Photo by: Ben Solomon
Four Downs: Miami
October 27, 2018 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The red bandana flew high, and the Eagles soared on Friday night
In college football, each game threads together to create a season-long storyline. Coaches categorize the year as "12 one-game seasons," but the truth is that each game represents a building block over the prior week. Trends eventually emerge as performance databases grow until there's a final breakdown at year's end.
Media experts and prognosticators categorized Boston College as a "preseason sleeper" to challenge the ACC Atlantic Division. Nobody assumed the Eagles would unseat Clemson in week one against UMass or even in week three against Wake Forest, but those games would provide the thread that would allow BC to start its move by the midseason grind.
Both Boston College and No. 25 Miami entered Friday night with 5-2 overall records that included one conference loss. Both understood how a third overall loss and second conference defeat creates a separation to the top of both the Atlantic and Coastal Division, which in turn would impact potential bowl positioning at the end of the year. In order to become a "nine-win" type of team, both teams had to win this particular game.
And that's something the Eagles did. BC dominated Miami in every phase of the game, winning 27-14 on a night honoring Welles Crowther's signature red bandana. It was a statement win for the Eagles, one loudly creating a thunderclap that will unquestionably turn some heads back to the ACC's original northeast entry.
"It was an electric atmosphere out there," head coach Steve Addazio said. "We had a mindset as a program, as a team, in all three phases that we were going to attack with everything we had, empty the chamber. I thought you saw that in the first half. On offense, we were able to run several trick plays, have almost 50 plays run and 300 yards."
The Eagles opened the playbook and threw the kitchen sink in all three phases. They rolled up 433 yards against the No. 2 defense in the nation while holding the Hurricanes to four yards per play on offense. The offense ran four drives of ten plays or more, including one 21-play drive for over seven minutes, and the defense forced five drives of five plays or less. It was a complete performance, and it resulted in BC's first win over a ranked opponent since 2014.
Just like that, the Eagles are 6-2 and bowl eligible for the fifth time in the Steve Addazio era. They hold their best record through eight games in over a decade. They enter Saturday within striking distance of Clemson and NC State. The whole dynamic of expectations are changing, built off of the first eight games and setting the stage for the final four.
Here's what else we learned on Friday night in Chestnut Hill.
*****
First Down: Boston College's offense vs. the Turnover Chain
The Miami defense is known for its ability to create turnovers and shift momentum, and it always seems to make a play at some point during a game. The chain juices up the Hurricane players, and it can get the entire team rolling. Stopping the momentum, then, is ensuring the chain's appearance happens at a time when it's totally meaningless.
"We went with great tempo in the first half of that game," Steve Addazio said. "We were going fast. We weren't really allowing them to get their cleats screwed into the ground. That was our game plan. We were able to execute that. That went very, very well."
Romero Finley's interception triggered the chain's only appearance, but it rang hollow because of its circumstances. It came with two minutes remaining of a third quarter, after the Eagle offense steamrolled through the first half. BC led by 13 points at the time, and it came when Anthony Brown simply underthrew a rollout pass. Even Miami's chain celebration felt subdued in comparison to previous raucous highlights.
"That's a talented defense," Addazio said. "They were loading the box. There were about eight to nine guys around the line of scrimmage, within five yards of the line of scrimmage every snap. We needed to do the things we did to create those opportunities."
BC kept Miami off balance by simply opening the playbook. Where some games require a rigid attention to repetition, Friday created opportunities for expansion. Jeff Smith's wide receiver throwback to Anthony Brown had been utilized in previous weeks, and the Eagles broke it out early in the first quarter for a 40-yard gain. Later in the quarter, they ran the play again but a wrinkle into it. Miami's play recognition sent everyone after Brown, allowing Smith to hit Travis Levy downfield. That added wrinkle was pure play design, akin with the Sherm Alston double option run from the USC game four years ago.
"I had moved from quarterback to receiver so we always run those things," Smith said. "Anthony always tells us that he can go play receiver so I wasn't surprised. I threw him on purpose so he'd be away from the defensive end. It was just kind of the quarterback thinking in me."
Other wrinkles included how BC spelled AJ Dillon. Dillon chugged for 149 yards and a touchdown in his first game back from an ankle injury, and he averaged 4.7 yards per carry. The Eagles worked in Brown on a number of different design plays, though, and simply outsmarted the Hurricanes with the occasional read option. That forced the defense to respect wide plays, which in turn put the front seven on its heels. Dillon then exploded when he could for big gains.
