Banter: Boston College Football is Putting the Pieces Together

Curtis: Well that’s good for three wins in a row! BC looks like they’ve figured a lot of things out and have started rolling. What impressed you the most about what they did against Georgia Tech?

Arthur: Major League II tells us this is a winning streak. Apparently it has happened before. I’ll start. Holy cow Thomas Castellanos. He had an absolute mammoth of a day.

Curtis: When TC took that 4th & 1 all the way to the house from like 40 yards out, I lost my mind. He’s obviously been a really special player for them and the single biggest reason that they’ve been able to string these wins together.

Arthur: Credit to the OL on that play too, that hole gave him the space.

Kieran: It was a huge day running the ball for both quarterbacks. Haynes King actually out-rushed Thomas Castellanos, which I didn’t see coming. Credit to BC’s offensive line, because both Castellanos and Robichaux had big days and good lanes to run in. The defense also played well against an underrated Yellow Jackets offense.

Curran: Castellanos and the offensive line give the BC offense a chance on any day. Great to see Robichaux with some big chunk plays too. To me though, the most encouraging aspect of the game was the secondary’s performance. They sucked against Louisville and in general have been probably our weakest unit. But against one of the more prolific passing offenses in the ACC, Elijah Jones and Amari Jackson played pretty well. They benefitted from a couple drops when they got beat, but in general I thought they looked great in consistently making GT’s receivers uncomfortable.

Curtis: That pick six by Amari Jackson was a game-changer, too. Not only was it an incredible play, but it put BC back in the lead early in the game when they were in danger of going down by two scores. For a team that likes to run the ball, playing with the lead is important.

Arthur: It felt a lot like the AJ Dillon beast mode touchdown against Louisville. It seemed to be a major shift in the game, from being a game where BC was playing catch-up to being the team with the upper hand.

Niraj: Fantastic stuff. Like you guys said, Castellanos, Kye, the blocking, and some solid corner play — Elijah Jones was a stud out there. I think it was after the Virginia upset, they put up the ACC standings graphic and split it up into two columns. To see BC on the first column, above Clemson might I add, what a world.

Curtis: I will say it’s somewhat amusing to see all of these ACC power rankings come out after Saturday with BC in the top half of the conference. I know they’re on a winning streak, but I don’t think anyone who has really watched this team would put them so high on their list. Unless the ACC is really just that bad?

Arthur: I mean, have you seen the ACC? But seriously folks, I think having a good quarterback has cured a lot of ills. The offense looks very competent, and in turn I think the defense looks better both practically and emotionally. What I mean by that is practically it puts a lot less pressure on the D to make the stop so it’s easier for them to buckle down. Emotionally it feels better because the game doesn’t ride on them as much.

Niraj: It really has become any given Saturday. It’s as though instead of the ACC permanent rivals structure (RIP we hardly knew thee), the Coastal consumed everything in the conference instead. Pure chaos and no repeat winners. Undefeated FSU has been playing with fire. The emotional aspect is big, too. Remember, BC has been making comebacks in a number of these games. The defense has made some timely plays, and I’m sure knowing they have a certified baller on the other side has made everyone believe they can win each game.

Arthur: It feels like they were playing very tight and playing in coverage moreso to not get beat instead of playing actual coverage, which is why it felt like they were playing more bend don’t break defense. Now that you’ve got a baller who can move the ball down the field I think you’re seeing the secondary in particular being more creative in coverage. I also think discipline, while far from perfect, has been better.

Niraj: It definitely feels that way to me as well. There were still big plays Tech had, but they either dropped or missed a lot of them, so maybe that’s something to keep an eye out for.

Curtis: The secondary definitely looked good against Georgia Tech, but the defense overall has had its ups and downs during this win streak. They crumpled against Army in the second half and that first half Hail Mary against Virginia still makes me shudder. I agree that the discipline looks a lot better and I think they’re going to improve from here, but there’s still a long way to go. Luckily, they don’t need to play perfect games in order to get wins with this weak schedule. They just need to play well enough to keep Castellanos and the offense within striking range.

Curran: I think the defensive line needs some props as well. They got shredded against the run, but when they were able to get GT to third and long situations it seemed like they were really able to rush King. With that said, how the defense and especially the secondary builds off this GT performance will be interesting to see. I don’t think this unit is good, and until they prove they can consistently limit opposing offenses, I just cannot trust them.

Curtis: So what do we think about this match-up with UConn? Are the Eagles going to get revenge for last year?

Kieran: I think they have to, right?? UConn is 1-6 and I’d say their record is pretty reflective of their talent level. BC has the talent advantage and they’ve been playing better football of late. I think BC should win by double digits.

Niraj: It’ll be almost a year to the day. Wow, memories. They have to and will. By how much in the end, I couldn’t even venture a guess, but a win is a win and I won’t overthink it.

Curran: It is a must-win game. After coming out lazy and getting embarrassed last year, BC should be fired up and be looking to make a statement. With that said, this is Boston College Football we are talking about. I take nothing for granted.

Curtis: Yeah, I’d have to agree with all of you. BC has improved since these two last met, while UConn has regressed. I’m not worried about our offense putting up only 3 points on the board like they did last time against the Huskies. This is a must-win if they want to continue building on the progress they’ve made.

Arthur: With these recent wins, the tide of public opinion seems to shifting away from an active pitchfork mob marching on the Dustbowl to just a simmering anger. That gets completely undone if BC loses to UConn. To me, last year was a special cocktail of a particularly morose BC football club on a downswing and a UConn team doing uncharacteristically well. I don’t see the same dynamics here, so I think BC does win. But Curran is right. Take nothing for granted with this club.