Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Development Trending Upwards as Conference Play Looms
October 01, 2018 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The halfway point allows for a reset as BC readies for NC State
It's hard to believe, but Saturday marks the official halfway point of the 2018 college football season. A year that began in the blazing heat of August is now transitioning to true autumn in October. Contenders are emerging as quickly as the colors on the trees are changing, and pretenders are falling like those same leaves that can't hold onto their roots.
Boston College enters this week with a 4-1 record, still contending despite the setback of the Purdue game. The Eagles got back on track by beating Temple, 45-35, this past weekend, but they know that the road ahead only gets tougher. Non-conference play ended with the Owls, meaning the "real season" is about to get underway with Atlantic Coast Conference competition from now until the year ends.
The approach to the halfway point allows for a reset of goals and expectations. For head coach Steve Addazio, it's a chance to evaluate how to remain on an upward trajectory.
"Overall, I think we've improved from training camp," he said. "I think we're heading in a good path. I always say this, and this is not something new: I fear sometimes in this conference - for anybody, not just us - you got to stay healthy. You start taking on some water with injuries and it really changes the makeup of your team in a hurry."
BC escaped the first five games relatively healthy, though the bug bit last week when running back AJ Dillon and wide receiver Jeff Smith exited with injuries. Their status immediately unknown, the Eagles are also dealing with having missed kicker Colton Lichtenberg for the better part of the first half.
"We're going into game six; I would say we're dinged up," Addazio said. "Hopefully we can get all our guys back because we're going into conference play. You would like to have your full arsenal. So would a lot of people. We're not the only ones. But that's part of the game right about now."
The nature of football translates into injuries for every team at some point during the season. Having depth helps endure when it happens, and BC flashed some of that last week when Ben Glines stepped to the forefront with over 100 yards rushing. While there is no replacing a player like Dillon, the depth chart gained immeasurable experience in the UMass and Holy Cross games, and players like Glines and running back David Bailey can now step forward when it inevitably hits.
"We made a decision with David that in our minds, we would like to play (him)," Addazio said. "We still have some games to mess around with that, but moving forward our mindset was to play David Bailey, no matter what. (It's) kind of like what we were doing with AJ last year. Not quite on the same pace we were with AJ. We would've liked to have gotten David in the last couple of weeks. But at this juncture, we're certainly, in our minds, leaving towards David Bailey this year. We have the luxury of at least another game for sure."
Injuries happen, but enduring is key to how the Eagles move forward. If good fortune keeps BC healthy, it has a roster that's developed enough through the first few games to make a serious run at the ACC's elite. There's a reason why many prognosticators called the team a sleeper, and it showed in the bulk of the first half of the year.
"I would say we're one game down to where we wanted to be at this point, honestly," Addazio said. "Overall, I think we are explosive on offense. I was disappointed and thought we let our tempo dip down (against Purdue). We picked that right back up (against Temple) and set a record here for the amount of plays we ran."
BC ran exactly 100 plays against the Owls, the second time this year it exceeded 80 plays after running 87 against UMass in the season opener. It finished with 275 yards rushing, the most against an FBS opponent this season, and Dillon and Glines became the first duo to rush for 100 yards apiece since last year's UConn game at Fenway Park.
Dillon's 161 yards ranked sixth in the conference behind his 185 yards (third) against Wake Forest. His three 100-yard performances are tied with Clemson's Travis Etienne for most in the ACC, and he enters this weekend as the best rusher by far, second to only Greg Dortch for all-purpose yards.
Glines and Dillon ensured Anthony Brown wouldn't have to do much against Temple, though his other performances prove he's capable of answering the bell. His struggles against Purdue have been mostly an outlier, especially since it came on the heels of a five-touchdown performance against Wake Forest.
That win over the Demon Deacons marked the 300-yard passing performance since Chase Rettig in 2012, and it was the second-best single game passer rating since 1996 - second only to the UMass game in the season opener. As for Brown, he's had the good fortune of playing behind an offensive line that's only surrendered six sacks, third best in the ACC.
"I think (Brown) has come back from his injury," Addazio said. "For the most part, I think he's done a fabulous job. AJ picked up from last year and has some really good performances. I like where our line is right now. I think our line is playing outstanding. Tight ends look great. We made improvement at the receiver position."
The offense has been a constant talking point over the defense for the first time in years for the Eagles. The defense, though, has been solid in its own right and enters this weekend second in the conference in passing efficiency. Its eight interceptions are tied with Syracuse for the conference lead, and it joins Miami's "Turnover Chain" for the most pick sixes with two.
It's a unit that's been built by consistency, largely devoid of the injuries that ran it ragged last season. The defense was already into its third or fourth different starting rotation by this point in 2017, but it enters the sixth game having used only two different starting incarnations. That continuity allows for continued growth in the areas where improvement is both identified and required.