"We have a Rolodex of trick plays that we've been working on since the beginning of the year," Addazio said. "It's not something we're going to go to the week of the game. A lot of times on Sundays, we go through our Rolodex of different plays. We were very, very confident in a series of those trick plays."
*****
Second Down: The No Fly Zone Defense vs. Miami's Offense
Miami entered Friday night with well-documented offensive issues. It's never a good sign when a coach is forced into a quarterback carousel, and the BC game marked Malik Rosier's first start in almost a full month of football. Playing against BC's own highly-touted defense, he failed to gain much traction as the Hurricanes stalled.
Rosier only completed 53% of his passes for 150 yards, and he threw two interceptions against the No Fly Zone defensive backfield. Following Finley's interception, he led a drive from midfield inside the BC goal line but was ultimately stopped without points. On fourth down, Rosier threw an off-mark pass to Darrell Langham that exposed the receiver to a big hit from Will Harris. Though BC's ensuring drive didn't score, it chewed seven minutes off the clock as the Eagles effectively ended Miami's chances at a comeback.
"I thought the coaches did a great job putting a plan together for them," Steve Addazio said. "I thought our kids played really hard. Zach Allen and Wyatt Ray put unbelievable pressure on the quarterback. I thought Connor Strachan was all over the field. I thought we played well and competed for balls in the back end. There were some big receivers (on Miami). They went up and made a big play for a touchdown that got reviewed. That was an unbelievable play that receiver made."
A team like BC needs its superstars to play up their reputations in a game like Friday. Zach Allen had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, and Connor Strachan finished with 1.5 tackles for loss. Hamp Cheevers recorded his fifth interception of the year, tying him for the nation's lead, and added two passes broken up.
Everyone seemed to have a role. Isaiah McDuffie finished with 12 tackles, including one on fourth down where he caught Rosier from behind. Will Harris had nine tackles and delivered big sticks all over the field. Max Richardson and Mike Palmer added big days, and Ray Smith played on the opposite side of the line on the interior, all while adding the signature look of a defensive nose tackle whose jersey doesn't quite fit.
"We've just found our groove," Allen said. "We just want to continue it. We really have to take it week-by-week because if you look too far down the road, you're going to get beat. For us personally, this Virginia Tech game is going to be a big one. I remember my sophomore year, they embarrassed us, 49-0."
*****
Halftime Hits
-The 1983 team's appearance on the field included balls thrown by Doug Flutie. Or as my wife would later tell me, "I hope you're in that kind of physical condition when you're 56 years old."
-I will never forget 1993. I listened to David Gordon's kick at No. 1 Notre Dame on my mom's car radio while leaving the Meadow Glen Mall in Medford. We almost swerved into a light pole in our Chevrolet Celebrity station wagon.
-The new lights at Alumni Stadium are fantastic. It's unique and the rave atmosphere reminded me of what happened in Conte Forum last year when the Eagles beat Duke.
-Watching the students rush the field at the end of the game is always interesting to me. You could make a case that it's "curious" because Miami was unranked in one poll, but, to me, I want that kind of excitement. Beating the Hurricanes was a requirement in order for BC to take its next developmental step. There would have been no shame in losing, but these are games BC has to win in order to become a nine-win team. Last year or two years ago, BC loses that game because it wasn't quite there. Winning is a sign that the Eagles are starting to reach that level. That kind of possible success needs to be celebrated, and I want it spilling out from all corners of Alumni Stadium.
-There will always be something right about Sean McDonough calling college football before a national television audience.
-It's October, so it's worth taking a moment to celebrate breast cancer survivors, including Holly Rowe. Holly worked the sidelines last night, and I'll always marvel at her courage. You're an inspiration to us all.
*****
Third Down: The Man in the Red Bandana
I touched on it in the last section, but the Alumni Stadium crowd was positively electric. The Red Bandana Game is an annual tradition and gives off an unmatched feel. It triggers the right emotion because of reasons I talked about in the W2WF post of the week, that it gives us a chance to take pause from a big game and honor the memory of a hero.
Welles was everywhere on Friday night. BC adorned the video boards in red bandana motif, and fans entered the stadium to receive their own red bandana. The Eagles added bandana accents to their helmet stripes and on gloves and cleats, a subtle reminder of Crowther's selfless sacrifice.
AJ Dillon had "Team Welles" on his wristband during the game, and Anthony Brown was one of many Eagles wearing red bandanas under their helmets. "We played for Welles tonight, and we watched the whole documentary," Dillon said. "I kind of told them, 'I don't know what I would do in that situation.' He went up 17 flights of stairs, brought people back down to safety and then went back up. These were strangers. I kept asking myself, 'who would I do that for?' It's a courageous act, a fearless act.
