Wrapping up Clemson week ...
Brian: It's no secret that neither Boston College nor Clemson had stellar offenses last season. The Eagles gained just 3,887 yards of total offense last season (good for 11th in the conference and ahead of only Wake Forest), averaged less than 300 yards a game (dead last) and averaged just 4.8 yards per play (tied for last with Wake). The Tigers didn't fare much better on offense, ranking 10th in the conference in all three of those categories -- total yards (4,349), yards/game (334.5) and yards/play (5.0).
Both programs desperately got the offensive overhauls they desperately needed in the offseason. On the Heights, Kevin Rogers takes over the BC offense for Gary Tranquill, while down in Clemson, the Tigers hired Tulsa OC Chad Morris to the same position.
So after it's all said and done this season, which program -- Clemson or BC -- will see the bigger improvement on this side of the ball? Your thoughts?
Jeff: This is tough to say. I think Clemson has had a bigger offensive scheme problem than the Eagles have since the Eagles have joined the ACC. Clemson has had some studs on offense in the skill position including most notably, C.J. Spiller. In Spiller's senior season, there were games where the Tigers almost literally had no positive plays when CJ did not touch the ball. Jacoby Ford was also an NFL draft pick at wide receiver who should have been able to make some plays since all of the focus was on Spiller, but that rarely seemed to happen. Even when James Davis, another NFL draft pick, was in the backfield with Spiller the Tigers never seemed to be much of an offensive force.
BC has also been much more of a defense-oriented team since joining the ACC. We had some time under Jags that we could win some shoot-outs, most notably the Chris Crane breakout game at NC State, but we still relied on our defense heavily to keep us in the majority of games. But since joining the league, Matt Ryan is the only offensive player from a skill position to be drafted into the NFL. So for that reason, I think Clemson's offense has been more disappointing and has a bigger underlying problem that I'm not sure first year offensive coordinator Chad Morris can fix this season. At BC meanwhile, Steve Logan and Jags set a blueprint for how to be more successful on offense at the Heights. Kevin Rogers can take BC from the bottom of the league to the middle or better in offensive stats in his first season with a returning QB and Montel Harris.
Big Finish
Brian: Luke Kuechly was named to yet another watch list, the Butkus Award, the fourth watch list #40 has been added to in the preseason. Will Kuechly win any of these awards?
Jeff: Nope.
Jeff: Speaking of Kuechly, how many tackles for him this season?
Brian: 150. Some of these other guys will step up and have big seasons.
Brian: Jared Dudley was named to SI's inaugural Twitter 100. This isn't much of a surprise though, is it?
Jeff: No, not really, but why hasn't that resulted in more Boston College social media success?
Jeff: Will Chase Rettig ultimately rank as one of the great QBs Kevin Rogers has coached?
Brian: Hmmm. Don't think so.
Brian: Apparently Maryland coach Randy Edsall has his own ice cream flavor. If White Mountain named an ice cream flavor after Spaz, what would it be?
Jeff: Plain vanilla or down-in-the-dumps chocolate.
Jeff: BC brought home one ESPY this week with Mark Herzlich winning Comeback Athlete of the Year. Does Boston College, or a BC athlete win one next year?
Brian: Doubtful.
Brian: Last one. Here is Scout.com's Boston College preview which states that this season will be a success if the Eagles win eight games. You agree?
Jeff: Yes, we can't set the bar so high that -- with a tougher schedule -- improving in the win column is not good enough.