'Nole Perspective: Early Look At Boston College Eagles Football 2011 (Tomahawk Nation)
For the record, I see BC going 6-6 (4-4 in conference), though I see that 6-6 record coming from a 4-1 start and a 2-5 finish down the stretch. That won't make folks in Chestnut Hill happy.
Fun Stat Nerd Tidbit: Boston College - The Non-Ruling Class (Football Study Hall)
Thanks to their recent regression, Boston College has actually fallen out of the top of the non-ruling class; after three "top ten" finishes below, they've had three straight years without one. That, of course, includes both of Frank Spaziani's seasons at the helm.
ACC team position rankings: Cornerbacks (ESPN ACC Blog)
6. Boston College: The Eagles will miss DeLeon Gause, but Donnie Fletcher has 17 career starts, 56 tackles last season, and led the team with five picks. C.J. Jones played in 12 games as a backup last season with 16 tackles. Dominique Williams also saw some time and had four tackles, and true freshman Al Louis-Jean, who was the No. 9 cornerback in the nation as ranked by ESPN Recruiting, enrolled early.
Ranking the ACC's top 10 safeties (ESPN ACC Blog)
9. Jim Noel, Boston College: He was second on the team with four interceptions and had 36 tackles (27 solo). He earned his first start at Florida State and made a career-high 10 tackles with a pass breakup and two interceptions, one of which he returned 43 yards for a touchdown.
ACC team position rankings: Safeties (ESPN ACC Blog)
7. Boston College: The Eagles return juniors Jim Noel, who had four interceptions in eight starts, and Okechukwu Okoroha, who started the final six games last fall. Noel, Okoroha, and Dominick LeGrande combined for 90 tackles last season.
2011-12 ACC Basketball: #11, Boston College (Run The Floor)
In 2009 Steve Donahue’s Cornell team attempted 33.2% of its shots from behind the arc, which was right about average for D1 schools. In his next season that bumped up to 39.8% (37th out of 345). Last year it went up again, to 43.3% (11th). In 2011-12 I anticipate that BC will attempt more threes than any other high-major university. If the freshmen learn the system early enough, their offense should finish in the upper half of ACC schools. But BC’s defense will be terrible. Again.
ACC Announces Top Six for Service Awards for 2010-11 (TheACC.com)
The Top Six for Service is awarded on each institutional campus annually. The criteria for this award are determined by each individual school recognizing student-athletes that have demonstrated outstanding community service and community relations. A Top Six for Service award recipient should be dedicated to serving others and have shown a passion for enriching the lives of others.
Opponents / ACC
College Football Countdown: No. 43 Maryland (College Gridiron 365 Blog)
As part of a very contentious ACC Atlantic Division, and playing a tough schedule under a new coach, Maryland should consider six or seven wins a success.
Even in Wisconsin Wilson Can Impact ACC (Fox Sports South)
If Wilson posts similar numbers as he did at N.C. State, especially in key games, the Badgers will challenge for the national championship and Wilson will make a push for the Heisman Trophy. It will also diffuse the current sentiment that his numbers have been due to competing in an inferior conference.
NCAA Penalizes Maryland Football for Secondary Violations, Docks Practice Time (Testudo Times)
Almost three hours a week less than normal. I would imagine that's pretty significant stuff. This is on top of the 3 scholarships lost for next season, as well. Thanks, Ralph.
2011 ACC Blogger Football Preview: Atlantic No. 3... Clemson (ACC Blogger)
Defense taking a small step back - Hard not to with Bowers gone to the NFL. Overall, nobody on this Tigers team knows what it's like to not finish in the top 20 nationally in total defense. They'll be somewhere around there this season too, but lacking the playmaking ability of Bowers.
Preseason 120 Countdown: No. 48 Northwestern (Rivals.com)
Northwestern is in the midst of one of the best runs in school history, playing in bowls in each of the past three seasons. How high can Fitzgerald take his alma mater? The Wildcats could have one of the Big Ten’s top offenses if Persa bounces back from his Achilles injury. Defensively, it’s all about how the front seven comes together.
Despite recent records, Grobe a fixture at Wake (FS South)
But as successful as Grobe has been — and he’s justifiably considered the best coach in the school’s history — the program has taken a consistent step backward each season since the Orange Bowl, with victory totals of 11, 9, 8, 5 and 3. And with an apparent upgrade in coaching around the ACC — including at Duke, where David Cutcliffe’s program could pass Wake this season in his fourth campaign at the helm — an uneasiness regarding Grobe’s future may grow louder.
The Top 25 Dirtiest Athletic Programs In College History II: Cheat Harder (Cowboys Ride For Free)
Though the U is the creative leader when it comes to getting personal fouls on the football field, they are followers when it comes to NCAA trouble. In 2003 they receiver a failure to monitor, and conducted impermissible tryouts. They were also busted a few times for paying players. The best, however, came in 2003, when they were playing "fast and loose". They were accused of $412,000 worth of extra benefits to players and recruits, failure to drug test players, and the good old paying players for on field performance.
Hockey East
Merrimack inks Dennehy to extension (Warrior Rink Rat)
A BC Guy gets paid. "Merrimack has added two years to head coach Mark Dennehy’s contract extension, signed prior to the start of last season. The contract now runs through the 2018-19 season."
Fire causes $1 million-plus in damage to Engelstad Arena (USCHO.com)
North Dakota's Ralph Engelstad Arena, site of this year's Ice Breaker Tournament ... "A fire broke out Sunday afternoon in Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., causing significant damage to electronic equipment and arena ice."
Northeastern loses another recruit (Warrior Rink Rat)
Northeastern recruit Justin Kovacs, a 5-foot-10 center out of Cedar Rapids (USHL), has decommitted to to the Huskies. He’s the latest in a slew of recruits backing out on their commitments after former head coach Greg Cronin resigned to take an assistant head coaching job with the Toronto Maple Leafs.