"Right here I wrote down everybody, like my family and some of my friends," Dillon said. "No matter what, I'd go up there and help them. I wanted to play fearless. I just wanted to make sure I played with confidence and courage and went out there and played fearless."
The image of Crowther's parents on the field after the game will always touch my heart. My brother-in-law is a firefighter, and I've heard stories of him running into buildings with multiple alarms. I've seen the phone call where it rings into a 10-second talk saying, "I have a call, and I don't know when I'm getting home. I have to go." There's a courage that leaves me in awe of people who run in when others run out, and I know 9/11 still rings true for first responders who showed up for work and didn't make it home.
They suffered unspeakable loss, but I hope there's an inner peace for the Crowthers knowing Welles lives on because BC chooses to remember. These college athletes aren't old enough to remember watching the World Trade Center collapse, so it's a history lesson. But the lesson has its impact because of people like Welles.
"Our team was honored that we could represent the Crowther family here tonight," Steve Addazio said. "It means a lot to our team, our players. Very, very inspired game."
*****
Fourth Down: Aftermath
The game itself took on a magnitude because BC and Miami both needed the wins for their respective seasons. Every game is a must-win, but the narrative of the year became critical on that game on that night. Both teams entered with some success but enough doubt that would be erased or enhanced by victory.
Boston College's win keeps the Eagles at one league loss entering Saturday. The team became the second team, after Clemson, to clinch bowl eligibility, and it is now on pace for a potential Tier 1 bowl game with four games remaining. No. 22 NC State holds a win over the Eagles and has only one loss - to Clemson - with a game at Syracuse this week. No. 3 Clemson, meanwhile, is undefeated heading into a game at Florida State.
The Eagle win puts pressure on NC State to continue winning because a Syracuse loss would vault BC, with one league loss, over the Wolfpack into second place in the Atlantic Division. Likewise, an FSU win combined with a Syracuse win puts the Eagles in a first place tie against Clemson with a game remaining down the road between the two teams, though Virginia Tech is in between that. Syracuse needs a win to keep pace with the three teams ahead of it, since a loss puts it two losses behind and would create separation in the top tier. BC's win keeps the race wide open and puts added pressure on Clemson and NC State.
Miami's loss hurts, but it's not critical. The Hurricanes remain a game behind Virginia and Virginia Tech after the Hokies coughed up 49 points to Georgia Tech on Thursday night. A Miami win would have tied the Hurricanes for the Coastal Division lead, but instead, the Hurricanes are part of a mass of teams with three overall losses and two conference losses. That drops them back into the Tier Two of bowl teams with four games left.
Virginia hosts NC State on Saturday with a chance to grab the inside track in the Coastal Division. The Cavaliers beat the Hurricanes last week and have a game left against Virginia Tech. And believe it or not, Pittsburgh, with four overall losses, still has an open track to the division win because it only has one league loss. The Panthers play Duke this week and still have games left against Virginia, Virginia Tech and Miami.
"Every game in college football is precious," Steve Addazio said. "It's like a diamond in your hand that you have to hold onto for dear life. They're all so big. We have to get ready to go down to Virginia Tech. That's going to be another big, big game. For different reasons, each one is going to have significance."
*****
Point After: Virginia Tech
As mentioned earlier, Virginia Tech lost on a Thursday night at Lane Stadium to Georgia Tech, 49-28. The Yellow Jackets' triple option offense got its mojo going and rolled from there, scoring seven touchdowns without completing a pass for the first time under Paul Johnson.
Georgia Tech attempted only one pass, which was incomplete, as the running game amassed 465 yards. Tobias Oliver carried the ball 40 times for 215 yards with three touchdowns, and running back Jordan Mason added 82 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns of his own.
It's always hard to judge any team's performance against Georgia Tech because the offense is such an anomaly. A successful option team can pretty much do whatever it wants, especially against aggressive defenses, because of its deception. A defense can converge on a quarterback run, only to see a pitch to the inside. Personnel can spread out but get chewed up by a B-back. Holes happen everywhere because the secondary is essentially nullified.
This is hardly the first time Georgia Tech chewed up a team with its triple option. The Yellow Jackets crushed Louisville with one completed pass and 66 points, and like next week, the Eagles will draw a team which had its head spun by the option at its best. Like the Louisville game, there's nothing anyone can get from the game film because triple option is so unique.
