W2WF: TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. No. 21 Cincinnati

It's my job during football season to make sense of a matchup before gameday. Talking to players and coaches helps me gain background before I analyze and study individual and collective contests, and I form my opinions by picking through everything before the end of the week. It's a long process, and I honestly tear through everything over a few days, but it drops me into a game with a well-rounded approach steeped in how teams operate.

The thoroughness of my own personal expectations means I'm rarely at a loss for words, so I was pretty upset when I couldn't break down BC's bowl game against Cincinnati. I just kept staring at the computer screen. No opinions, no lessons, no nothing. I had no idea why.

So after threatening bodily harm on my laptop for a couple of hours, I did what any rational man would do in this situation: I whined to my wife.

My wife is the levelheaded sports fan in our household, so I guess I could have seen it coming. In the midst of my repeated threats to destroy my keyboard, she drew on things she knew. She never picked up a stat sheet and didn't glance at any notes. She didn't talk to anybody or even watch a highlight. She simply calmed me down and said one thing.

"Tell them to have fun," she said. "It's the last game of the year, and there's a new head coach coming. But that team with the players and everyone have been together all year. It's not the national championship game, but that doesn't matter to the guys who are playing. So tell them to go out, play a game they love, and win a game for each other."

She was absolutely right, not that she ever isn't. The bowl game is a reward, and it doesn't matter how a team gets to one as long as it qualifies. It's an ultimate finality for a roster, and it's the perfect moment to end a season. It's as basic as anything in sports because it's an opportunity to play in a game lacking any kind of full pressure.

I lost that perspective over the past couple of weeks with all the excitement of the past month. Everything that happened injected me with anticipation for the future. I began looking forward to the NFL Draft for AJ Dillon, and the Jeff Hafley hire had me talking constantly about BC's future. I went to bed forgetting about the present, as if the bowl game, which I know I talked about, kept becoming secondary fodder.

The TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl is a reminder, though, that the current, present tense is very much alive and well. The last game of the 2019 season is a measure of respect to the players and coaches who operated in the shadows, awaiting their turn in the spotlight. It's a game, entirely about them and all they gave for each other this season. It's the final chapter, the one last moment for the hours and days sacrificed playing a game they love.

That transcends any kind of analysis or highlight reel. I guess it just took talking to my wife to figure that out. I'll never hear the end of it.

Here's what to watch for as the Eagles prepare to take on No. 21 Cincinnati in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl:

****
Weekly Storylines

Solo Stampede

The waiting period between the regular season finale and the bowl game kickoff fundamentally altered the Boston College football program. The coaching change clearly tops the list, but AJ Dillon's decision to forego the bowl game - and his senior season - to enter the NFL Draft didn't rank that far behind. The end of his career played out in that monster game at Pittsburgh, clearing the road for running back David Bailey's first opportunity to grab hold of the Eagle backfield.

"It's different," Bailey said. "Everyone's been ready for the torch to be passed. I can't say the 'Buffalo Boys' anymore. So we're just going to keep pushing."

Together, Dillon and Bailey formed the most dynamic running back duo in the nation. They became the first BC running tandem to record 180 yards in the same game when the Eagles beat NC State, and they later stampeded for 414 yards in the team's win over Syracuse. They combined for over 2,500 yards, most among running back duos in the nation, and redefined the entire Eagle offense by decimating opposing defenses.

"Our style of offense runs the ball, so you need multiple guys," interim head coach Rich Gunnell said. "David's been a huge help for that reason, taking those carries and getting AJ a rest to avoid being banged up. He's also proven himself worthy with his (own ability to gain yards)."

The conditions are optimal for a Bailey breakout. Both teams will need to rely on their running games in a rainy forecast, but Cincinnati's attack features three different players, including a dual-threat quarterback. BC is likely to counter that with multiple sets featuring Ben Glines, Patrick Garwo and Travis Levy, but Bailey is clearly the featured attraction. On Thursday, he's going to receive the lion's share of carries, creating a brilliant chance to showcase the unique difference between him and Dillon.

"I recruited David out of high school and knew he had the potential to be where he is," Gunnell said. "I think he's going to continue to grow because he's a hell of a player. He's a big kid with really nimble feet. I watched him play basketball, and he could just change direction. You can tell that by how he runs in his running style. He's 240 pounds running people over, but he can also make people miss."

"(AJ and I) have similar features of speed and power," Bailey said. "But he had his game and I have my game. My game's a little different than his. I know we're going to get the comparison, we're similar (physically), but we have different features in there."

Bama Born

TJ Rayam is BC's definition of "Alabama football." His father played for Alabama and is best remembered for the "Desperation Block" in 1989 to beat Penn State. TJ's uncle, Hardy, won a national championship in the 1970s for Notre Dame. His brother Jalen is currently in uniform for the UAB Blazers.

