BC Ready to Move on from Virginia Tech

Any time a team loses the way Boston College did last week, there is obviously an eagerness to forget about it.

But the Eagles (1-2, 0-2 ACC) don't have that luxury, as so many things went wrong in a 49-0 throttling at Virginia Tech, that players and coaches simply can't ignore the game tape. That said, it doesn't mean the team can't move past it, as BC seems ready to do just a few days later.

"When you don't play well enough against a good team, you're going to lose like (BC did Saturday)" senior quarterback Patrick Towles said. "We're past it. We threw it away. We got what we could out of (the film), but we're on to Wagner."

While Towles did say he saw some quick fixes in the game film, he was in no mood to re-hash what happened Saturday in Blacksburg, a game that saw the Eagles throw for just 80 yards on 29 pass attempts (2.9 YPA).

Defensively, things weren't much better, as the normally stout Eagle defense surrendered 476 yards, including 223 on the ground against Virginia Tech's up-tempo attack.

Hokie quarterback Jerod Evans torched the Eagles both through the air and on the ground, throwing for 253 yards and five touchdowns, while adding 48 yards rushing.

"It's tough, because in my whole time being here, we've never had a game like that," senior defensive tackle Truman Gutapfel said. "We knew going in that (Virginia Tech was) going to go tempo on us... When an offense like (Virginia Tech)'s gets rolling, when they get that first 1st down, it starts piling on you."

The Eagles' struggles against Evans don't bode well for the rest of a schedule that includes star dual-threat quarterbacks like Clemson's Deshaun Watson, Florida State's Deondre Francois, and Louisville Heisman front-runner Lamar Jackson. While Wagner quarterback Alex Thompson won't present many of the same problems those guys will, Gutapfel and company do have the chance to get better against a very talented running back in Denzel Knight.

Through two games against FCS competition, Knight has rushed for 256 yards on an absurd nine yards per carry. While he may not be Dalvin Cook, BC's defense believes it can get back on track by slowing down one of the best backs in the FCS.

"They've got a really good back," Gutapfel said."He's one cut, and he's up the field. So we've got to be really good on cutback lanes, and good on tackling. We had a couple missed tackles (against Virginia Tech). We've got to shore up the tackles."

"For us, it's about BC, and we want to make BC better," Gutapfel added about facing an FCS opponent Saturday. "Every week we've got an opponent, but deep down, we want to make each other better."

The Eagles kickoff inside Alumni Stadium against Wagner Saturday at 1 pm. Saturday's home opener begins a three-game home stand for the Eagles that will see them face Wagner, Buffalo and nationally-ranked Clemson in Chestnut Hill.