BC heads to Lane Stadium next week to play Virginia Tech. The game is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. and can be seen on the ACC Network's Raycom Sports Network affiliates.
Media experts and prognosticators categorized Boston College as a "preseason sleeper" to challenge the ACC Atlantic Division. Nobody assumed the Eagles would unseat Clemson in week one against UMass or even in week three against Wake Forest, but those games would provide the thread that would allow BC to start its move by the midseason grind.
Both Boston College and No. 25 Miami entered Friday night with 5-2 overall records that included one conference loss. Both understood how a third overall loss and second conference defeat creates a separation to the top of both the Atlantic and Coastal Division, which in turn would impact potential bowl positioning at the end of the year. In order to become a "nine-win" type of team, both teams had to win this particular game.
And that's something the Eagles did. BC dominated Miami in every phase of the game, winning 27-14 on a night honoring Welles Crowther's signature red bandana. It was a statement win for the Eagles, one loudly creating a thunderclap that will unquestionably turn some heads back to the ACC's original northeast entry.
"It was an electric atmosphere out there," head coach Steve Addazio said. "We had a mindset as a program, as a team, in all three phases that we were going to attack with everything we had, empty the chamber. I thought you saw that in the first half. On offense, we were able to run several trick plays, have almost 50 plays run and 300 yards."
The Eagles opened the playbook and threw the kitchen sink in all three phases. They rolled up 433 yards against the No. 2 defense in the nation while holding the Hurricanes to four yards per play on offense. The offense ran four drives of ten plays or more, including one 21-play drive for over seven minutes, and the defense forced five drives of five plays or less. It was a complete performance, and it resulted in BC's first win over a ranked opponent since 2014.
Just like that, the Eagles are 6-2 and bowl eligible for the fifth time in the Steve Addazio era. They hold their best record through eight games in over a decade. They enter Saturday within striking distance of Clemson and NC State. The whole dynamic of expectations are changing, built off of the first eight games and setting the stage for the final four.
Here's what else we learned on Friday night in Chestnut Hill.
*****
First Down: Boston College's offense vs. the Turnover Chain
The Miami defense is known for its ability to create turnovers and shift momentum, and it always seems to make a play at some point during a game. The chain juices up the Hurricane players, and it can get the entire team rolling. Stopping the momentum, then, is ensuring the chain's appearance happens at a time when it's totally meaningless.
"We went with great tempo in the first half of that game," Steve Addazio said. "We were going fast. We weren't really allowing them to get their cleats screwed into the ground. That was our game plan. We were able to execute that. That went very, very well."
Romero Finley's interception triggered the chain's only appearance, but it rang hollow because of its circumstances. It came with two minutes remaining of a third quarter, after the Eagle offense steamrolled through the first half. BC led by 13 points at the time, and it came when Anthony Brown simply underthrew a rollout pass. Even Miami's chain celebration felt subdued in comparison to previous raucous highlights.
"That's a talented defense," Addazio said. "They were loading the box. There were about eight to nine guys around the line of scrimmage, within five yards of the line of scrimmage every snap. We needed to do the things we did to create those opportunities."
BC kept Miami off balance by simply opening the playbook. Where some games require a rigid attention to repetition, Friday created opportunities for expansion. Jeff Smith's wide receiver throwback to Anthony Brown had been utilized in previous weeks, and the Eagles broke it out early in the first quarter for a 40-yard gain. Later in the quarter, they ran the play again but a wrinkle into it. Miami's play recognition sent everyone after Brown, allowing Smith to hit Travis Levy downfield. That added wrinkle was pure play design, akin with the Sherm Alston double option run from the USC game four years ago.
"I had moved from quarterback to receiver so we always run those things," Smith said. "Anthony always tells us that he can go play receiver so I wasn't surprised. I threw him on purpose so he'd be away from the defensive end. It was just kind of the quarterback thinking in me."
Other wrinkles included how BC spelled AJ Dillon. Dillon chugged for 149 yards and a touchdown in his first game back from an ankle injury, and he averaged 4.7 yards per carry. The Eagles worked in Brown on a number of different design plays, though, and simply outsmarted the Hurricanes with the occasional read option. That forced the defense to respect wide plays, which in turn put the front seven on its heels. Dillon then exploded when he could for big gains.
"We have a Rolodex of trick plays that we've been working on since the beginning of the year," Addazio said. "It's not something we're going to go to the week of the game. A lot of times on Sundays, we go through our Rolodex of different plays. We were very, very confident in a series of those trick plays."
