Brian: We've sat by and watched now as the Eagles have dropped three of four games in ACC play. All were very winnable games. The Eagles hung with a top 25 ranked N.C. State team at home, but missed some costly free throws throughout. BC then followed that up with a road victory against a depleted Hokies roster, followed by two heartbreaking losses -- a one-point loss at Wake Forest where freshman guard Joe Rahon had a look on the final play, and a one-point loss at home to a Miami team on a missed free-throw that would have forced the game to overtime.
The progress this team has made is unmistakeable. Still, that doesn't make any of those three losses any more bearable.
Boston College is clearly the best 1-3 team in the ACC. After several close calls, the question is when will this team finally break through and close out a game against an ACC opponent they aren't expected to beat?
The Eagles have a pretty brutal six game stretch coming up that starts on Tuesday @ Maryland. Following the game with the Terps, BC goes @ Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson, @ Miami and Duke. Will the program finally break through in one of these next six games, or will we have to wait even longer for the team's second conference win? Which team over the next six games has the greatest chance of getting upset by the Eagles?
Jeff: First, I would not be surprised if the Eagles pull off the upset in College Park Tuesday. Maryland just had the emotional, court storming, thrilling win over N.C. State this week and travels to Chapel Hill today before facing the Eagles at home. BC is clearly going to be overlooked by at least some of their players and it might be a perfect opportunity for the Eagles to come in and get a win. After that, Clemson and Virginia are both teams sure to finish in the bottom of the conference so I think that the Eagles might even win as many as 3 of these next 6 games. UNC is not unbeatable either so certainly the toughest two games appear to be at Miami and Duke at home.
Boston College is much closer to being a 4-0 team in conference than any of us expected after the Eagles failed to win a single in Charleston earlier this season. Their improvement on the court is unmistakable and significant. Clifford coming off the bench seems to be the most effective way for Donahue handling his roster and Eddie Odio is emerging as the 7th man. If Hanlan and Jackson can continue to improve, the lack of size on our team will become less and less of a concern. Then if Rahon and Heckmann play some of their best ball, it seems like we can beat just about anyone in the league.
When we get to the halfway point of the ACC season, BC will be somewhere between a 1-8 team and a 4-5 team in conference. I fully expect them to figure out how to finish games as the season goes on and have a better in conference record the second half of the season even though their final 9 games include 2 matchups against Duke.
Big Finish
Brian: Notre Dame A.D. Jack Swarbrick mentioned that Te'o would speak publicly about the alleged hoax on Thursday. Instead we got an off-camera interview at 1 AM on a Friday night. Probably not what the Irish A.D. had in mind, right?
Jeff: The off camera interview with Jeremy Schaap is not what Swarbrick implied. Maybe he thinks this will blow over.
Jeff: What does your gut tell you -- Manti in on the hoax or not?
Brian: I think Te'o may have been hoaxed. But clearly he "tailored the story" and embellished the hoax. So he wasn't telling the truth about certain details but we should totally believe the rest of the story.
Brian: How much do you blame the mainstream media for not performing basic fact checks to verfiy whether Te'o's girlfriend actually existed / went to Stanford / liked white roses / blew way past her rollover minutes / can't figure out how to properly use Skype?
Jeff: Not at all. Prior to this craziness, would you really have picked up a phone to find a funeral home that held the services?
Brian: Manti Te'o moved on from his fake dead girlfriend to start dating an actual girl the weekend of the Boston College game. Because going to BC makes everything better, right?
Jeff: Seems like it. Going from fake girlfriend to something real is a huge step.
Jeff: Do you expect the news of this past week to drop Te'o out of the first round of the NFL draft?
Brian: No, he won't drop out of the first round.
Jeff: Is your real name Brian Favat or is that just who you play on BCI, Facebook and Twitter?
Brian: If I'm not actually Brian Favat, then who do you stay up talking to on the phone for 8 hours a night, every night?
Brian: Last one, and non Te'o related. Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers for a spot in the Super Bowl. Can Matt Ryan pull off the home upset?
Jeff: Yes he can! Everyone is so high on San Fran because Green Bay was overrated.