A lot of people are labeling Purdue, Boston College, and Michigan State as toss up games. Considering Notre Dame beat all three of these teams during the disappointing 2009 season, do you consider these games toss-ups or games you expect Notre Dame to win?
Michigan State and Boston College are either toss-ups or leans towards the home teams, while Purdue is a game I'd expect Notre Dame to win on account of the fact they're playing at home and while this is an improved Boiler team, the Irish should also be a step or two better than last year. Michigan State is already locked into primetime and I'd be surprised if the Eagles weren't in the same boat, so the Irish are going to be facing a couple of lathered up crowds and hard-hitting linebackers. Games against the Spartans and Eagles are seldom pretty, so if things don't get off to a smooth start, those could be long uphill climbs for Notre Dame.
ACC Roundtable: 2010 Preseason Edition
by Brian @ BCI on Aug 31, 2010 3:00 PM EDT
in Boston College Football
2 comments
The ACC football roundtables are back for the 2010 season. Brendan from From Old Virginia decided to head up the first ACC Roundtable of the 2010 football season. Check out our answers to his questions below.
1. At UVA we have made wholesale changes to everything this past offseason: the coaching staff, the offense, the defense, the uniforms, even the color of the equipment shed. What change or changes on your own team are you most looking forward to watching play out on the field this season?
Over the offseason, Boston College announced that they signed a new, six-year deal with Under Armour, replacing Reebok as the outfitter of all BC varsity sports apparel. So the uniforms will change, but it doesn't look like there will be wholesale changes to the BC football uniforms.
Aside from the uniforms, clearly the most anticipated change for the 2010 Eagles is the return of All American LB Mark Herzlich. It will be great to see Herzlich get back on the field and play alongside stud sophomore LB Luke Kuechly. Other than the return of Herzlich, not much else has changed for BC in 2010. Many of the skill position players return. The only other change I'm intrigued to watch play out on the field will be the position battles in the receiving corps. Hopefully one of the young receivers steps in to contribute right away. With the loss of Larmond Jr., wide receiver remains one of the biggest holes to fill on the Eagles' roster.
2. Who is the next ACC coach to get fired, and when? And if you think that's your own coach, who would you like to see replace him?
Spaz's job security is on the high side compared to a few other coaches in the ACC. The two coaches whose seat is hottest going into the season have to be Ralph Friedgen and Tom O'Brien. If I had to pick one over the other, I'd say Friedgen is the next ACC coach to get fired. With the uncertainty surrounding the next Athletic Director and University President at Maryland, depending on those two hires, Fridge could easily find himself out of work after the season. I think with Debbie Yow moving to N.C. State, O'Brien might get another year to make a go of things with the Wolfpack.
As for Friedgen's replacement, how about UConn's Randy Edsall? He has had coaching stops with multiple ACC programs -- Boston College DB coach from 1991-1993 and Georgia Tech DC in 1998 -- and is a local guy with roots in Pennsylvania. Plus Edsall's wish of playing Boston College annually would finally be granted. Win, win.
Will Weather Be A Factor In Boston College's Season Opener?
by Brian @ BCI on Aug 31, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
in Boston College Football
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Hurricane Earl, the second major hurricane of 2010, is expected to hit the Boston area on Friday. On Monday, the Category 4 storm brought strong winds and rain to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Flights were cancelled and cruise ships were diverted from the area, and some local area airports and seaports remain closed today.
Even though the storm looks like it will hit the Boston area Friday instead of Saturday, it remains somewhat of a factor in BC's plans for Saturday:
"It looks as if Hurricane Earl will no more than sideswipe New England, and on Friday instead of Saturday. Yet the storm remains "somewhat" a factor in Boston College’s plan for the opener against Weber State, Eagles SID Chris Cameron said Monday. The Wildcats already had planned to fly the 2,300 miles to Boston on Thursday."
In 1998, a game between UCLA and Miami was postponed due to Hurricane Georges. The Bruins and Hurricanes made up the game 10 weeks later on December 5.
