Four Downs: Wake Forest
September 14, 2018 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Anthony Brown threw for 300 yards and five touchdowns as BC improved to 3-0
College football experts all delivered preseason predictions about Boston College's potential superstar weapon. They all considered him a front-runner for major awards and all talked about how the ceiling of the season rested on his ability to create explosive plays. They had a near-unanimous opinion that even the Heisman Trophy was a possibility for his potential performance.
All of those experts proved right on Thursday night. Boston College does have that player. They just maybe didn't expect it to be quarterback Anthony Brown.
The redshirt sophomore quarterback went 16-of-25 passing for 304 yards and five touchdowns on Thursday, leading the Eagles past Wake Forest, 41-34, at BB&T Field.
"We felt like we wanted to throw the ball a little bit more," head coach Steve Addazio said. "But I wanted to start the game out by running AJ (Dillon) to put some wear and tear on the defense. We knew there would be opportunities in play action because the safeties would violently be coming into the box."
Brown decimated the Wake Forest secondary by hitting long, deep passes to a variety of receivers. He hit Jeff Smith for a 27-yard strike in the back of the end zone, and he hit Kobay White with a touch pass as the receiver turned. Tommy Sweeney snuck inside of a pylon, and both Ben Glines and Smith outhustled defensive backs to put points on the board. It was perfect execution within the diversification of the offensive scheme.
"BC challenges you with all different formations and play actions, and you have to be really disciplined with your eyes in the right place," Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said. "On the 79-yard touchdown, we didn't have our eyes in the right place. On the 27-yard pass, we bent on not even a good double move. It was just a little out post, and we jumped on it. The other play was another outrun on a safety. The guys were jumping and looking back."
"We talked in the locker room (at halftime) that certain plays in the first half would clean up and execute," Brown said. "In the second half, we did exactly that. When any offense is clean, it's hard to stop."
Brown became the first BC quarterback to throw for 300 yards in a game since Chase Rettig did so in 2012. He also became the first to hit that mark while throwing five touchdowns since Matt Ryan did it during the magical 2007 season. Ironically, both of those performances came against Wake Forest.
"I came into this game confident because of our preparation in the short week," Brown said. "We started preparing for this game in the summer, and everyone was on point with what we were doing. Everyone was in tune to execute. There were no nerves before the game."
Here's some more of what can learned in the BC victory on Thursday:
*****
First Down: Boston College's offense
Three years ago, Boston College's midseason game against Wake Forest ended with a 3-0 loss. Injuries ravaged the Eagles at key positions that already struggled with depth, and an equally-rebuilding Demon Deacons team slogged through 60 minutes at Alumni Stadium. It very quickly became the nadir of a rebuilding season for two proud programs.
That season and game are now a distant memory. The two teams amassed over 1,000 yards on Thursday and put a combined 75 points on the board. For BC, AJ Dillon had 33 carries for 185 yards and a touchdown in his 10th career start, becoming the 19th player in program history with over 2,000 career yards.
Brown completed passes to six different Eagles, led by Jeff Smith's six-catch, 145-yard performance, his first career day with 100 yards. Tommy Sweeney had five catches for 58 yards. Ben Glines and Kobay White made the most of their only big receptions by scoring touchdowns to help the unit overshadow Greg Dortch and the Wake Forest offense.
"Our quarterback had over 300 yards passing," Steve Addazio said. "Jeff Smith, one of our receivers had over 100 yards and had his best day (ever). Our receivers played lights out. Our line played great. AJ Dillon played strong and hard. It created a lot of explosiveness offensively."
Thursday proved the synergy of the Boston College offense. Dillon scored the early touchdown because of perfect pull blocks from the right side of the line. Both Chris Lindstrom and Chris Garrison hit the left side at full steam, sealing off would be tacklers to spring Dillon. It came out of a double tight-end formation that utilized Tommy Sweeney's attack into the point of attack for a third key block.
"They play very physical up front, and the linebackers are one of the best groups I've played against," Anthony Brown said. "We watched a lot of film on the nicks and knacks that gave away some certain looks, and we had very good execution."
