W2WF: Wake Forest

Week one of any football season is always intriguing. After a full month of training camp and practice, teams only have raw data. There's no film for real-time game situations, making it harder to project play against an opponent. Where teams always look to control situations, they only have ideas, not proof, how to actually do it.

"We saw teams struggling week one that were playing at home," head coach Steve Addazio said. "You don't have a great beat on everybody, and things can step up on you. If bigger teams are playing smaller teams, it's not the same as when you're getting ready to play a conference opponent that you know. There's a lot of little factors in Week One."

Those little factors created unusual results nationally. Both Central Michigan and Connecticut, opponents on the Boston College schedule this year, nearly lost to FCS teams. Rhode Island took the Chippewas to overtime, where CMU won 30-27, while the Huskies needed to rally from down 20-7 against Holy Cross to win in the fourth quarter.

Howard, a 45-point underdog, beat UNLV to become the largest underdog to win in college football history. Liberty beat Baylor, 48-45. Maryland and Texas combined for nearly 100 points, and the Longhorns, nationally ranked, lost.

"Week one is full of all of (those factors)," Addazio said. "That's why you have a lot more upsets in week one. Probably still have a few in week two. Then that thing will start to smooth out a little bit in week three. Your goal is to make huge strides of improvement. Barring injuries, you're hoping to make really good improvement, and in order to do that, you've got to be highly motivated because you know you need to."

It all serves to put perspective on the Eagles' season-opening win over Northern Illinois. By playing a tough opponent, on the road, in a late game in a different time zone, BC gathered a good amount of data. Now past the Huskies, it becomes about digesting the first game to prepare for the future. As the season wears on, more feedback creates more realistic and provable expectations.

"When you play an inferior opponent, (a) really inferior opponent, and you kind of have your way with them, your issues don't (show up)," Addazio said. "You feel pretty good about what you got done, and you don't attack heavily the problems because you don't really see them. That can really get you in Week Two or Three.

"We had a great look at some of the issues we had where some of the problems came up," he continued. "We attacked them right away, and we spent all week ironing those things out. That can only help you. You don't want to get confronted with that with a better opponent. If you're playing a good opponent (after week one) and they stymie a little bit, that usually can cost you."

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Game Day Storylines

I've got to admit it's getting better. Getting better all the time.

How a team improves takes many different shapes. For the Boston College offense, it's a matter of finding the next level. It needs to continue making plays while adding layers to its execution. For quarterback Anthony Brown, it's about exploring his possibilities, pushing him to both his physical and mental limits.

"Anthony did some fabulous things," Addazio said. "But there's a lot of growth there that has to occur right now. There's a lot of meat on the bone right there in the throw game."

It doesn't necessarily have to come from his own personal performance. BC struggled to run the ball up the middle against NIU, giving the coaches data that they can build on. Though Jon Hilliman and AJ Dillon couldn't gain consistent yardage, it's something the coaching staff says will continue to develop.

"I felt like we should have run the ball a little better than we did inside the tackles," Addazio said. "We're fine with our perimeter game but inside the tackles, that's not good enough where we were. But that's all going to come. I'm excited about that."

In the same respect, Brown only averaged five yards per passing attempt. He had one play deep to Michael Walker, but it fell incomplete at the last second. So the next step of improvement becomes going long more often and utilizing the skills Brown exhibited when he hit those 60-yard bombs during preseason.

"We want to stretch the field right now, horizontally and vertically," Addazio said. "I really felt like we probably needed a few more vertical throws downfield (against NIU). We want (teams) to defend us horizontally, vertically and interiorly. Otherwise what happens is you start getting these blitz-a-thons on you. We want to defend them. We want people to (have to) defend the whole field."

Once other areas improve, BC expects a well-rounded approach capable of attacking every area of the field. By doing so, they ensure defenses can't key in on one area of the field. It will open up possibilities which, as the season progresses, will help the offense continue to grow.

"As we game plan, we're threatening every quadrant of the field right now," Addazio said. "In the past (other teams) would feel like we don't have to worry about this (or that). That's not really the case right now."

Still Hungry

In his candid talk about week one, Steve Addazio mentioned playing inferior opponents. When a team plays an inferior team, they pile up points and yards, but it masks faults and holes they might otherwise discover. With a 51-7 win over Presbyterian, Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson acknowledged virtually the same thing.

"We haven't been tested yet," Clawson said. "Boston College was tested. They found a way to win a four-quarter game against Northern Illinois, who is always one of the best teams in the MAC. It's a tough play to play and they went in there with a freshman quarterback and found a way to win."

Despite the physical mismatch, there are some Wake takeaways. The Deacons matched an experienced, veteran-laden team with new coaches. The first game gave Clawson a chance to get players familiar with signals and in-game tendencies, even if it's a smaller sample. It also gave him a chance to play a number of players who otherwise wouldn't see snaps.

