Boston College 45 Temple 35: Thumbs Up Thumbs Down

Yesterday the Boston College Eagles escaped with a 45-35 win over the Temple Owls. It was certainly not a clean game in any sense for BC, as they made a bunch of errors that could have cost them the game. However, there were players and units that stepped up to pick up the Eagles and help Steve Addazio pick up the 4th win of the season. Clearly, BC is going to have to play a lot better this Saturday if they want to beat a now ranked NC State team.

Let’s take a look at the positives and negatives from yesterday’s game.

THUMBS UP

AJ Dillon: The star running back was having himself a game before he went down with what is hopefully a minor ankle injury. Dillon was playing much more north to south, and had a 52 yard run for a touchdown. He looked like he was able to move around on the sidelines as he was seen jogging around, so hopefully he will be good to go against NC State this week, because it was clear the offense was not the same without him.

Ben Glines: What a huge game for this unsung player. After AJ Dillon went down with the ankle injury, Glines stepped in as the every down back and was able to run the ball 23 times for 120 yards and a touchdown. He was able to keep the offense moving, and it can’t be stated enough that he probably saved the game for the Eagles.

Zach Allen: All over the field, Allen was a matchup nightmare, mainly going against a freshman tackle during the game. He seemed to gain steam as the game wore on, becoming a monster in the backfield in the second half, pestering quarterback Anthony Russo on almost every down. It was reassuring to see the All-ACC defensive end really play up to his billing with 8 tackles, 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss.

Danny Longman: Joe Tessitore was clearly not getting it done after missing on an extra point, and barely hitting on another. Longman came in and solidified the position hitting his XP’s and the Eagles first field goal of the season. Not sure what Colton Lichtenberg’s injury is, but if he can’t go this week, Longman should get the call.

Hamp Cheevers: He really stepped up while Brandon Sebastian struggled, and Lukas Denis went out after a targeting penalty. Had a big interception, and appears to be the most talented corner that the Eagles have out there, though Taj Amir Torres has been making plays as well.

The Philly Special: When the offense gets going it can be beautiful, this play call was terrific

THUMBS DOWN

Special Teams (again): At this point, we should probably just leave this in the Thumbs Down segment as it clearly a major problem with this squad. Let’s run down all the errors. Joe Tessitore missed and XP that would have tied the game, Michael Walker didn’t secure a kickoff and it was knocked loose for a touchdown and Grant Carlson can only do what can be described as forgetting how to punt in the middle of a play. Without a doubt this is going to cost BC a game, and this is on the coaching staff to fix all of these brain blunders. It is completely unacceptable to be in Year 6 of your tenure and still have all of these errors, but here we are and week in and week out Steve Addazio squads are a mess on ST.

Lukas Denis: A bad bad targeting penalty took the safety out of the game and left an exposed secondary looking even weaker.

Brandon Sebastian: Isaiah Wright tortured the R-FR cornerback all game long, and he just couldn’t keep up. It was bad enough against Temple’s quarterbacks, who frankly weren’t very good, but if he doesn’t improve against NC State, Ryan Finley will pick him apart.

Offensive Line: Second straight game where BC should have been able to push around a far inferior defensive line, and while they improved a bit it still wasn’t where it should be. Mix in a handful of holding calls, and false starts and this squad lands in the thumbs down. Ben Petrula and Jon Baker each had a hold.

Injuries: In a game where BC should have won and moved on, the Eagles lost three players at different points as Kobay White, Jeff Smith and AJ Dillon all went down with injuries. White returned (even though his injury looked the worst), Dillon was jogging on the sidelines and Smith never returned. The three are majors cogs in this offense, they need them for Saturday’s matchup against the Pack.