Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
First Test on Tap with UMass on Saturday
August 28, 2018 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The Eagles open the season against a talented, 1-0 UMass side
The 2018 college football season begins in earnest on Saturday with over 100 programs putting their proverbial boots to leather. It's the official kick off of a six-month journey that ends with bowl games and the crowning of a national champion.
Boston College will do its part by hosting UMass at Alumni Stadium in its first game of the regular season. It's a meeting between local opponents and a good opening test for the Eagles, who enter the season with high expectations and higher hopes.
"This is the best UMass team we've faced since I've been here," head coach Steve Addazio said. "(I) have so much respect for (UMass head coach) Mark Whipple. I go back a long way with him. They have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. They have great speed. Watching them play Saturday night, I thought they looked fantastic."
UMass opened its season last week in "Week Zero" with a dominating 63-15 win over Duquesne. The Minutemen scored an interception on the game's third play, then put points on the board on their first offensive play. They threw two touchdowns in three plays and steamrolled to a 21-3 first quarter lead and 35-9 lead at the half.
"They seem to have strike ability on offense, and on defense they're blitzing," Addazio said. "They're doing a lot of different things. It will be a tremendous challenge for us here Saturday afternoon. We'll have our work cut out for us."
The Minutemen take the trip to Boston armed with one of their most talented rosters since reclassifying to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012. Redshirt senior quarterback Andrew Ford is one of the best passers in program history after transferring from Virginia Tech (where current Boston College offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler recruited him). He entered this year in the top five in UMass history in nearly every throwing category. On Saturday, he hit for 186 yards with only six incompletions, throwing two touchdowns while pairing with fellow redshirt senior Ross Comis.
"He's going to throw the ball down the field," Addazio said. "They were 17th in the country last year in throwing. I always felt like Mark (Whipple) was a guy that was a gambler in terms of he's going to take his shots. They're going to have their trick plays, take their shots down the field. They're going to push the tempo."
Ford and Comis pitch attempts to a number of targets in Whipple's pass-friendly offense. Andy Isabella posted 131 yards receiving against the Dukes, 104 of which came on two touchdowns receptions, while Kyle Horn made five receptions of his own. Brennon Dingle caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter, and seven different players wound up with at least one reception.
"Their passing is very similar to ours right now," Addazio said. "They want to create runners, yet they have the ability to hit you deep. I think you better get some shots on the quarterback. You better disrupt the quarterback. That's hard to do sometimes when the ball is out of your hands real quick. You have the ability to make sure of coverages, play man (or) zone and mix it up. We can run a little bit in the back end. We'll be able to do some different things there.
"Isabella is real fast, change-of-direction, speed guy," Addazio said. "They have the weapons. They have a returning offensive line with a fair amount of starts. They've got good size. They have weapons. If you have the horses and the weapons, you can do some things. If you don't it's a little harder. They've got (the weapons)."
It's a traditional "Mark Whipple Offense" taxing tempo and forcing defenses to get into speed looks. The quarterback places pressure on defensive ends Zach Allen and Wyatt Ray while stopping and halting receivers puts premiums on defensive backs Hamp Cheevers and Taj-Amir Torres.
"They get it every day," Addazio said. "We're going pretty fast on our offense. That will be of no shock to our defense, that's for sure. But we go one-one (in practice). We have fast guys, too. (Jeff) Smith is pretty good, Mike (Walker) and Kobay White are pretty fast. Our defense is seeing that speed and the tempo every day. That's a bonus."
Focus shifted for the Eagles last week when training camp ended and "game week" began. It continued when UMass won its first game on Saturday, and it kicked into another gear as the calendar steams into Saturday. That's when it all begins for real, with an in-state opponent at Alumni Stadium.
"There's an old adage," Addazio said. "You need to be the best team on that field that day. That day matters. That's the message I'm into right now. (We're) focused on being the best team on that field on Saturday with no other expectation."