"We needed that game because we have four new coaches," he said. "Where we are right now with all the new coaches and some of the new guys we have on defense, I'm glad we had it. There is also a realization that we have 11 or more games and we will not have that type of personnel advantage that we had last week."

The veteran presence stems from the offensive core and, in particular, an older offensive line. "(The O-line) played as freshmen, then played as sophomores, and now four of them are juniors," Clawson said. "Everybody we play on the offensive line is now in their third year in the program or later. We should be improved."

Don't mix maroon and gold with yellow.

The Northern Illinois game could've had a wider margin of victory if not for some ill-timed penalties. A holding penalty in the first quarter stalled the first drive of the game, and the Eagles extended the Huskies' 13-play drive in the third quarter by committing a pass interference. And a couple of big penalties in the fourth quarter both cost the Eagles and helped the Huskies on both sides of the ball.

The first game is always sloppier than the rest of the season because players aren't used to in-game scenarios. As the season goes on, getting into a rhythm will limit penalties and avoid drive killers and stallers. It'll keep the offense going, while also getting the defense off the field by preventing extensions of opponents' drives.

"(Pushing the pace) is going to be dictated by how many times you can get first downs," Addazio said. "You get three and outs, you're not going to ratchet up very many plays. What we had a harder time doing was sustaining some good drives. We had some good drives that failed due to penalties or due to some drops. We gave away 100 yards of offense that way. It's Game One, but that's got to change because we want that back. That will all come."

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Meteorology 101

The Eagles are home! For the first time in 2017, Boston College returns home for a football game.

Though it'll be mostly cloudy, temperatures at kickoff are looking into the high 60s and low 70s. It'll be a nice midday change of pace from a cooler morning in the low 50s. The winds will be breezy, too, which will add a nice late summer-early fall feel to the stands.

If you're like me, this is the perfect weather to break out what I refer to as New England chic - a hooded sweatshirt with a pair of shorts. In my case, add the trusty Skully cap too.

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Scoreboard Watching

Next week brings the return of the Holy War, a rivalry game with Notre Dame that's arguably the most anticipated games of the year. But you'd be hard-pressed to find a Fighting Irish fan looking ahead. After beating Temple, 49-16, last week, the Irish have a shiny little number next to their name. Now ranked No. 24, they'll host No. 15 Georgia at Notre Dame Stadium under the lights with a 7:30 p.m. start.

That game will kick off opposite a huge matchup between third-ranked Clemson and No. 13 Auburn in South Carolina. The Tigers romped in their first game. Which Tigers? It doesn't really matter. Auburn beat Georgia Southern, 41-7, while Clemson unveiled their national championship banner with a 56-3 win over Kent State.

Besides BC-Wake Forest, the only other ACC conference game is between No. 17 Louisville and North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

In non-conference games, there's a mini ACC/Big Ten challenge occurring. Northwestern heads to Duke, and Indiana heads to Virginia. Pittsburgh is on the road in Happy Valley for a sneaky-good rivalry game against No. 4 Penn State.

Nearly every ACC team is in action this week, with the lone exception being Miami. The No. 16 Hurricanes' games against Arkansas State was canceled in light of Hurricane Irma.

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Bottom Line/Pregame Theme Song

I'm well aware that this song is based in basketball, and you'd be hard-pressed in 1996 to find me somewhere other than my neighbor's driveway hoop. More than likely, I'd be tongue-wagging, driving to the basket and acting like Michael Jordan against the Monstars. Let's just say it's a good thing the Looney Tunes found Michael and not me.

It's the first home game of the season in a year where Boston College fans and athletes alike will "Decide to Fly." BC fans will arrive on Saturday to a very different Boston College football world. Quite literally, the construction going on around campus already changed and reshaped how everything looks. From Shea Field to the new recreation complex to the new artificial turf field, it's a literal transformation that will be shocking to fans who haven't seen the first progress.

On the field, this is a new Boston College team, a metaphoric construction project on the field. The project isn't done, but it's taking very obvious shape. When it was just an empty lot pushing dirt around, it could've been difficult to see. But in 2017, the structure is up. It needs refinement, and it needs furbishing.

On Saturday, the Eagles give the first tour to their fans. They'll play against a Wake Forest team differing from Northern Illinois. Though there's similarities in playing style, different personnel mean different strengths and weaknesses. So the focus has to be on how the Eagles will improve their own execution. Get better in that area, and there will be good conversation pieces on Sunday morning.

There's always an excitement hanging on the first game of the year. There's always an interest factor with the potential for a beautiful statement. As part of the ongoing project, watch for improvements on both sides of the ball from week one. Week two is finally here.

Boston College Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Anthony Brown

AJ Dillon

Jon Hilliman

Michael Walker

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