*****
Second Down: Wake Forest offense vs. Boston College defense
The Wake Forest offense rang up over 500 yards against the BC defense thanks to almost 300 yards on the ground. Cade Carney and Matt Colburn II had near-identical outputs of over 100 yards, and Sam Hartman looked every bit the part of successor to John Wolford by throwing for over 200 yards and two scores. But the Eagles held the Deacons to two field goals and a missed opportunity to cushion the slim margin between the two teams.
"We ran the ball well, and we marched down the field well," Carney said. "We did everything well except score. We got to the red zone several times, and those are just times that we need to capitalize and mistakes we can't afford to make in our league."
BC's success came from its ability to create explosive plays. Wyatt Ray became the first Eagles to have three or more sacks in a game since Harold Landry against Virginia Tech in 2017. His four sacks broke a record set by two legends, surpassing the 3.5 sacks by Mathias Kiwanuka in 2005 and Mike Mamula in 1994.
Connor Strachan made 15 tackles, including 13 solo, to set a new personal best. Will Harris ripped an interception right out of a receiver's hands. Hamp Cheevers jumped a route for a pick of his own.
"The defense made a lot of plays and were real tired," Addazio said. "They played 105 snaps, and that's a lot of action. That's coming off playing a couple of quarters in the first game and less than that against the second game. It was a battle and it went down to the wire."
*****
Halftime Hits
-The weather turned in a beautiful night for football even though Hurricane Florence began battering the coastline of the Carolinas. It's great that the teams could get this game in, and it's equally great that 25,000 people were able to get to BB&T Field for it. The days moving forward warrant support and concern for the coast and all those who are and will be impacted by the storm.
-Boston College hasn't been ranked in a national poll since the 2008 ACC Championship Game. That should change this weekend.
-The Eagles have 158 points scored in three games. It's by far the most points scored through that mark by a BC team, and It's the most since scoring 117 in the first three games in 2000 and 113 in 1998.
*****
Third Down: Special Teams
There is no way around the special teams struggles on Thursday. Michael Walker muffed a punt, and a missed connection on a snap enabled Wake Forest to block a Grant Carlson punt. An extra point was blocked in the fourth quarter, and everything either resulted in points for Wake Forest or points off the board for Boston College. It called back a little bit to last year, when miscues ultimately cost the Eagles their game against the Deacons, and it made the score closer than it could have or likely should have been.
"We didn't count for points that we gave away in special teams," Steve Addazio said. "On the road, it can undo you, but it didn't because of the leadership of our kids and the chemistry of our team. They weren't going to let those points stop us. We had to overcome it."
The miscues are a little tough to judge inside the framework of three games. BC had problems on special teams against Holy Cross, but the third-team punting unit was on the field. The issues on Thursday are easily correctable, especially with an All-ACC Specialist in Walker.
In addition, the coverage team limited Greg Dortch's explosiveness. Carlson punted four of his eight kicks inside the 20-yard line, and Dortch didn't have a return longer than eight yards. With Colton Lichtenberg sidelined, Danny Longman kicked two of his seven kicks away from Dortch and put three more for touchbacks. John Tessitore made five of his six PATs.
*****
Fourth Down: Team Chemistry
Steve Addazio characterized the win on Thursday as a complete team win. The threat of the run fed the pass, and effectiveness led to success on the ground. The defense made plays when it needed to, giving the offense the momentum it needed to keep rolling.
"This team's got chemistry," Steve Addazio said. "This team's got something special about them. We're not deterred. There's no finger pointing. We knew this was going to go deep into the fourth quarter. We knew this was going to be a hard-fought game. That's what happened. We won this as a team."
The season's first three games opened the lid and scratched the surface of what the Eagles can accomplish. It's good to celebrate successes, and singing the fight song in the locker room is a moment that's earned, not rewarded. But this team feels different in its approach. There's no questioning that it landed in Boston and immediately started thinking about Purdue.
*****
Point After: Purdue
Speaking of Purdue, the Boilermakers are on Big Ten Network on Saturday night when they host Missouri in the third of four consecutive home games to open the season.
