise. Case in point: while it was nice to beat up on the Irish last year en route to their 3-9 season, I would trade that win in a heartbeat for a win against Maryland or Florida State last year. Yes, we still would have won the Atlantic and lost to Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game ... and 6-2 in conference play vs. 7-1 may seem inconsequential, but it's not. If the Eagles finish 7-1 last year in regular season ACC play, they go to a better bowl. After the Hokies get the Orange Bowl, the Chick-Fil-A bowl would have had to choose between the Eagles and the Cavaliers (and probably take the Matt Ryan-led Eagles over the pinot grigio drinking Wahoos). We win the Chick-Fil-A bowl, pack the Georgia Dome, and improve our travel reputation with the other ACC bowls, etc. Beating the Irish is nice, but isn't in line with the stated goal of this team every year ... winning an ACC championship and the Orange Bowl.
Jeff: There are two factors working here that make the Notre Dame game less significant that it was back in the Big East days. First back in the Big East days, we had NO chance in recent memory of winning the conference until the one lame duck year in 2004 after Miami and Virginia Tech left. Now, BC has a very legitimate chance of going to the ACC Championship Game each year and with the ACCCG comes the chance of playing in a BCS bowl. That is big time. No matter how enjoyable a Notre Dame beatdown can be, it does not compare with a trip to a BCS bowl. Secondly, Notre Dame was terrible last year. If they continue to improve, the game in 2010 will be a much bigger deal than it was this year, but if they continue with their seasons of being unranked, it is hard to get too too excited about Notre Dame.
Having said that, I do not agree completely with you, Brian. I would not take a win over Maryland any year over a win over Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a football rival with us, while Maryland is not. Notre Dame is another private Catholic school with similar academic standards to BC so it creates a great rivalry because many BC students also apply to Notre Dame and vice versa. I don't think too many BC students spent their senior years of high school deciding between BC and Maryland. In my opinion the ND-BC rivalry is not dying, but is falling slightly, and only slightly, from BC's perspective because of the move to the ACC and Notre Dame's lack of recent success.
Brian: Stop right there. You misunderstood my point. It's not that I want to beat Maryland instead of Notre Dame every year. Replace Maryland with any other ACC team name if it betters our chances of going to a more significant bowl game each year. We aren't going to play in better bowls if we leave room for these bowl selection committees to pick teams other than BC. So the more games we can win in conference, the fewer teams can be considered for the same ACC bowls.
Also, in the Big East, BC was competing directly with Notre Dame for bowl selections as Notre Dame could take up a slot in one of the Big East bowls. Now we don't have to worry about Notre Dame when it comes to ACC bowl selection. Since BC is a member of a conference and Notre Dame isn't, I would argue the BC game is more important to the Irish's season than it is to the Eagles. Reason is because Notre Dame's path to a BCS bowl hinges on all 12 of their games ... for the Eagles, we can get to the BCS by taking care of business in conference.
On to the big ACC Atlantic showdown this weekend. Jeff, based on all the back and forth in blogfrica yesterday, do you think the Seminoles are looking past the Eagles?
Jeff: I am not going to say yes, but I will say it wouldn't surprise me. Give me three keys to winning the game.
Brian:
Brian: Commenter fight!! Look, first props to BCMike for sticking up for us over at Tomahawk Nation. Maybe we are in the minority, but the Notre Dame game doesn't mean much to me. It's a nice out of conference game and a cool rivalry between the two Catholic schools that play D-I football, but that's it for me. We have bigger games every year - eight to be precise. Case in point: while it was nice to beat up on the Irish last year en route to their 3-9 season, I would trade that win in a heartbeat for a win against Maryland or Florida State last year. Yes, we still would have won the Atlantic and lost to Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game ... and 6-2 in conference play vs. 7-1 may seem inconsequential, but it's not. If the Eagles finish 7-1 last year in regular season ACC play, they go to a better bowl. After the Hokies get the Orange Bowl, the Chick-Fil-A bowl would have had to choose between the Eagles and the Cavaliers (and probably take the Matt Ryan-led Eagles over the pinot grigio drinking Wahoos). We win the Chick-Fil-A bowl, pack the Georgia Dome, and improve our travel reputation with the other ACC bowls, etc. Beating the Irish is nice, but isn't in line with the stated goal of this team every year ... winning an ACC championship and the Orange Bowl.
Jeff: There are two factors working here that make the Notre Dame game less significant that it was back in the Big East days. First back in the Big East days, we had NO chance in recent memory of winning the conference until the one lame duck year in 2004 after Miami and Virginia Tech left. Now, BC has a very legitimate chance of going to the ACC Championship Game each year and with the ACCCG comes the chance of playing in a BCS bowl. That is big time. No matter how enjoyable a Notre Dame beatdown can be, it does not compare with a trip to a BCS bowl. Secondly, Notre Dame was terrible last year. If they continue to improve, the game in 2010 will be a much bigger deal than it was this year, but if they continue with their seasons of being unranked, it is hard to get too too excited about Notre Dame.
