Four Downs: Virginia Tech

There was a moment in the fourth quarter where the Boston College offense broke out of its shell. Trailing by 20 to Virginia Tech, the Eagles opened their playbook of some trick and creative plays with the hope of generating some yardage against a stingy defense. Throwing caution to the wind, the unit began running different looks and different play calls.

Wide receiver Thadd Smith took a 27-yard rush from the BC 25-yard line over midfield. Quarterback Anthony Brown connected with tight end Tommy Sweeney for 23 more before wide receiver Jeff Smith, a former quarterback, threw an option pass to Brown for a touchdown. In three plays, the Eagles went 75 yards, taking a little over a minute off the game clock.

"Even through the end, we emptied the chamber of some special plays that we had been working on and put in," head coach Steve Addazio said. "I thought we played wide open. I thought we managed all that well."

In the end, the late-game flurry wasn't enough to undo the team's early game struggles, and the Eagles walked out of their home stadium with a 23-10 defeat. As they enter another week of preparation in an unforgiving gauntlet of a schedule, here's some of what can be learned.

*****
First Down: Boston College's defense

Virginia Tech's offense efficiently outgained the Eagles, winning time of possession by executing when it needed to make a play. In the second quarter, the Hokies gained 142 yards of offense with eight first downs. They went 6-of-8 in third down situations. To a team entering the game ranked No. 16, it was exactly what the doctor ordered after losing to Clemson last week.

"Our guys responded like we asked them to do," Hokies head coach Justin Fuente said. "We didn't play particularly fantastic at times, disappointed in the penalties, but played well enough to beat a very physical and tough, hard-nosed football team at their place."

From an overall standpoint, Virginia Tech might've finished as the better team, but the BC defense held the Hokies to only two sustained drives over the rest of the game. In the second quarter, Virginia Tech's touchdown came on an 11-play, 68-yard drive that included three third-down conversions. The only other touchdown came on an explosive play where a streaking wide receiver shed a tackle and ran to daylight.

"On defense, I thought we played really well," Addazio said. "I thought we played good red zone defense. Our third quarter field position was just abysmal, and the way the defense handled that and tried to battle was excellent. Turning around basically three points in three of those consecutive series until finally we were able to pop one out of there and shift the position."

Zach Allen and Harold Landry each had monster individual days. Allen finished with 14 tackles, three for a combined loss of 12 yards, with one sack. Landry recorded a three-sack day for the second time in his career, moving into second all-time in the Boston College defensive record book, though he suffered an injury. His status is not immediately known.

"(Zack) is just so versatile," Addazio said. "He's a power guy. He's big and strong and athletic, and his versatility shows, his ability to make athletic, physical plays. He's a big-time player, and I thought he did a great job tonight."

Losses have a way of overshadowing good individual performances. For a redshirt freshman like John Lamot, the Clemson game seems like miles ago. Two weeks into his job in the linebacking corps, he's showing how a player can integrate to the unit when replacing an injured teammate. He finished Saturday with nine tackles, five solo, with one for a loss.

In the defensive backfield, Lukas Denis continued to make a name for himself with 10 tackles, seven solo. He didn't have BC's lone interception, though, with the honor going early on to Isaac Yiadom in the first quarter.

*****
Second Down: Boston College's offense

Though it finished with 344 yards and averaged over five yards per play, the Boston College offense didn't get firing until it was too late. In the first quarter, Yiadom's interception gave the Eagles a first down on the Hokie 25-yard line. BC went three and out, missing a golden opportunity when Colton Lichtenberg missed a 40-yard field goal.

It was a missed opportunity for BC to shock the Hokies defense. On first-and-10, Anthony Brown ran a play action pass out of a running formation and found Tommy Sweeney in the end zone. Though Sweeney didn't have a clean step on the play, he had a chance to make a touchdown catch.

"We had a lot of open receivers," Addazio said. "We had a lot of drops. We had some overthrows and some drops and then we had a couple of times where we snapped the ball not on the cadence. We've just got to make those plays, whether it be the throw-catch operation, we had a couple of offsides that were not in sync on the cadence."

