
Photo by: Joe Sullivan
The Tailgate: No. 17 NC State
November 11, 2022 | Football, #ForBoston Files
BC is in Raleigh for a nationally-televised matchup with the nationally-ranked Wolfpack.
Institutions like laying claim to monikers in college football. Each revolves around a tradition of some sort, but the identities are embedded deep within a program's soul and fabric. They transcend time and endure beyond the ups and downs of normal recruiting cycles, as if they are immortal, living beasts constantly fed by another name over the passage of time.
Every school has something it claims. Boston College, for example, is "O-Line U" because of the linemen sent to the NFL over decades' worth of time. Miami has the renegades and the Turnover Chain. The entire SEC is defined by the motto that "it just means more," and football is tradition for the schools in Texas and the American southwest.Â
At NC State, a cradle of quarterbacks lends itself to the program's history books, and though the names run predominantly through the 21st century, the players handed torches to one another to build a masterful tradition of college all-stars and pro prospects with Devin Leary, its most recent installation, topping most NFL Draft boards for the upcoming 2023 class of quarterbacks. Though Leary's season ended with a torn pectoral, his impact still looms large over an offense featuring a true freshman quarterback and playmakers who understand how their assignments make teams better.
"NC State's a really good team," said BC head coach Jeff Hafley. "They're ranked 17th in the country. I have a ton of respect for [head coach Dave Doeren]. I've known him for a really long time…has a really good culture. Those guys play hard. He's recruited really well to his systems, and he's got a veteran team."
The team itself is built on a culture dating back to the earliest years of the 21st century. Football fans of a certain age remember how Philip Rivers rebuilt the then-San Diego Chargers into an NFL playoff contender, but few likely recall how he shattered the NC State record book by throwing for over 13,000 yards with 95 career touchdowns across 51 consecutive starts. He won four consecutive bowl games and threw for 3,000 yards or more in three of his four years in Raleigh with a 72 percent completion percentage in his senior year in 2003, when he also threw for 4,491 yards and 34 touchdowns. In his final game against Kansas in the Tangerine Bowl, he went 37-for-45 for 475 yards and five touchdowns as part of a 56-26 win.
He later became the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2004 and was part of the trade that sent Eli Manning to New York, but he laid the foundation for a standard that raised the bar on players like Daniel Evans and Harrison Beck before Russell Wilson arrived and started for former BC head coach Tom O'Brien in 2008.
Wilson spent three years in Raleigh and twice threw for 3,000 yards, and his sophomore season in 2009 included 31 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions before he threw 28 scores with 3,500 yards in his junior season. He would later transfer to Wisconsin, but after Seattle chose him as its third round pick in 2012, Tampa Bay picked his successor, Mike Glennon, one year later with almost the same identical pick.
Their traditions carried to Jacoby Brissett and Ryan Finley, and it continued through each after they were essentially picked around the same area of the NFL Draft. Brissett, the current starter in Cleveland, was the 91st overall pick by New England in 2016, while Finley went to Cincinnati three years later with the 104th overall selection, continuing the groundwork assumed by Leary at the start of last year before he won nine games with 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns to 5 picks.Â
"[Leary] went down, and I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country," Hafley said, "but they have a freshman who they really liked and went to after platooning [for a couple of games]. He looks like he'll be a really good player, and their [offensive line] is really good, really talented."
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The Podcast For Boston: "For The Podcast" Ep. 10 -- Dino Tomlin
Here's what to watch for when Boston College heads to Raleigh for a Saturday afternoon matinee against the nationally-ranked Wolfpack:
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Game Storylines (U2 Edition)
Sleight of hand and twist of fate,
On a bed of nails she makes me wait.
And I wait without you.
-With or without you
I have always loved U2, but this song always hit home with me for a number of reasons. The lyrics themselves are super meaningful and represent a tortured Bono talking through the tortured balance between his relationships at home and his life on the road, and the softer start to the song eventually builds into this crescendo backed by the Edge's guitar riff.Â
It makes With or Without You a great metaphor for a number of different situations, but this week really impacted me because BC is traveling to Raleigh this week as a seven-loss team intent on competing with one of the ACC's best teams. It would be too easy to write off the rest of football season as a distraction for the players or coaches focusing on their future, and the Eagles have never one to embrace the easier road.