Having said that, I do not agree completely with you, Brian. I would not take a win over Maryland any year over a win over Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a football rival with us, while Maryland is not. Notre Dame is another private Catholic school with similar academic standards to BC so it creates a great rivalry because many BC students also apply to Notre Dame and vice versa. I don't think too many BC students spent their senior years of high school deciding between BC and Maryland. In my opinion the ND-BC rivalry is not dying, but is falling slightly, and only slightly, from BC's perspective because of the move to the ACC and Notre Dame's lack of recent success.
Brian: Stop right there. You misunderstood my point. It's not that I want to beat Maryland instead of Notre Dame every year. Replace Maryland with any other ACC team name if it betters our chances of going to a more significant bowl game each year. We aren't going to play in better bowls if we leave room for these bowl selection committees to pick teams other than BC. So the more games we can win in conference, the fewer teams can be considered for the same ACC bowls.
Also, in the Big East, BC was competing directly with Notre Dame for bowl selections as Notre Dame could take up a slot in one of the Big East bowls. Now we don't have to worry about Notre Dame when it comes to ACC bowl selection. Since BC is a member of a conference and Notre Dame isn't, I would argue the BC game is more important to the Irish's season than it is to the Eagles. Reason is because Notre Dame's path to a BCS bowl hinges on all 12 of their games ... for the Eagles, we can get to the BCS by taking care of business in conference.
On to the big ACC Atlantic showdown this weekend. Jeff, based on all the back and forth in blogfrica yesterday, do you think the Seminoles are looking past the Eagles?
Jeff: I am not going to say yes, but I will say it wouldn't surprise me. Give me three keys to winning the game.
Brian:
- Establish the run. We got away from the run in the second half of the Carolina game and it burned us (in the form of 3 INTs and 21 points). If Logan sticks to the run, the Seminole defense won't be able to drop 7-8 in coverage and pick apart Crane. (Where have the trick plays, end arounds and options been??)
- Convert on third downs. BC has been terrible of late on converting on third down opportunities. 3 of 14 against the Irish ... 3 of 18 against the Tigers ...
- Game manager Crane shows up and he limits the mistakes. Also, if drives in the red zone stall and we are in field goal range, we need to be able to put points on the board. Doesn't matter if that is converting on 4th down or putting faith in our shaky kicking game. Stalled out drives in the red zone with 0 points will make this game ugly real fast.
What is the biggest mismatch you see between the Eagles and Seminoles tomorrow?
Jeff: Placekicking, without a doubt. Gano is a very, very good kicker for Florida State. Do we even know yet who is going to get the nod for the Eagles?
Brian: No, I don't know who is handling field goals for the Eagles.
[UPDATED] As a result of the on-campus brawl on Wednesday night, Florida State has suspended 5 players for the game tomorrow. Taiwan Easterling, Bert Reed, Corey Surrency, Cameron Wade and Richard Goodman will all be suspended for the Boston College game.
Big Finish
Brian: The popular sports website The Big Lead is going with the Eagles ... while your girl, HD, is not. You surprised?
Jeff: HD has been wrong about us more than she has been right. In fact, I'd guess her record for BC games is 3-6. I feel better that she picked against us this week.
Jeff: BC men's hockey tries to rebound from last weekend's sweep when they play tonight at Merrimack. Who ya got?
Brian: Bradford continues his hot streak and lights the lamp and the Eagles rebound against Merrimack 3-1.
Brian: The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (a.k.a. Charlotte 49ers) has voted to begin a college football team by 2013. How many years until they join the Big East?
Jeff: 2-4 years. Put them on the UConn plan.
Brian: ... or the South Florida plan.
Brian: The director of the ACC-affiliated Music City Bowl thinks there are too many postseason games. Jeff, your stance?
Jeff: Right now, yes, there are too many bowls. If you are at the point where you might not have enough eligible teams, that is a HUGE problem. But come 2013, at least UNC-Charlotte is one more potential bowl team!
Jeff: Last one, give me two predictions. First, the women's soccer game against Central Connecticut State this afternoon at the Newton Campus in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Second, the big game tomorrow night - Boston College at Florida State.
Brian: First, what are the chances the women's soccer team plays Central Connecticut the same day the men's basketball team tips off against Central Connecticut? I literally know next to nothing about this year's women's soccer team, but I do see that they beat CCSU earlier this year at home 1-0. I will go by that very same score and say the Lady Eagles advance to the next round of the NCAAs.
As for this weekend's football game, back in August I initially predicted a low scoring affair while you thought the it would be quite the opposite. I'm staying with my relatively low-scoring prediction. Eagles get it done on the offensive side of the ball and the Eagles find creative ways to get into the end zone. Eagles 21, Seminoles 19. Yes, that is a touchdown and 4 field goals.