The Alabaster native grew up in Legion Field's ominous shadows, so he knows a thing or two about playing in Alabama and what a game in that stadium means.

"Football is everything down there," Rayam said. "I grew up my whole life, watching Alabama football and football in general. My dad played at Alabama, and they played at Legion Field. My brother plays for UAB, and they play at Legion Field. So now I get to play in that tradition and play at Legion Field."

Rayam enjoyed a breakout in the second half of the year after he recorded 11 tackles against Wake Forest. He had a hand in tackles for loss in seven games this year, and he's morphed into a true defensive tackle with a nose for pushing off stout blocks to defend the run.

That's something the Eagles will need against Cincinnati, which attacks defenses with three different rushers. The lead back, Michael Warren, ripped off three straight 100-yard games to end the regular season, including a 122-yard performance against Memphis. He amassed 1,100 yards on the ground with 14 touchdowns - the same number as AJ Dillon - and missed a seventh 100-yard game by a yard when the Bearcats lost a second consecutive game to the Tigers in the conference championship. Earlier this season, he decimated East Carolina with 141 yards and three scores.

He plays in front of Gerrid Doaks on the depth chart, but Doaks is accomplished in his own right with 499 yards and five touchdowns this season. It included a 123-yard day in a 48-3 win over Connecticut.

None of that discounts quarterback Desmond Ridder, who went over 500 yards this season in part because of his performances against both ECU and UConn. He's a dual-threat athlete with over 2,000 yards passing, and his 2:1 touchdowns-to-interception ratio is incredibly efficient. Interestingly enough, though, he never threw for 300 yards against any one opponent.

The Right (BC) Man for the Job

Martin Jarmond tabbed Rich Gunnell for the interim head coaching position because the former BC wide receiver checked every required box. Gunnell personified the "BC pride" concept, and he quickly became everyone's steadying hand during a turbulent, emotional time. It was an exceptionally difficult job, but his loose approach helped the Eagles ready for a bowl game at a time when entangling news could have destroyed the locker room.

"You hope that (college-aged young men) can stay focused," Gunnell said of the team's preparation. "But they understand the task at hand. They know how to keep their bodies right, and they understand what we're trying to do. We're trying to win a football game."

Gunnell handled every news moment with a graciousness and respect, and he constantly walked the balance beam of maintaining team focus under extenuating circumstances. That means the bowl game is an opportunity for the players to give back to the coach who pushed them through that cyclone before celebrating as a family at the end.

"(The players) know not to destroy what they've done over this break," Gunnell said. "But this is a time for them to kick back and be normal people. We barely get to see our families, so this is a time for that and for embracing that."

*****
Countdown to Kickoff

10…BC has 10 losses since 2013 when committing three or more turnovers.
9…Nine BC players earned All-ACC honors when postseason awards were announced.
8…Offensive lineman Tyler Vrabel surrendered just eight QB hurries over the entire 2019 season.
7...The Eagles are tied for seventh in the nation with 46 interceptions since 2017.
6…BC went a perfect 6-0 when leading games after the third quarter this year.
5…Opponents only have five converted fourth downs against Cincinnati all season.
4…The Bearcats scored 90 points in each of the four quarters this season.
3…Cincinnati has only kept opponents under 100 yards rushing three times, two of which were in the first three games.
2…This year was the second consecutive season in which Cincinnati won 10 games.
1…Max Richardson is the ACC's leader in solo tackles with 72, which places him No. 5 in FBS.

*****
BC-Cincinnati X Factor

Avoiding rust

The Boston College regular season ended on November 30, meaning the Birmingham Bowl is a full 34 days after the Eagles walked out of Pittsburgh with a victory. For Cincinnati, the season lasted one week longer after the Bearcats lost in their conference championship game in the first weekend of December.

The break is incredibly long, even if time off for the holidays is factored into it. That's going to build rust on both teams regardless of anything coaches or players try to do. There's no way to simulate the same tempo, pace, and physicality of a real, live game, and any emotional wave from the end of the season is crested back into its tide.

That means avoiding fundamental penalties and mistakes will be huge for both teams. Players can become overeager with too much time off, and that can lead to mental penalties or breakdowns. There's a need to manage that emotion and play controlled, railed football. Whichever team can handle that early is going to get a jump, which in a game of momentum can become a huge factor.

*****
Meteorology 101

Boston College arrived in Alabama this week with bright, sunny skies and temperatures cresting up into the 50s. The pictures surfacing from Hoover High School, where BC practiced, painted a Rockwellian climate in the Deep South at a time of year when New Englanders are desperately looking to get out from under the sleet and freezing rain pummeling the home turf.