"On defense, on the positive side, we're high in the categories of sacks, tackles-for-loss and interceptions," Addazio said. "We have to do a better job stopping the run, and that's an area we've traditionally been strong at. We've got to do a better job tackling and playing fundamentally. We have to continue to emphasize tackling and some run-fit schemes to help us there."
Special teams have, of course, been a pain point since kicker Colton Lichtenberg went out of the lineup after Holy Cross. John Tessitore and Danny Longman have shouldered the kicking duties, but Addazio is coming up on a decision for both. Both Longman and Tessitore appeared in four games this year, meaning the next game action would burn a redshirt. Against Temple, both kicked PATs, but Longman took over in an attempt to test the waters for potential duties moving forward.
"Because of Colton's injury, Danny has to kickoff," Addazio said. "That's a hard-striking deal that got Colton injured in the first place. If for no other reason, we have to play (Longman) so he has the kickoff. So with John, I don't want to blow a year on a guy if I don't have to, so we put Danny in there. I wanted to see Danny kick a couple of extra points and wanted to see him in that role while I had that last week to mess around with that thing."
As for Michael Walker, the all-conference returner has had his own growing pains this year with a couple of fumbles, but he leads the league in kickoff yardage. His 27.4 yards per game return average is more than four yards better than Wake Forest's Dortch, though Pitt is the only team with a kickoff return for a touchdown. Still, the fumbles are public reminders of a need to improve, just as Grant Carlson learned this week when he dropped a snap.
"Mike Walker has been fabulous on the return game and was fabulous Saturday in the punt return game," Addazio said. "He took a hard shot when he was going down and coughed up the ball. (Temple) scooped and scored seven on us, and we survived the punt debacle (fumbled snap) because we intercepted them. Usually when you do those two things, they both end up not good. So we need to eliminate that. That needs to stop happening. It's going to have to come to screeching halt here."
BC will continue to move forward, and the sixth game of the season doesn't signal an ability to plateau. Conference competition only gets tougher, and it levels up considerably on Saturday when the Eagles play No. 23 NC State. The Wolfpack are one of 14 FBS programs still undefeated and ranked for the first time this year after spending 10 weeks ranked in 2017. But the team still represents an opportunity for BC to go 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2007 and, perhaps more importantly, improve to 1-0 for the week.
"This is a really good team that appears to be healthy and playing at a high level," Addazio said. "We've got to go down there and find a way to compete against them and beat them. Give us a chance to start out 2-0 in the conference, which would be the first time in a fair amount of time as well."
BC will play at NC State's Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday on the Raycom Sports Network, which can be seen locally on NESN, and online with Fox Sports Go. Audio is available via the BC IMG Sports Network on WEEI 850 AM, Sirius channel 145, XM channel 202 and Internet channel 965. The game can also be streamed via the TuneIn app.
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Boston College enters this week with a 4-1 record, still contending despite the setback of the Purdue game. The Eagles got back on track by beating Temple, 45-35, this past weekend, but they know that the road ahead only gets tougher. Non-conference play ended with the Owls, meaning the "real season" is about to get underway with Atlantic Coast Conference competition from now until the year ends.
The approach to the halfway point allows for a reset of goals and expectations. For head coach Steve Addazio, it's a chance to evaluate how to remain on an upward trajectory.
"Overall, I think we've improved from training camp," he said. "I think we're heading in a good path. I always say this, and this is not something new: I fear sometimes in this conference - for anybody, not just us - you got to stay healthy. You start taking on some water with injuries and it really changes the makeup of your team in a hurry."
BC escaped the first five games relatively healthy, though the bug bit last week when running back AJ Dillon and wide receiver Jeff Smith exited with injuries. Their status immediately unknown, the Eagles are also dealing with having missed kicker Colton Lichtenberg for the better part of the first half.
"We're going into game six; I would say we're dinged up," Addazio said. "Hopefully we can get all our guys back because we're going into conference play. You would like to have your full arsenal. So would a lot of people. We're not the only ones. But that's part of the game right about now."
The nature of football translates into injuries for every team at some point during the season. Having depth helps endure when it happens, and BC flashed some of that last week when Ben Glines stepped to the forefront with over 100 yards rushing. While there is no replacing a player like Dillon, the depth chart gained immeasurable experience in the UMass and Holy Cross games, and players like Glines and running back David Bailey can now step forward when it inevitably hits.
"We made a decision with David that in our minds, we would like to play (him)," Addazio said. "We still have some games to mess around with that, but moving forward our mindset was to play David Bailey, no matter what. (It's) kind of like what we were doing with AJ last year. Not quite on the same pace we were with AJ. We would've liked to have gotten David in the last couple of weeks. But at this juncture, we're certainly, in our minds, leaving towards David Bailey this year. We have the luxury of at least another game for sure."
Injuries happen, but enduring is key to how the Eagles move forward. If good fortune keeps BC healthy, it has a roster that's developed enough through the first few games to make a serious run at the ACC's elite. There's a reason why many prognosticators called the team a sleeper, and it showed in the bulk of the first half of the year.