*****
Second Down: The No Fly Zone Defense vs. Miami's Offense
Miami entered Friday night with well-documented offensive issues. It's never a good sign when a coach is forced into a quarterback carousel, and the BC game marked Malik Rosier's first start in almost a full month of football. Playing against BC's own highly-touted defense, he failed to gain much traction as the Hurricanes stalled.
Rosier only completed 53% of his passes for 150 yards, and he threw two interceptions against the No Fly Zone defensive backfield. Following Finley's interception, he led a drive from midfield inside the BC goal line but was ultimately stopped without points. On fourth down, Rosier threw an off-mark pass to Darrell Langham that exposed the receiver to a big hit from Will Harris. Though BC's ensuring drive didn't score, it chewed seven minutes off the clock as the Eagles effectively ended Miami's chances at a comeback.
"I thought the coaches did a great job putting a plan together for them," Steve Addazio said. "I thought our kids played really hard. Zach Allen and Wyatt Ray put unbelievable pressure on the quarterback. I thought Connor Strachan was all over the field. I thought we played well and competed for balls in the back end. There were some big receivers (on Miami). They went up and made a big play for a touchdown that got reviewed. That was an unbelievable play that receiver made."
A team like BC needs its superstars to play up their reputations in a game like Friday. Zach Allen had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, and Connor Strachan finished with 1.5 tackles for loss. Hamp Cheevers recorded his fifth interception of the year, tying him for the nation's lead, and added two passes broken up.
Everyone seemed to have a role. Isaiah McDuffie finished with 12 tackles, including one on fourth down where he caught Rosier from behind. Will Harris had nine tackles and delivered big sticks all over the field. Max Richardson and Mike Palmer added big days, and Ray Smith played on the opposite side of the line on the interior, all while adding the signature look of a defensive nose tackle whose jersey doesn't quite fit.
"We've just found our groove," Allen said. "We just want to continue it. We really have to take it week-by-week because if you look too far down the road, you're going to get beat. For us personally, this Virginia Tech game is going to be a big one. I remember my sophomore year, they embarrassed us, 49-0."
*****
Halftime Hits
-The 1983 team's appearance on the field included balls thrown by Doug Flutie. Or as my wife would later tell me, "I hope you're in that kind of physical condition when you're 56 years old."
-I will never forget 1993. I listened to David Gordon's kick at No. 1 Notre Dame on my mom's car radio while leaving the Meadow Glen Mall in Medford. We almost swerved into a light pole in our Chevrolet Celebrity station wagon.
-The new lights at Alumni Stadium are fantastic. It's unique and the rave atmosphere reminded me of what happened in Conte Forum last year when the Eagles beat Duke.
-Watching the students rush the field at the end of the game is always interesting to me. You could make a case that it's "curious" because Miami was unranked in one poll, but, to me, I want that kind of excitement. Beating the Hurricanes was a requirement in order for BC to take its next developmental step. There would have been no shame in losing, but these are games BC has to win in order to become a nine-win team. Last year or two years ago, BC loses that game because it wasn't quite there. Winning is a sign that the Eagles are starting to reach that level. That kind of possible success needs to be celebrated, and I want it spilling out from all corners of Alumni Stadium.
-There will always be something right about Sean McDonough calling college football before a national television audience.
-It's October, so it's worth taking a moment to celebrate breast cancer survivors, including Holly Rowe. Holly worked the sidelines last night, and I'll always marvel at her courage. You're an inspiration to us all.
*****
Third Down: The Man in the Red Bandana
I touched on it in the last section, but the Alumni Stadium crowd was positively electric. The Red Bandana Game is an annual tradition and gives off an unmatched feel. It triggers the right emotion because of reasons I talked about in the W2WF post of the week, that it gives us a chance to take pause from a big game and honor the memory of a hero.
Welles was everywhere on Friday night. BC adorned the video boards in red bandana motif, and fans entered the stadium to receive their own red bandana. The Eagles added bandana accents to their helmet stripes and on gloves and cleats, a subtle reminder of Crowther's selfless sacrifice.
AJ Dillon had "Team Welles" on his wristband during the game, and Anthony Brown was one of many Eagles wearing red bandanas under their helmets. "We played for Welles tonight, and we watched the whole documentary," Dillon said. "I kind of told them, 'I don't know what I would do in that situation.' He went up 17 flights of stairs, brought people back down to safety and then went back up. These were strangers. I kept asking myself, 'who would I do that for?' It's a courageous act, a fearless act.
