Weekly Kickoff: Born Again and Heading to the ATL

A four game losing streak snapped, and we’re feeling like Eagles reborn from the ashes.

The offense didn’t flip a complete switch, but they did enough and clearly exuded confidence to the rest of the team. Everyone played with such an edge to them and the magic of the game saw to it that every ball found its way back to a man in a red bandana.

BC is back over .500 with three games to go. In one game, and let’s not kid ourselves, with one player, the team’s fortunes turned around. All of a sudden, we’re looking to find out over seven win tickets because of the glimmer of hope. Now 5-4 means it would take three straight wins at Georgia Tech, home for Florida State, and home for Wake Forest to get over that hump, but a salvaged seven-win season will still leave a good taste in the stomach.

1. Looking ahead: Despite the win and the shift in the team’s trajectory, the Eagles open as a two-point underdog and ESPN’s FPI gives them a 37.6% chance to win. Only the FSU matchup sees BC with a better percentage prediction. That’s fine. They won’t be cakewalks, but I’m willing to throw almost everything we’ve seen out as we head into this home stretch. Of course, there were breaks had in this game and improvements still needed, but there is hope again.

2. Back to back years facing Georgia Tech. We don’t meet too often naturally, but here we are. The Yellow Jackets have lost three straight games to Virginia, Virginia Tech, and last week to Miami. They were all close losses and the team has proven capable with a dominant performance against UNC and perhaps the first real exposure of Clemson. BC cruised to victory last year, mostly on the ground, but we will never forget Dublin.

3. How long will it take before the offense fully clicks? There was some really nice throws, but there was a whole lot of ugly too. Jurkovec will need a bit more time to hone in that timing and rhythm given the limited practice. He finished 7-13, 112 yards, and 1 pick. He did critically add 65 yards and a touchdown on the ground, inducing several minor heart attacks in the process, and the team made an effort to take what was in front of them. They played conservatively, effectively rushing and playing field position. You can’t expect the defense to always make the stop, so the offense will need to carry more of the load especially when a backup quarterback isn’t on the opposing side.

4. Hoping for good news on the injury front. A whole host of starters were out and many players have been out for extended stretches. We’ll be on the lookout for injury news this week regarding folks like IGM, Trae Barry, and Brandon Sebastian. Good news so far, is Tyler Vrabel is already back to practicing and is hopeful for this weekend. Regardless, players stepped up big time. Shoutout to Mike Palmer, Vinny DePalma, and Ozzy Trapilo for absolutely crushing it.

Back to a normal schedule this week. Previews, gambling picks, Q&A’s and more to come.

3:30 PM kickoff on Saturday. Team is buzzing.