The Eagles and Minutemen kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The game is being broadcast via the ACC Network Extra and can also be seen online via WatchESPN.com. The game can be heard via the BC IMG Sports Network on radio and will be simulcast on Sirius channel 134, XM channel 384 and Internet channel 970.
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Boston College will do its part by hosting UMass at Alumni Stadium in its first game of the regular season. It's a meeting between local opponents and a good opening test for the Eagles, who enter the season with high expectations and higher hopes.
"This is the best UMass team we've faced since I've been here," head coach Steve Addazio said. "(I) have so much respect for (UMass head coach) Mark Whipple. I go back a long way with him. They have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. They have great speed. Watching them play Saturday night, I thought they looked fantastic."
UMass opened its season last week in "Week Zero" with a dominating 63-15 win over Duquesne. The Minutemen scored an interception on the game's third play, then put points on the board on their first offensive play. They threw two touchdowns in three plays and steamrolled to a 21-3 first quarter lead and 35-9 lead at the half.
"They seem to have strike ability on offense, and on defense they're blitzing," Addazio said. "They're doing a lot of different things. It will be a tremendous challenge for us here Saturday afternoon. We'll have our work cut out for us."
The Minutemen take the trip to Boston armed with one of their most talented rosters since reclassifying to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012. Redshirt senior quarterback Andrew Ford is one of the best passers in program history after transferring from Virginia Tech (where current Boston College offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler recruited him). He entered this year in the top five in UMass history in nearly every throwing category. On Saturday, he hit for 186 yards with only six incompletions, throwing two touchdowns while pairing with fellow redshirt senior Ross Comis.
"He's going to throw the ball down the field," Addazio said. "They were 17th in the country last year in throwing. I always felt like Mark (Whipple) was a guy that was a gambler in terms of he's going to take his shots. They're going to have their trick plays, take their shots down the field. They're going to push the tempo."
Ford and Comis pitch attempts to a number of targets in Whipple's pass-friendly offense. Andy Isabella posted 131 yards receiving against the Dukes, 104 of which came on two touchdowns receptions, while Kyle Horn made five receptions of his own. Brennon Dingle caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter, and seven different players wound up with at least one reception.
"Their passing is very similar to ours right now," Addazio said. "They want to create runners, yet they have the ability to hit you deep. I think you better get some shots on the quarterback. You better disrupt the quarterback. That's hard to do sometimes when the ball is out of your hands real quick. You have the ability to make sure of coverages, play man (or) zone and mix it up. We can run a little bit in the back end. We'll be able to do some different things there.
"Isabella is real fast, change-of-direction, speed guy," Addazio said. "They have the weapons. They have a returning offensive line with a fair amount of starts. They've got good size. They have weapons. If you have the horses and the weapons, you can do some things. If you don't it's a little harder. They've got (the weapons)."
It's a traditional "Mark Whipple Offense" taxing tempo and forcing defenses to get into speed looks. The quarterback places pressure on defensive ends Zach Allen and Wyatt Ray while stopping and halting receivers puts premiums on defensive backs Hamp Cheevers and Taj-Amir Torres.
"They get it every day," Addazio said. "We're going pretty fast on our offense. That will be of no shock to our defense, that's for sure. But we go one-one (in practice). We have fast guys, too. (Jeff) Smith is pretty good, Mike (Walker) and Kobay White are pretty fast. Our defense is seeing that speed and the tempo every day. That's a bonus."
Focus shifted for the Eagles last week when training camp ended and "game week" began. It continued when UMass won its first game on Saturday, and it kicked into another gear as the calendar steams into Saturday. That's when it all begins for real, with an in-state opponent at Alumni Stadium.
"There's an old adage," Addazio said. "You need to be the best team on that field that day. That day matters. That's the message I'm into right now. (We're) focused on being the best team on that field on Saturday with no other expectation."
The Eagles and Minutemen kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The game is being broadcast via the ACC Network Extra and can also be seen online via WatchESPN.com. The game can be heard via the BC IMG Sports Network on radio and will be simulcast on Sirius channel 134, XM channel 384 and Internet channel 970.
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