Purdue is coming off a heartbreaking, 20-19 loss to Eastern Michigan last week, and its 0-2 record is because of a combined five points. Saturday will go a long way to determining the next step because the Tigers are entering the game on the heels of scoring 91 points in their first two games, both wins.
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All of those experts proved right on Thursday night. Boston College does have that player. They just maybe didn't expect it to be quarterback Anthony Brown.
The redshirt sophomore quarterback went 16-of-25 passing for 304 yards and five touchdowns on Thursday, leading the Eagles past Wake Forest, 41-34, at BB&T Field.
"We felt like we wanted to throw the ball a little bit more," head coach Steve Addazio said. "But I wanted to start the game out by running AJ (Dillon) to put some wear and tear on the defense. We knew there would be opportunities in play action because the safeties would violently be coming into the box."
Brown decimated the Wake Forest secondary by hitting long, deep passes to a variety of receivers. He hit Jeff Smith for a 27-yard strike in the back of the end zone, and he hit Kobay White with a touch pass as the receiver turned. Tommy Sweeney snuck inside of a pylon, and both Ben Glines and Smith outhustled defensive backs to put points on the board. It was perfect execution within the diversification of the offensive scheme.
"BC challenges you with all different formations and play actions, and you have to be really disciplined with your eyes in the right place," Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said. "On the 79-yard touchdown, we didn't have our eyes in the right place. On the 27-yard pass, we bent on not even a good double move. It was just a little out post, and we jumped on it. The other play was another outrun on a safety. The guys were jumping and looking back."
"We talked in the locker room (at halftime) that certain plays in the first half would clean up and execute," Brown said. "In the second half, we did exactly that. When any offense is clean, it's hard to stop."
Brown became the first BC quarterback to throw for 300 yards in a game since Chase Rettig did so in 2012. He also became the first to hit that mark while throwing five touchdowns since Matt Ryan did it during the magical 2007 season. Ironically, both of those performances came against Wake Forest.
"I came into this game confident because of our preparation in the short week," Brown said. "We started preparing for this game in the summer, and everyone was on point with what we were doing. Everyone was in tune to execute. There were no nerves before the game."
Here's some more of what can learned in the BC victory on Thursday:
*****
First Down: Boston College's offense
Three years ago, Boston College's midseason game against Wake Forest ended with a 3-0 loss. Injuries ravaged the Eagles at key positions that already struggled with depth, and an equally-rebuilding Demon Deacons team slogged through 60 minutes at Alumni Stadium. It very quickly became the nadir of a rebuilding season for two proud programs.
That season and game are now a distant memory. The two teams amassed over 1,000 yards on Thursday and put a combined 75 points on the board. For BC, AJ Dillon had 33 carries for 185 yards and a touchdown in his 10th career start, becoming the 19th player in program history with over 2,000 career yards.
Brown completed passes to six different Eagles, led by Jeff Smith's six-catch, 145-yard performance, his first career day with 100 yards. Tommy Sweeney had five catches for 58 yards. Ben Glines and Kobay White made the most of their only big receptions by scoring touchdowns to help the unit overshadow Greg Dortch and the Wake Forest offense.
"Our quarterback had over 300 yards passing," Steve Addazio said. "Jeff Smith, one of our receivers had over 100 yards and had his best day (ever). Our receivers played lights out. Our line played great. AJ Dillon played strong and hard. It created a lot of explosiveness offensively."
Thursday proved the synergy of the Boston College offense. Dillon scored the early touchdown because of perfect pull blocks from the right side of the line. Both Chris Lindstrom and Chris Garrison hit the left side at full steam, sealing off would be tacklers to spring Dillon. It came out of a double tight-end formation that utilized Tommy Sweeney's attack into the point of attack for a third key block.
"They play very physical up front, and the linebackers are one of the best groups I've played against," Anthony Brown said. "We watched a lot of film on the nicks and knacks that gave away some certain looks, and we had very good execution."
*****
Second Down: Wake Forest offense vs. Boston College defense
The Wake Forest offense rang up over 500 yards against the BC defense thanks to almost 300 yards on the ground. Cade Carney and Matt Colburn II had near-identical outputs of over 100 yards, and Sam Hartman looked every bit the part of successor to John Wolford by throwing for over 200 yards and two scores. But the Eagles held the Deacons to two field goals and a missed opportunity to cushion the slim margin between the two teams.
