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Happy Friday! Be ready for this storyline as it will, rightly, be the prominent one for the whole offseason:
By the numbers: Lowest returning yardage among ACC teams (ESPN ACC Blog)
With Heisman Trophy finalist Andre Williams, quarterback Chase Rettig and receiver Alex Amidon gone, the Eagles lose a whopping 88 percent of their offensive yards from their 7-6 bowl team a year ago. Making matters worse? Boston College is the only team among the four listed above that also loses its leading tackler and top sack-producer. Making matters worse than that? The Eagles actually lose their top TWO leading tacklers.
Welp
Countdown To Kickoff: USC Football Early Season Preview (Conquest Chronicles)
Boston College
On paper, this game should be a blowout. However, by no means should this game be written off as an easy win. Historically, USC is known for wetting the bed in easy games, and it has cost them some national championship appearances under Carroll. Just look at last season. Who would've predicted a week-two home-loss to Washington State? Coming off of an emotional, physical game in Palo Alto, and then traveling across the country could force the Trojans to have to wake up halfway through the game after giving the Eagles some early confidence.
This gentleman picked out one team from each conference he would least like to be a fan of. BC does not crack the list *UVA is the ACC rep, with Wake Forest as the runner-up). But two of our New England brethren made the list:
American Athletic Conference: Connecticut
Hey, remember when the Huskies made four straight bowl games under Randy Edsall -- including the 2011 Fiesta Bowl, where they were summarily mauled by Oklahoma? Yeah, I don't really, either. Three years of Paul Pasqualoni did a pretty solid job of obliterating any sense of optimism in Storrs. Perhaps new coach and baking enthusiast Bob Diaco can alter the attitude here, but he can't shift the unfortunate fact that Connecticut is a basketball school in a basketball region whose best all-time player is a former backup running back for the Indianapolis Colts.
Mid-American Conference: Massachusetts
In an attempt to become at least marginally competitive, the Minutemen hired veteran coach Mark Whipple, who spent six years at UMass when they were an FCS contender in the late '90s and early '00s. This is the program's last season in the MAC; next year, unless a miracle occurs, they'll likely become an independent, and will probably continue to struggle until they retreat back to the FCS, which is where they almost certainly belonged in the first place.
Speaking of the Minutemen:
Mark Whipple looking forward to bringing UMass football home games back to Amherst | masslive.com
A major sticking point - perhaps the major sticking point - of the University of Massachusetts football team's move to the Football Bowl Subdivision has been the relocation of home games from McGuirk Stadium in Amherst to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. Some of the details surrounding the decision have at times been smudged or twisted, but the fact of the matter is the move was more of a necessary evil due to McGuirk renovations than plot to kill football in western Massachusetts. Still, many fans took offense.
I'm sure New Guy has thoughts on this.
Sources: Boston College goaltender Megan Miller to transfer to Wisconsin (Bucky's 5th Quarter)
Multiple college hockey sources have confirmed to Bucky's 5th Quarter that Boston College women's goaltender Megan Miller will transfer to Wisconsin to play for the Badgers. Multiple messages left with Miller have not been returned.
Good luck to Megan at Wisconsin, if this report is true.
Sonny Milano has the offensive weapons to make noise at the NHL level, but the incoming Boston College freshman has not yet developed the defensive side of his game.
What are you looking forward to this weekend? More World Cup? College World Series?