"Right here I wrote down everybody, like my family and some of my friends," Dillon said. "No matter what, I'd go up there and help them. I wanted to play fearless. I just wanted to make sure I played with confidence and courage and went out there and played fearless."
The image of Crowther's parents on the field after the game will always touch my heart. My brother-in-law is a firefighter, and I've heard stories of him running into buildings with multiple alarms. I've seen the phone call where it rings into a 10-second talk saying, "I have a call, and I don't know when I'm getting home. I have to go." There's a courage that leaves me in awe of people who run in when others run out, and I know 9/11 still rings true for first responders who showed up for work and didn't make it home.
They suffered unspeakable loss, but I hope there's an inner peace for the Crowthers knowing Welles lives on because BC chooses to remember. These college athletes aren't old enough to remember watching the World Trade Center collapse, so it's a history lesson. But the lesson has its impact because of people like Welles.
"Our team was honored that we could represent the Crowther family here tonight," Steve Addazio said. "It means a lot to our team, our players. Very, very inspired game."
*****
Fourth Down: Aftermath
The game itself took on a magnitude because BC and Miami both needed the wins for their respective seasons. Every game is a must-win, but the narrative of the year became critical on that game on that night. Both teams entered with some success but enough doubt that would be erased or enhanced by victory.
Boston College's win keeps the Eagles at one league loss entering Saturday. The team became the second team, after Clemson, to clinch bowl eligibility, and it is now on pace for a potential Tier 1 bowl game with four games remaining. No. 22 NC State holds a win over the Eagles and has only one loss - to Clemson - with a game at Syracuse this week. No. 3 Clemson, meanwhile, is undefeated heading into a game at Florida State.
The Eagle win puts pressure on NC State to continue winning because a Syracuse loss would vault BC, with one league loss, over the Wolfpack into second place in the Atlantic Division. Likewise, an FSU win combined with a Syracuse win puts the Eagles in a first place tie against Clemson with a game remaining down the road between the two teams, though Virginia Tech is in between that. Syracuse needs a win to keep pace with the three teams ahead of it, since a loss puts it two losses behind and would create separation in the top tier. BC's win keeps the race wide open and puts added pressure on Clemson and NC State.
Miami's loss hurts, but it's not critical. The Hurricanes remain a game behind Virginia and Virginia Tech after the Hokies coughed up 49 points to Georgia Tech on Thursday night. A Miami win would have tied the Hurricanes for the Coastal Division lead, but instead, the Hurricanes are part of a mass of teams with three overall losses and two conference losses. That drops them back into the Tier Two of bowl teams with four games left.
Virginia hosts NC State on Saturday with a chance to grab the inside track in the Coastal Division. The Cavaliers beat the Hurricanes last week and have a game left against Virginia Tech. And believe it or not, Pittsburgh, with four overall losses, still has an open track to the division win because it only has one league loss. The Panthers play Duke this week and still have games left against Virginia, Virginia Tech and Miami.
"Every game in college football is precious," Steve Addazio said. "It's like a diamond in your hand that you have to hold onto for dear life. They're all so big. We have to get ready to go down to Virginia Tech. That's going to be another big, big game. For different reasons, each one is going to have significance."
*****
Point After: Virginia Tech
As mentioned earlier, Virginia Tech lost on a Thursday night at Lane Stadium to Georgia Tech, 49-28. The Yellow Jackets' triple option offense got its mojo going and rolled from there, scoring seven touchdowns without completing a pass for the first time under Paul Johnson.
Georgia Tech attempted only one pass, which was incomplete, as the running game amassed 465 yards. Tobias Oliver carried the ball 40 times for 215 yards with three touchdowns, and running back Jordan Mason added 82 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns of his own.
It's always hard to judge any team's performance against Georgia Tech because the offense is such an anomaly. A successful option team can pretty much do whatever it wants, especially against aggressive defenses, because of its deception. A defense can converge on a quarterback run, only to see a pitch to the inside. Personnel can spread out but get chewed up by a B-back. Holes happen everywhere because the secondary is essentially nullified.
This is hardly the first time Georgia Tech chewed up a team with its triple option. The Yellow Jackets crushed Louisville with one completed pass and 66 points, and like next week, the Eagles will draw a team which had its head spun by the option at its best. Like the Louisville game, there's nothing anyone can get from the game film because triple option is so unique.
BC heads to Lane Stadium next week to play Virginia Tech. The game is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. and can be seen on the ACC Network's Raycom Sports Network affiliates.
Players Mentioned
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