Say what you will about the opponent, but Boston College took care of business in its home finale, thrashing UConn 30-0.
The Eagles (5-6, 1-6 ACC) dominated the Huskies (3-8, 1-6 American) in all phases, controlling the clock for an absurd 40 minutes of game time, out rushing UConn 154 to negative six and forcing four Husky turnovers.
This was utter domination, and a shot in the arm the Eagles badly needed.
That's fine and good, and I would strongly encourage BC fans, even the ones calling for coach Steve Addazio's head, to enjoy the victory. It was a blowout win on a nice day at home, and the way the last two years have gone, you have to enjoy these ones when you get them.
But now the real work begins.
While UConn is thought of as a semi-competent program, the simple fact is that this Husky team is sitting at the bottom of a non-Power 5 conference. Defeating the Huskies is nice for regional pride, and doing so in convincing fashion is great, but at the end of the day, this game was just like the UMass, Wagner and Buffalo wins- BC took care of business against inferior competition.
In four wins against non-Power 5 teams, the Eagles have a scoring margin of +113. In BC's seven conference games, where they've gone 1-6, the Eagles have been outscored by a combined 182 points.
That means that, against its peers, BC is getting outscored by 26 points per game, but against lesser teams, the Eagles are pouring it on, winning by an average of 28 points per game. This helps keep BC's stats from falling off a cliff, and has kept BC alive in the hunt for the postseason, but it won't save the Eagles next week if they don't play their best against Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons are preparing to host No. 5 Clemson as I write this, but even with a loss tonight, Wake is a bowl eligible, major-conference team. That's something you can't say about any of the teams BC has beaten this year, as even NC State, BC's "good win" this year, sits at 5-6 after losing today against Miami.
Buffalo, UMass and UConn, meanwhile, have combined for seven wins total this season, and Wagner is a 6-5 FCS squad.
But yeah, enjoy the win, and give BC props for what it did well. Patrick Towles played his best game as an Eagle, the defense swarmed and looked like the Eagles D of old, and Mike Knoll was on point both as a kicker and punter.
A lot of positives to pull from this one, but we've seen this all before. Playing solid games against overmatched foes didn't prepare BC to hang with the ACC's best, nor did it prepare the Eagles to win a close one against Syracuse, a game the Orange kept trying to give away.
Now the real work starts against a real opponent, but as Eagle players have been saying all season: It's all still in front of them. Next week is make or break, as BC will either, somehow, end up in a bowl game, or likely be home for the holidays with a much-disgruntled fan base to answer to.
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Boston College Crushes UConn… Now for the Hard Part
The Eagles took care of business, but next week is make or break.