Wake Forest 3, Boston College 0: The Good, The Bad, And The Very Ugly

As mentioned before, "The Good, Bad And Ugly" was a segment created during the dark Frank Spaziani years. To start this season it was replaced by "Cheers and Jeers,"; however, after yesterday's debacle the editorial staff decided that GBU needed to return. So here we go, let's dive in...

The Good

Mehdi Abdesmad is a bad bad man: The graduate student defensive end was all over the field on almost every play. BC's defense was absurdly good last night and #45 was a big reason. He's becoming a big very physical end, hitting guys behind the line as Abdesmad finished the game with 2.5 tackles for a loss. His NFL draft continues to rise, as we watch the defensive end play the way we expected.

Ty Schwab: Made what should have been the play of the game when he stripped Wake of the ball with one minute remaining in the game. He has been a solid player before this game, but making that play should have made Schwab a household name. But that clusterbleep at the end prevented that.

Connor Strachan: An excellent interception, his second of the year, BC needed to produce them yesterday and this was the first big one.

Connor Wujciak: Just going to guess that there won't be a team that will be able to run up the middle against Wujciak and Truman Gutapfel. Absolutely stiffling up the middle against the run, and the two of them collapse the pocket better than any tandem I've seen at Boston College since BJ Raji and Ron Brace.

Embarrassing GIFS: Sometimes when life stinks you have to be able to laugh at yourself. Well, yesterday there was an abundance of opportunities. I also hate to admit that I missed the golden opportunity at the game. After Jeff Smith failed to get the snap off in time, Justin Simmons was laying face down on the 20 yard line for a good twenty seconds, and I failed to get a picture. It totally encapsulated what the defense must have felt, and what we as fans felt.

status pic.twitter.com/3qlDHCJI1n

— Chip Patterson (@Chip_Patterson) October 10, 2015

And of course this one

Don Brown: The dude did yeoman's work out there, putting BC's offense in every position to win that game, and without fail Fitch/Addazio and the other side of the ball responded with "Nah, we're cool." Brown's gameplan, and the play of the defense was almost perfect. It's mind blowing that one side of the ball can play at such an elite level, while the other trips all over themselves for four quarters. As tough as it is to watch that offense it's equally as joyous to watch that defense, it's just a shame that they aren't being supported by the offense.

Yep, that's about it.

The Bad

Turnovers: Three of them came yesterday, once on a pick and two more on fumbles. Jeff Smith's interception was not his fault, as Sherm Alston should have made that catch, instead it bounced off of his chest and into the hands of a Wake defender. Jordan Gowins (who looks enormous) was stripped on a run. Troy Flutie's fumble was ridiculous, and the game should have been over there. As I mentioned earlier this week, even with those three turnovers BC's defense only allowed three points, so when Addazio says that he plays more conservatively to prevent mistakes, I have a hard time swallowing that pill. These turnovers weren't because BC was playing more fast and loose, they came because of mental errors. I wouldn't care if they came on Flutie trying something deep, or some type of gadget play that ends with a mistake. But they aren't they are coming on simple handoffs, dropped balls, and strips. Let the kids play, if they make mistakes the defense will cover their butts.

Troy Flutie/Jeff Smith: I hate railing on these kids, I really do, but that was a brutal game for both of them. Troy Flutie looked completely lost out there, didn't seem to have a grasp of the playbook, and his timeout because of that in the 2nd cost BC a timeout that would ultimately bite them in the butt. Jeff Smith, on the other hand, confuses me. He's a scrambling quarterback, who runs, but when he runs the ball he takes the longest possible way forward, and what looks like a 6 yard run ends up being 2 yards. Wish he would be more assertive on those runs, move more north, south, and less bouncing it to the outside. Tyler Murphy was effective because when he took the ball he attacked the gaps, not tried to avoid tacklers, something Smith is doing right now.

Penalties: There were false starts, there were delays, there were holding calls. Steve Addazio preaches the importance of not making mistakes; well, BC was putrid in this department yesterday. The first drive was a perfect example of this. After an excellent kick return by Michael Walker, Marcus Outlow rushes for a quick eight yards. Then there were not one, but TWO false start penalties called, followed by a delay of game because it the offense had no idea what to do. Completely unacceptable.

The Ugly

Steve Addazio's/Todd Fitch's Gameplan: There has been a disturbing trend the past four games with the direction of this offense. Part of it has to do with the loss of Darius Wade. Part of it has to do with the loss of Jon Hilliman. Part of it has to do with ineffective line play. But a vast majority of it lays on the feet of the coaching staff. Please, anyone, look at the past four games and tell me what the offensive gameplan was. What was the philosophy? Are we read option? Power running? Spread? Why are we still running that pistol offense that inevitably leads to a seven yard loss on a run to nowhere? Explain to me the logic behind the quarterback rotation. Steve Addazio and Todd Fitch need to take a long hard deep look at the direction of this team. Evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, and go forward with the gameplan that best fits the players in front of them. Right now that is clearly not happening, they are taking everything throwing it against the wall and seeing what sticks. And right now that is nothing. Look, I know I have been very supportive of Steve Addazio the past three years, and there is a part of me that still believes he is going to fix this. But we are going to see, Clemson and Louisville two very good defenses await.

Clock Management: This was kind of frustrating in previous years when Addazio would struggle with the clock at the end of the half and opposing offenses would score. Now it is getting down right frightening. It's been mentioned before, but I'll reiterate, this is a CRUCIAL part of the game, and if Addazio truly wants to get BC to the promised land of an ACC Championship he can't have these mental mishaps happening. Honestly, if this is hard for him, which it can be for some coaches, can they get him an assistant to help him with it? A grad assistant? Anything?

Special Teams: Up and down this unit struggled yesterday. Colton Lichtenberg missed two chip shot field goals. Sherm Alston again continues to struggle to simply just fair catch punts. Alex Howell did a pretty solid job. So let's look at the past year, BC has changed kickers. Still missing all over the place. BC changed special teams coordinators. Still struggling on punt returns and field goals. What is going on here? Clearly around the country in both college and the pros, kickers are struggling, but what is going on at Boston College is prolific. How does BC get out of this hole?