"We ran the ball well, and we marched down the field well," Carney said. "We did everything well except score. We got to the red zone several times, and those are just times that we need to capitalize and mistakes we can't afford to make in our league."
BC's success came from its ability to create explosive plays. Wyatt Ray became the first Eagles to have three or more sacks in a game since Harold Landry against Virginia Tech in 2017. His four sacks broke a record set by two legends, surpassing the 3.5 sacks by Mathias Kiwanuka in 2005 and Mike Mamula in 1994.
Connor Strachan made 15 tackles, including 13 solo, to set a new personal best. Will Harris ripped an interception right out of a receiver's hands. Hamp Cheevers jumped a route for a pick of his own.
"The defense made a lot of plays and were real tired," Addazio said. "They played 105 snaps, and that's a lot of action. That's coming off playing a couple of quarters in the first game and less than that against the second game. It was a battle and it went down to the wire."
*****
Halftime Hits
-The weather turned in a beautiful night for football even though Hurricane Florence began battering the coastline of the Carolinas. It's great that the teams could get this game in, and it's equally great that 25,000 people were able to get to BB&T Field for it. The days moving forward warrant support and concern for the coast and all those who are and will be impacted by the storm.
-Boston College hasn't been ranked in a national poll since the 2008 ACC Championship Game. That should change this weekend.
-The Eagles have 158 points scored in three games. It's by far the most points scored through that mark by a BC team, and It's the most since scoring 117 in the first three games in 2000 and 113 in 1998.
*****
Third Down: Special Teams
There is no way around the special teams struggles on Thursday. Michael Walker muffed a punt, and a missed connection on a snap enabled Wake Forest to block a Grant Carlson punt. An extra point was blocked in the fourth quarter, and everything either resulted in points for Wake Forest or points off the board for Boston College. It called back a little bit to last year, when miscues ultimately cost the Eagles their game against the Deacons, and it made the score closer than it could have or likely should have been.
"We didn't count for points that we gave away in special teams," Steve Addazio said. "On the road, it can undo you, but it didn't because of the leadership of our kids and the chemistry of our team. They weren't going to let those points stop us. We had to overcome it."
The miscues are a little tough to judge inside the framework of three games. BC had problems on special teams against Holy Cross, but the third-team punting unit was on the field. The issues on Thursday are easily correctable, especially with an All-ACC Specialist in Walker.
In addition, the coverage team limited Greg Dortch's explosiveness. Carlson punted four of his eight kicks inside the 20-yard line, and Dortch didn't have a return longer than eight yards. With Colton Lichtenberg sidelined, Danny Longman kicked two of his seven kicks away from Dortch and put three more for touchbacks. John Tessitore made five of his six PATs.
*****
Fourth Down: Team Chemistry
Steve Addazio characterized the win on Thursday as a complete team win. The threat of the run fed the pass, and effectiveness led to success on the ground. The defense made plays when it needed to, giving the offense the momentum it needed to keep rolling.
"This team's got chemistry," Steve Addazio said. "This team's got something special about them. We're not deterred. There's no finger pointing. We knew this was going to go deep into the fourth quarter. We knew this was going to be a hard-fought game. That's what happened. We won this as a team."
The season's first three games opened the lid and scratched the surface of what the Eagles can accomplish. It's good to celebrate successes, and singing the fight song in the locker room is a moment that's earned, not rewarded. But this team feels different in its approach. There's no questioning that it landed in Boston and immediately started thinking about Purdue.
*****
Point After: Purdue
Speaking of Purdue, the Boilermakers are on Big Ten Network on Saturday night when they host Missouri in the third of four consecutive home games to open the season.
Purdue is coming off a heartbreaking, 20-19 loss to Eastern Michigan last week, and its 0-2 record is because of a combined five points. Saturday will go a long way to determining the next step because the Tigers are entering the game on the heels of scoring 91 points in their first two games, both wins.
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Players Mentioned
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DB
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DE
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K
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OL
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K
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TE
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K/P
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WR
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