So naturally, the forecast is turning for the worse on Thursday. Local weather reports call for a 100 percent chance of rain on Thursday. Temperatures will hover around the 50s, meaning the game will take on a more raw weather approach than the rest of the week.

It's not going to be like the biblical rain in Dallas last year, and there isn't a serious threat for lightning or cancellations. But it's hard not to cringe at the first sight of that icon on the web or in news reports.

*****
Where in the World is Boston College Football?

Thursday's game is being played at Legion Field, one of football's oldest and most treasured stadiums, dating back to the 1920s. It was the neutral site home of the Iron Bowl before both Auburn and Alabama moved exclusively on campus, and it hosted the majority of "big games" for the Crimson Tide because its capacity substantially outdrew Bryant-Denny Stadium. Likewise, Auburn used the stadium when it played against Tennessee because of its geographic location.

Alabama remained, but in 1995, Tuscaloosa pledged to invest in the stadium with the caveat that Alabama would exclusively move on campus. There were individual games scheduled there, though, well into the 2000s, but parts of the stadium became structurally deficient, and the 2003 game against South Florida wound up as Alabama's last game in Birmingham.

Legion Field persevered and became a bargaining chip for a number of startup professional franchises who saw the potential in Birmingham. The World League of American Football had one of its North American teams there, and the Canadian Football League put a franchise there when it pushed south into the United States. The original XFL put a team there, as did the shot-lived Alliance of American Football from earlier this year.

Ironically enough, it also served as a home game for the then-Boston Patriots in 1968. The vagabond franchise was using Fenway Park at the time, but a conflict with the Boston Red Sox necessitated a move. Without a permanent home, the AFL relocated a game against the New York Jets (and Alabama alum Joe Namath) to Legion Field. The Patriots moved to Boston College for the next year, then to Harvard in 1970, before finally finding a home in suburban Foxboro, Massachusetts.

As of 2019, the stadium is the current primary home for the UAB Blazers, though the program is expected to move to a new facility in 2021.

*****
Looking at the Birmingham Bowl

The sheer volume of bowl games can make discussing the history of some of these games confusing. The Birmingham Bowl began play in 2006 but is a spiritual successor to the original Hall of Fame Bowl, which moved to Tampa, Florida in 1986. Boston College actually played in that game in its first incarnation in Florida, defeating Georgia on Shawn Halloran's touchdown pass as time expired.

The Birmingham Bowl itself started in 2006 and quickly became a showcase for the Big East, which won the first five games. When the league reformed as the American Athletic Conference in 2013, the bowl remained as an automatic tie-in against the SEC, though this year marks the second consecutive season with an ACC replacement team.

Last season, Memphis took a 21-7 lead over Wake Forest at the start of the second quarter and led by 18 when quarterback Jamie Newman stormed the Demon Deacons back in a furious rally. He threw for two touchdowns before halftime to cut the lead from 28-10 to 28-24, and two field goals in the third quarter put Wake ahead, 30-28, behind 20 unanswered points.

Memphis retook the lead with just over a minute remaining, but Newman threw for over 70 yards in 43 seconds to put Wake back on top. Even then, the Tigers didn't quietly surrender; Brady White hit Joey Magnifico for 44 yards to set up a last second field goal attempt, but a 43-yard attempt pushed wide right, touching off a wild celebration on the Wake Forest sideline.

*****
Pregame Quote and Prediction

There is an old saying about the strength of the wolf is the pack, and I think there is a lot of truth of that. On a football team, it's not the strength of the individual players, but it is the strength of the unit and how they all function together. -Bill Belichick

Rich Gunnell met with the media this week and talked about football as a team sport. He talked about how this game was strictly about the players and not about the coaches. He talked about how one great player can't win in football like other sports, that a team needs all of its parts working together in order to achieve success.

It read like he pasted Coach Belichick's comments, but his remarks came directly from his passion for this team and the game. This is a game decided by the players, and Cincinnati enters this game nationally-ranked and with a reputation for beating top-flight opponents after coming within a game of playing in the Cotton Bowl. When the rain starts falling on Legion Field, though, BC can win by simply wanting it more, for each other and for the university they represent.

The 2019 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl between Boston College and No. 21 Cincinnati will kick off at 3 p.m. from Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The game can be seen on national television on ESPN, with radio broadcast available on WEEI 850 AM. Satellite radio options can be found on Sirius 121, XM 371 and Online 371, with streaming audio available on mobile devices via the TuneIn app.

W2WF: TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl vs. No. 21 Cincinnati

Next Event

Players Mentioned

David Bailey

AJ Dillon

Ben Glines

Travis Levy

TJ Rayam

Max Richardson

Tyler Vrabel