"I would say we're one game down to where we wanted to be at this point, honestly," Addazio said. "Overall, I think we are explosive on offense. I was disappointed and thought we let our tempo dip down (against Purdue). We picked that right back up (against Temple) and set a record here for the amount of plays we ran."
BC ran exactly 100 plays against the Owls, the second time this year it exceeded 80 plays after running 87 against UMass in the season opener. It finished with 275 yards rushing, the most against an FBS opponent this season, and Dillon and Glines became the first duo to rush for 100 yards apiece since last year's UConn game at Fenway Park.
Dillon's 161 yards ranked sixth in the conference behind his 185 yards (third) against Wake Forest. His three 100-yard performances are tied with Clemson's Travis Etienne for most in the ACC, and he enters this weekend as the best rusher by far, second to only Greg Dortch for all-purpose yards.
Glines and Dillon ensured Anthony Brown wouldn't have to do much against Temple, though his other performances prove he's capable of answering the bell. His struggles against Purdue have been mostly an outlier, especially since it came on the heels of a five-touchdown performance against Wake Forest.
That win over the Demon Deacons marked the 300-yard passing performance since Chase Rettig in 2012, and it was the second-best single game passer rating since 1996 - second only to the UMass game in the season opener. As for Brown, he's had the good fortune of playing behind an offensive line that's only surrendered six sacks, third best in the ACC.
"I think (Brown) has come back from his injury," Addazio said. "For the most part, I think he's done a fabulous job. AJ picked up from last year and has some really good performances. I like where our line is right now. I think our line is playing outstanding. Tight ends look great. We made improvement at the receiver position."
The offense has been a constant talking point over the defense for the first time in years for the Eagles. The defense, though, has been solid in its own right and enters this weekend second in the conference in passing efficiency. Its eight interceptions are tied with Syracuse for the conference lead, and it joins Miami's "Turnover Chain" for the most pick sixes with two.
It's a unit that's been built by consistency, largely devoid of the injuries that ran it ragged last season. The defense was already into its third or fourth different starting rotation by this point in 2017, but it enters the sixth game having used only two different starting incarnations. That continuity allows for continued growth in the areas where improvement is both identified and required.
"On defense, on the positive side, we're high in the categories of sacks, tackles-for-loss and interceptions," Addazio said. "We have to do a better job stopping the run, and that's an area we've traditionally been strong at. We've got to do a better job tackling and playing fundamentally. We have to continue to emphasize tackling and some run-fit schemes to help us there."
Special teams have, of course, been a pain point since kicker Colton Lichtenberg went out of the lineup after Holy Cross. John Tessitore and Danny Longman have shouldered the kicking duties, but Addazio is coming up on a decision for both. Both Longman and Tessitore appeared in four games this year, meaning the next game action would burn a redshirt. Against Temple, both kicked PATs, but Longman took over in an attempt to test the waters for potential duties moving forward.
"Because of Colton's injury, Danny has to kickoff," Addazio said. "That's a hard-striking deal that got Colton injured in the first place. If for no other reason, we have to play (Longman) so he has the kickoff. So with John, I don't want to blow a year on a guy if I don't have to, so we put Danny in there. I wanted to see Danny kick a couple of extra points and wanted to see him in that role while I had that last week to mess around with that thing."
As for Michael Walker, the all-conference returner has had his own growing pains this year with a couple of fumbles, but he leads the league in kickoff yardage. His 27.4 yards per game return average is more than four yards better than Wake Forest's Dortch, though Pitt is the only team with a kickoff return for a touchdown. Still, the fumbles are public reminders of a need to improve, just as Grant Carlson learned this week when he dropped a snap.
"Mike Walker has been fabulous on the return game and was fabulous Saturday in the punt return game," Addazio said. "He took a hard shot when he was going down and coughed up the ball. (Temple) scooped and scored seven on us, and we survived the punt debacle (fumbled snap) because we intercepted them. Usually when you do those two things, they both end up not good. So we need to eliminate that. That needs to stop happening. It's going to have to come to screeching halt here."
BC will continue to move forward, and the sixth game of the season doesn't signal an ability to plateau. Conference competition only gets tougher, and it levels up considerably on Saturday when the Eagles play No. 23 NC State. The Wolfpack are one of 14 FBS programs still undefeated and ranked for the first time this year after spending 10 weeks ranked in 2017. But the team still represents an opportunity for BC to go 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2007 and, perhaps more importantly, improve to 1-0 for the week.
"This is a really good team that appears to be healthy and playing at a high level," Addazio said. "We've got to go down there and find a way to compete against them and beat them. Give us a chance to start out 2-0 in the conference, which would be the first time in a fair amount of time as well."
BC will play at NC State's Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday on the Raycom Sports Network, which can be seen locally on NESN, and online with Fox Sports Go. Audio is available via the BC IMG Sports Network on WEEI 850 AM, Sirius channel 145, XM channel 202 and Internet channel 965. The game can also be streamed via the TuneIn app.
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