Boston College 26, Kent State 13: Eagles Win Despite Inconsistent O-Line Play

Brian: I was able to watch BC's 26-13 win over Kent State streaming on my laptop, so perhaps I missed something while watching. The biggest question I had coming out of watching the Kent State win was where was the offensive line? Having only watched it once, the offensive line stunk for a good part of Saturday's game. They couldn't open up holes for Montel Harris and the Eagles run game, and gave Shinskie and Marscovetra (for the two drives he played) very little time. Shinskie was also hurried quite a bit and was sacked twice in the game.

But perhaps I missed something while watching the game on my pixelated laptop screen. Did I just miss something? What did you see from the Eagles offensive line on Saturday?

Jeff: I saw Kent State players running right at our quarterback or running back untouched and I was not happy. If it happens a few times during the game then it's no big deal and you expect Harris to just try to get back to the line or Shinskie to quickly get rid of the ball and try to make something happen on the next play, but on Saturday it was happening far too often. That might have been the cause of the first fumble by Shinskie that we really can't blame on him. He had no chance of seeing the player nor should he have expecting to be hit so quickly after snapping the ball. Then there were countless other plays that Montel Harris had nowhere to run or Shinskie was forced to throw off of his back foot because he couldn't step into his throw. It was a tough day for the O-line. You didn't miss anything.

Brian: On to the likes. The Eagles defense definitely took a few steps forward from their season opening performance against Weber State. Alex Albright played very well -- recording his first career interception and returning it 22 yards, setting up the first Eagles field goal. Herzlich took 36 snaps and looks even better than he did in week 1 and Kuechly continues to be fun to watch (registering another 10 tackles). What did you like from the Eagles defensive performance on Saturday, and do you think that they are ready to go to face Virginia Tech? Or does the D still have some areas for improvement?

Jeff: I liked seeing Damik Scafe back and the defensive line looked a lot better either because of his presence or just because they came with more intensity this week. There are really no complaints whatsoever about the defense since the touchdown wasn't given up until very late in the game.

Brian: The special teams play was also not all that spectacular on Saturday, despite the Eagles recovering two muffed punt return fumbles by Kent State. Quigley had some good punts that forced the Golden Flashes' Dri Archer and Leneric Muldrow to lose yards (the two combined for 3 punt returns of -24 yards). If there was one bright spot on special teams on Saturday, it was the kicking of Nate Freese, who went 4-for-4 on the day and is now a perfect 5-for-5 on the year with field goals of 27, 22, 31, and 33 to go along with his 33-yarder from the season opener. Now if Freese could just correct those kickoffs that trickle out of bounds. The Eagles can't afford to continue to give opponents starting field position at the 40-yard line.

The Eagles next have the week off and will use the extra week to prepare for Virginia Tech, who is in full meltdown mode after losing to FCS' James Madison to fall to 0-2 on the year. The Hokies next host ECU this weekend and I figure they have a very real chance of dropping to 0-3 on the year before heading to the Heights on September 25. Do you think Dominique Davis and the Pirates can pull the upset next weekend and drop the Hokies to 0-3? And in light of the rough start of the season for the Hokies, are you glad or disappointed that BC will have to wait a week before playing Tech?

Jeff: Giving what has happened with Virginia Tech, I wish we were playing them today. However, I like BC's chances two weeks from now as well. Against Boise State they certainly looked like a beatable team and James Madison saw that as well and took advantage. BC won't be able to rely exclusively on a couple big plays and timely turnovers to beat the Hokies but Virginia Tech is still not nearly what Hokie fans had hoped for this season. Losing to them at home would suddenly be quite disappointing as I would imagine that a road game for them is not going to be the easiest place for them to right their ship.

Brian: I wouldn't be surprised at this point if the Hokies do lose to East Carolina. The Pirates have been putting up big offensive numbers numbers behind Dominique Davis and the Hokies D hasn't been able to tackle or get off the field. Add to all that the fact that the Hokies just lost DT Kwamaine Battle for the season with a torn ACL, and Bud Foster certainly has a big task to turn around what has been a woeful Hokies defense through two weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if Dominique Davis gets his revenge on Virginia Tech this week. Whether that is a good or bad thing for BC -- facing an 0-3 Hokies squad -- is another matter.