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Lessons Learned: State Champs Rounding Into Form
September 11, 2016 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Dominating defense combines with
For roughly 25 minutes of first half game time, the UMass Minutemen could smile. They held a 7-0 lead over their in-state rivals. Like the week before against Florida, their defense was playing great football, and it gave them hope that an upset could be brewing.
All of that came undone in the next two Boston College offensive plays, a total of 17 seconds.
Patrick Towles and Jeff Smith linked up for 82 yards on the next two pass attempts. Just like that, a 7-0 UMass lead turned into a 13-7 Boston College advantage. The touchdowns bookended a UMass fumble turnover. Just like that, the game's tempo changed for good. For the second straight week, Cinderella's clock chimed on the Minutemen and Boston College used a dominant second half to turn earn a de facto state championship, 26-7, while also earning their first win of the season.
There's plenty to breakdown and lots to glean from a victory. Here's some of the takeaways:
** The Boston College defense is back. At home in a pressure scheme, they returned to their havoc-wreaking ways. The Minutemen recorded the second-lowest ground tally ever against a BC defense (-23 yards) and the Eagles collected eight sacks for the fourth time in program history, tying a mark first set against Temple in 1994.
UMass fumbled three times, losing two, while quarterback Ross Comis threw another interception. The Minutemen averaged two offensive yards per play, resulting in nine three-and-outs. They had to punt 12 times.Â
"Anytime we can create turnovers, it's huge for our offense," junior linebacker Connor Strachan said. "A lot of times we end up playing a field position game and really flip the field for them. On defense, you don't really get a chance to score, but if you can set up scores, it's just as good."
In the first quarter, Comis was 4-of-7 for 88 yards. Every complete pass resulted in a first down, and busted coverage resulted in a 58-yard touchdown to tight end Adam Breneman. As the game wore on, though, the offensive line tired, and Comis wound up under duress. In quarters two through four, he went 7-of-21 for 57 yards, one yard less combined than the long ball touchdown.
"I think their whole defensive line was better than ours," said Minutemen head coach Mark Whipple. "(Patrick Towles) had all day to throw and we didn't. We couldn't run the ball. Their numbers speak for themselves. They got better as the game went on. That was what was disappointing. I'm disappointed in today but I'm not disappointed in what we have for the rest of the year. (Comis) is a sophomore, he's the best guy we've got. He competes, the other guys have to help him around."
** The kicking game did miss a PAT, but Mike Knoll (forced into double-duty as both kicker and punter due to an injury to Colton Lichtenberg) got better as the game went on. He finished 2-for-2 in field goals, including a 40-yard field goal to match his career long from 2014. He punted for 377 punting yards with a career long of 63. Despite some understandable frustration at the start, it gives the special teams unit something positive to work on as the season continues to march on.
"We all know (the kicking game is) critical," said Addazio. "When you get in the red zone, it's deflating if you come away with no points. You're not going to score all touchdowns. You certainly have to score your field goals. We're not into a tempo deal. We're not into 'go as fast as you can and score as many points as you can and don't worry about the defense.' That's not how we're put together. So those three points? They matter. They matter all the time. We need to gain that back again, and today we saw some of that.
"He had to kickoff, kick extra points and field goals, and he had to punt," said Addazio of Knoll. "I thought he did a great job with all of the above and he took the challenge on. He overcame some adversity, and I'm really happy for him to be able to do that. I think that's important when you're a young player to be able to overcome. He clearly did that."
** There's plenty of teams that wouldnt mind BC's offensive stats. Thirty four minutes of possession resulted in a relatively balanced offensive attack for a second straight week. Despite 191 net yards passing and 153 net yards rushing, though, there's a nagging feeling of what was left on the table, that it could've been better.
"We want to be over 200 (yards rushing) all the time," said Addazio. "There's probably 60, 70 yards in there that would put us over 400 (total yards). And that's where we need to be."
Towles wound up as the team's leading rusher, gaining 66 yards on 12 carries. So despite a 15-yard touchdown run by Jon Hilliman and 24 yards on only three carries by Myles Willis, the standard of power football means this will be a point of emphasis during the week.
** Enter Towles and the passing game. The QB was 12-of-22 passing (adding 66 yards on the ground while he was at it), including the two deep touchdowns. Smith added five receptions, including the two deep touchdowns, while Charlie Callinan and Michael Walker made three catches a piece. Callinan in particular made a great catch, a 14-yard reception on third-and-3 to extend a short BC scoring drive.Â
After the game, Addazio lauded the receiving corps.
"We saw a lot of (Jeff Smith's speed) in the spring and in the summer," said Addazio. "We felt great, but Jeff had an injury that kept him out almost the entire training camp. Then Mike Walker missed half of it. So those guys are just starting now and they're talented guys. I know they're going to continue to grow in that mode, and we can throw the ball.
