Takeaways from Boston College - UVA

BC had another tough outing in the Commonwealth of Virginia, falling to its University of 43-32. Here are some takeaways from the last game of the [regular] season.

1. Zay Flowers is the GOAT

Zay Flowers had eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. He is now tied for second in BC history with nine touchdowns in a single season. One shy of the record.

And let’s be honest, he should have matched Tyreek Hill’s output last week. He was too fast and too open and some yards were left on the table. We’ve seen it all season, but he deserves a weekly column.

2. The offensive staff made lemonade

Dennis Grosel threw 46 times for 520 yards. That’s ludicrous regardless of the context of the game. If anyone had told me last season or any of the past several seasons that this would happen, my only thought would be “oh when did Mike Leach get hired.” The offensive staff got receivers open all day long. Jeff Hafley noted after the game how they were able to get guys open all day long. Hunter Long topped the century mark and added a touchdown (also wide open), and everyone got involved. BC can be the Chiefs. There, I said it. Credit to all. Seriously, these players are that good, and the system has flourished.

3. The defense is a work with some level of progress

We all know where things stands. The defense, admittedly playing deep into the depth chart has a ways to go. Down five players in the secondary would hamper near any team. I wouldn’t call it exposing depth, so much as this is what happens when youth and inexperience are all over the field. No need to make excuses, but it is kind of what happens when practice just isn’t the same this season. There has been some good, but overall the same themes keep popping up. The fact that the Eagles seemed to showed next to no improvement against a mobile quarterback is failure in coaching and execution. There were plays to be made out there, but it definitely felt as though there were little things they could have made to make Brennan Armstrong’s life a little more difficult. Bring pressure, force him to keep making throws. We played with our arms tied and let UVA control the game on offense. Without some timely, and many times fortunate takeaways, the defense isn’t stopping anyone. This whole season looks a lot different without those. Jahmin Muse picked off Brennan Armstrong late in the first half to keep pace at 20-17, but three interceptions given back won’t cut it. We kept waiting and hoping for something to break in our favor in the second half, but it never came, and we can’t rely on that or have this mindset. With more practice and reinforcements, I have no reason to doubt the process. The head guy has this as a a specialty and it can only get better.

4. The Eagles need to put together two complete hafs (halves)

This has been an unnerving trend nearly all season. The team either starts out hot and stagnates or the other way around. We talk about half time adjustments, but there’s been equally frustrating half time regression. That falls on coaching. Hafley and co. need to get better at adjusting to the adjustments other teams make too. UVA brought more pressure and forced Grosel to throw, BC let Armstrong do whatever he wanted. A garbage time fourth quarter run doesn’t change anything. This is something to watch out for in the possible bowl game and next season. Need everything to click. Come together and be beautiful, as they say.