Like the Hokie offense, Virginia Tech's defense got plays when needed. When it needed to make a play, it found its next level of execution. In the second quarter, BC drove from its own 21-yard line into plus territory with help from a 32-yard pass. The Eagles got towards the red zone, but the Hokies came up with stops on both third and fourth downs.

"(On) fourth-and-two, we were wide open, and we thought we had the right call," Addazio said. "I just felt like that was the right aggressive thing to do right there. We didn't operate the throw and catch right there. I don't think there was anybody within four years of Tom Sweeney. But (Brown) couldn't get our hips around and get it out in time and (it) just didn't happen."

It all comes back to the next level of execution. Anthony Brown, for example, is improving and doing a better job of moving around in the pocket. Against Northern Illinois, he was at times tentative and didn't pull the ball down. Against Virginia Tech, he was BC's leading rusher. That's a clear improvement.

But the entire unit needs to work on taking the next step to hit the right plays at the right moments. Brown finished the fourth quarter 7-of-13 for 118 yards, but it came after a third quarter in which he failed to complete a pass. He only threw three passes, all of which were in third down situations, and BC couldn't extend its time of possession. From a team standpoint, that reinforces how they need to get better. It highlights the next steps the team has to take in execution, which comes from a combination of personal play and coaching responsibility. Though there's tangible progress, there's still a need to get better.

"We've been working at these plays all week," Brown said. "Coach has been helping me with getting into the right plays, getting into the right progressions. (We've) just got to execute on those plays."

*****
Third Down: Beamer Ball

The special teams chess match was an underrated aspect of this game. In the punting game, Oscar Bradburn averaged just under 44 yards per kick on seven punts for the Hokies. He helped tilt field position with booming hang times, planting three inside the Boston College red zone. Mike Knoll went kick for kick with him, averaging 41 yards per kick on eight boots, one of which officially marked inside the Virginia Tech 20-yard line.

Colton Lichtenberg only attempted two field goals in the first quarter, hitting from 32 yards out but missing from 40. Joey Slye went 3-for-3 for the Hokies, hitting short field goals from 34, 29, and 26 yards after the BC defense held his offense.

Slye added four touchbacks on six kickoffs, while Max Schulze-Geisthovel planted all three of his kicks into the Chestnut Hill night.

"I thought the coverage (on special teams) was fantastic," Addazio said. "I thought two things disappointed me. Obviously, the missed field goal bothered me. We made one, but we missed one early. We had snap issues, one on a punt, one on a field goal, and then just an error in communication on one of the punts coming out of the end zone. They actually fumbled it and we didn't recover, but we had a penalty because of a miscommunication that I've never seen happen before.

"I would have liked to have seen us get some more punt return yards," he continued. "I thought we just needed to do just a little bit better job on gunner control. When the clock is winding down towards the end of the game, you want to take daring chances and go get that thing."

*****
Fourth Down: Louisville

There's no rest for the weary in Chestnut Hill. In the continuing gauntlet portion of the schedule, BC heads to Louisville next Saturday to take on the Cardinals and Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.

The Cardinals lost to NC State on Thursday night, 39-25. Now 4-2 on the season, this game becomes a huge game for a Louisville team that's 1-2 in conference play. Though they lost to both Clemson and the Wolfpack, they have a chance at New Year's Six game if they can finish the season with 10 wins.

"It's definitely going to be a challenge," defensive lineman Harold Landry said. "We're just going to have to be disciplined (against Lamar Jackson). I know our coaches are going to do a great job putting a game plan together for them. In this day and age there's nothing but special quarterbacks that can run and throw, especially in the ACC. I think we play like one of those every week, and I think we'll do a great job preparing for them. We'll be ready to go."

Players Mentioned

Zach Allen

Anthony Brown

Lukas Denis

Mike Knoll

John Lamot

Harold Landry

Colton Lichtenberg

Jeff Smith

Tommy Sweeney

Isaac Yiadom

Related Videos