"(Callinan) made a critical, critical catch," he said. "That was maybe one of the biggest plays of the game. He went up and took the ball away (from the defender). We haven't seen that a lot around here. So we keep growing. It's confidence - it's all confidence is what it is."
All of that came undone in the next two Boston College offensive plays, a total of 17 seconds.
Patrick Towles and Jeff Smith linked up for 82 yards on the next two pass attempts. Just like that, a 7-0 UMass lead turned into a 13-7 Boston College advantage. The touchdowns bookended a UMass fumble turnover. Just like that, the game's tempo changed for good. For the second straight week, Cinderella's clock chimed on the Minutemen and Boston College used a dominant second half to turn earn a de facto state championship, 26-7, while also earning their first win of the season.
There's plenty to breakdown and lots to glean from a victory. Here's some of the takeaways:
** The Boston College defense is back. At home in a pressure scheme, they returned to their havoc-wreaking ways. The Minutemen recorded the second-lowest ground tally ever against a BC defense (-23 yards) and the Eagles collected eight sacks for the fourth time in program history, tying a mark first set against Temple in 1994.
UMass fumbled three times, losing two, while quarterback Ross Comis threw another interception. The Minutemen averaged two offensive yards per play, resulting in nine three-and-outs. They had to punt 12 times.Â
"Anytime we can create turnovers, it's huge for our offense," junior linebacker Connor Strachan said. "A lot of times we end up playing a field position game and really flip the field for them. On defense, you don't really get a chance to score, but if you can set up scores, it's just as good."
In the first quarter, Comis was 4-of-7 for 88 yards. Every complete pass resulted in a first down, and busted coverage resulted in a 58-yard touchdown to tight end Adam Breneman. As the game wore on, though, the offensive line tired, and Comis wound up under duress. In quarters two through four, he went 7-of-21 for 57 yards, one yard less combined than the long ball touchdown.
"I think their whole defensive line was better than ours," said Minutemen head coach Mark Whipple. "(Patrick Towles) had all day to throw and we didn't. We couldn't run the ball. Their numbers speak for themselves. They got better as the game went on. That was what was disappointing. I'm disappointed in today but I'm not disappointed in what we have for the rest of the year. (Comis) is a sophomore, he's the best guy we've got. He competes, the other guys have to help him around."
** The kicking game did miss a PAT, but Mike Knoll (forced into double-duty as both kicker and punter due to an injury to Colton Lichtenberg) got better as the game went on. He finished 2-for-2 in field goals, including a 40-yard field goal to match his career long from 2014. He punted for 377 punting yards with a career long of 63. Despite some understandable frustration at the start, it gives the special teams unit something positive to work on as the season continues to march on.
"We all know (the kicking game is) critical," said Addazio. "When you get in the red zone, it's deflating if you come away with no points. You're not going to score all touchdowns. You certainly have to score your field goals. We're not into a tempo deal. We're not into 'go as fast as you can and score as many points as you can and don't worry about the defense.' That's not how we're put together. So those three points? They matter. They matter all the time. We need to gain that back again, and today we saw some of that.
"He had to kickoff, kick extra points and field goals, and he had to punt," said Addazio of Knoll. "I thought he did a great job with all of the above and he took the challenge on. He overcame some adversity, and I'm really happy for him to be able to do that. I think that's important when you're a young player to be able to overcome. He clearly did that."
** There's plenty of teams that wouldnt mind BC's offensive stats. Thirty four minutes of possession resulted in a relatively balanced offensive attack for a second straight week. Despite 191 net yards passing and 153 net yards rushing, though, there's a nagging feeling of what was left on the table, that it could've been better.
"We want to be over 200 (yards rushing) all the time," said Addazio. "There's probably 60, 70 yards in there that would put us over 400 (total yards). And that's where we need to be."
Towles wound up as the team's leading rusher, gaining 66 yards on 12 carries. So despite a 15-yard touchdown run by Jon Hilliman and 24 yards on only three carries by Myles Willis, the standard of power football means this will be a point of emphasis during the week.
** Enter Towles and the passing game. The QB was 12-of-22 passing (adding 66 yards on the ground while he was at it), including the two deep touchdowns. Smith added five receptions, including the two deep touchdowns, while Charlie Callinan and Michael Walker made three catches a piece. Callinan in particular made a great catch, a 14-yard reception on third-and-3 to extend a short BC scoring drive.Â
After the game, Addazio lauded the receiving corps.
"We saw a lot of (Jeff Smith's speed) in the spring and in the summer," said Addazio. "We felt great, but Jeff had an injury that kept him out almost the entire training camp. Then Mike Walker missed half of it. So those guys are just starting now and they're talented guys. I know they're going to continue to grow in that mode, and we can throw the ball.
"(Callinan) made a critical, critical catch," he said. "That was maybe one of the biggest plays of the game. He went up and took the ball away (from the defender). We haven't seen that a lot around here. So we keep growing. It's confidence - it's all confidence is what it is."
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