This will be something to watch for later this week. If Weber State can't make it to Boston, there's not much room on the schedule to make up the game. Back in 1998, both UCLA and Miami didn't have a conference championship game to worry about during the first week of December. During BC's only bye week in week 3, Weber State plays a Big Sky Conference game at Sacramento State.
It probably won't come to cancelling this weekend's game, but the weather will certainly be something to keep an eye on over the next few days.
10th annual Herbie Awards
Boston College dots Kirk Herbstreit's preseason awards list, including players who get no respect, most instinctive player, comeback player of the year and BCS sleeper pick.
Predicting The 2010 Boston College Eagles Football Season, Part 2
by Brian @ BCI on Aug 31, 2010 9:35 AM EDT
in Boston College Football
2 comments
Part two of the season preview. Previous editions: 2009, 2008
Jeff and I gaze into our crystal balls to determine what will happen during Boston College's upcoming football season. Yesterday, we took a look at the games of September. Both Jeff and I have BC at 3-0. Today, we take a look at the five games of October.
October 2, 2010: Boston College vs. Notre Dame
Jeff: When we get to the Notre Dame game, everyone will be on a huge high with BC football because the team will be coming off a win against a ranked Virginia Tech team. Or there will be a lot of haters saying it could be a long season if we stand at 2-1, especially if Virginia Tech loses to Boise State this weekend. I don't think Notre Dame will be a problem for BC regardless of our record going into the game though. Shinskie has played well at home for the most part and the team should have beaten Notre Dame last year. This year, BC is probably more improved than Notre Dame is and the game is in Alumni Stadium instead of out in South Bend. I like the Eagles to win here and get to 4-0.
Brian: I also like the Eagles to win here to get to 4-0. The main reason is because like you said, Jeff, the Eagles left a ton of points on the board against Notre Dame last season. You aren't going to win many games when you lose the turnover battle 5-0, especially with some costly turnovers that would have otherwise resulted in BC points (the Montel Harris fumble at the 1 really killed BC's chances in that game). The Eagles coughed the ball up 5 times last year and still managed to lose by just 4 points. This year, I expect BC to even out the turnover battle and win in a lower scoring affair, a la BC's 17-0 win over Notre Dame in 2008.
2. Boston College. Talented RB (Montel Harris) plus return of LB from cancer (Mark Herzlich) plus star left tackle (Anthony Castonzo) equals sleeper contender in ACC.
Five sleepers for the college football season (Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News)
Predicting The 2010 Boston College Eagles Football Season, Part 1
by Brian @ BCI on Aug 30, 2010 3:43 PM EDT
in Boston College Football
5 comments
Part one of the season preview. Previous editions: 2009, 2008
Jeff and I gaze into our crystal balls to determine what will happen during Boston College's upcoming football season. Today, we take a look at BC's three September games.
September 4, 2010: Boston College vs. Weber State
Jeff: The Weber State game has two stories of note I think. The first is clearly Mark Herzlich. How many snaps will he see and how quick will he look out on the field? The second is attendance. It is not often that we schedule an FCS team on any weekend other than Parent's Weekend. Also, the FCS team is usually a local team that will bring a few thousand fans themselves. If it were not for Herzlich's return, I think attendance would be real, real bad. Instead, it might only be bad. QB numbers and final score will have little meaning in this game.
Brian: The story of this week's game against Weber State is clearly the return of Mark Herzlich, but the Eagles would be ill-advised to think that they can simply show up and win the season opener. While Weber State isn't the best team in the FCS, they certainly are at a much higher level than the teams from the lower division BC has gotten used to playing the last few seasons (Rhode Island and Northeastern). Weber State put a scare into two teams from college football's top division last year, and the Eagles can't take the Wildcats lightly. It's a game BC should win, but I don't think we're looking at a game with a final score of 42-0 or 58-0. My guess is the Eagles will take care of business, end up with a point total in the 30s and we'll see a healthy dose of both Shinskie and Marscovetra. Herzlich will play a few snaps and return to form just in time for the end of the month ACC opener against Virginia Tech.
Eve of the season ACC primer: Boston College
With less than a week to go, D1scourse's Patrick Stevens previews the 2010 Eagles football season.
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