"There are a lot of veteran teams in the Atlantic Division," said Jeff Hafley. "They still have their [extra-year] guys and graduate transfers, and they have really good coaches and schemes. I think [the division] is really good, and it's a very, very competitive conference. Look at Louisville and what they've been able to do since our game (the Cardinals have won four in a row since losing to BC). To me, it's the best it's been since I've been here."
The rest of this season isn't about simply getting through these last couple of games, and there is real value in competing as hard against NC State, Notre Dame and Syracuse as there is in playing Louisville or Clemson earlier in the year. These games are critical to the future prospects of veterans looking to compete for NFL roster spots, and the younger players need this time to develop within the scheme as it would appear for the next couple of years.
These are all foundational steps, and ending the season without a bowl game is disappointing, there is still plenty of football left to play,.
I want to run,
I want to hide.
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out and touch the flame
Where the streets have no name.
-Where The Streets Have No Name
Streets remains one of the band's most famous live songs, with Bono once telling an author that the song could salvage even its worst show by simply breaking into the opening riff, which itself is about as iconic as it gets. With that in mind, I've long believed that there are things that BC can do which can salvage some of the most trying moments of this season, as last week's performance by Emmett Morehead illustrated when he threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns against Duke.
NC State's defense is an entirely different beef, but a unit with multiple interceptions in six of its nine games offers a unique challenge for whichever quarterback gets the call on Saturday. The Wolfpack lead the league in interceptions and are atop the conference in third-down conversion, rushing defense, scoring defense and pass efficiency defense. It ranks third in the nation in picks and in the top-25 in total defense, and cornerback Aydan White is tied for fourth among Power Five players with four picks, most among ACC defensive backs.
"[Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson] has had that scheme and the players within that scheme for a long time," said Jeff Hafley. "There's a lot of creativity, and they're very aggressive. The nose guard [Corey Durden] is an outstanding player, and I think their safeties play with their hair on fire. Their linebackers are big, strong guys, and can cover. They give you a variety of looks, but on third down, they come after your heart, and I don't mean that schematically. They play really fast, and they know what they're doing."
Getting away from that rush on third down isn't easy, but each quarterback does something different that could help in BC's preparation. Jurkovec, if healthy, is a more mobile option who understands how to scramble, while Morehead illustrated last week how fast he can deliver a pass downfield. If NC State sends the house, it's up to whichever quarterback is playing to find the soft spot and deliver either the pass or run to pick up chunk yardage.
"They're direct and somewhat reckless, which I appreciate as a defensive coach," Hafley said, "so they have a combination of front guys that create pressure within blitz packages. But they sometimes drop three and just confuse you and force you to hold the ball and get pressure that way. I think it's a combination of good coaching and a veteran group that has played in the scheme for a long time."
You're on the road,
But you've got no destination.
You're in the mud,
In the maze of her imagination.
You love this town,
Even if that doesn't ring true.
You've been all over,
And it's been all over you.
It's a beautiful day.
-Beautiful Day
I debated on using Vertigo here, but the fact that Bono literally can't count at the start of the song ("uno, dos, tres, catorce" literally translates to "one, two, three, 14,"), and since I never understood why he did that, I went in another direction.
The lead single off All That You Can't Leave Behind, Beautiful Day reintroduced U2 to the pop culture scene after Pop incorporated electronic and a more edgy (no pun intended) sound a few years earlier. I never really liked Pop, so bring the group's sound back to its roots with an album built around a good old-fashioned rock sound was enhanced only when the group performed at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVI in the aftermath of 9/11.
Back to the point at hand, though. Given everything that happened this year, Saturday feels like a reboot for a young roster thrust into the war-weary practices that accompany the end of the season. Every team is beat up by this point of the year, but BC especially felt like the season zapped whatever depth and health existed during both the spring and summer training camps. That's been well-documented, of course, but this week, the Eagles enter a game with a repeat offensive line for the first time all season, and a continuation of last week's lineup should help with achieving some form of balance between the different phases of the game.
"Clearly we need to get better," Jeff Hafley said, "but I'm very optimistic about those young guys. I think they're really good players, and I think a lot of them have really bright futures. I think they're made of the right stuff, and I think they care a lot."
It's not difficult to understand why players clicked last week on offense, but the defense still played relatively well despite surrendering 38 points. Riley Leonard didn't offer a whole lot despite everyone expecting a dynamism on par with Sam Hartman or Drake Maye, and after adjusting to some injuries, BC's youth movement made the most of the opportunities presented.
"Coach Hafley really emphasizes effort and attitude," said sophomore linebacker Bryce Steele. "That's really all we can control right now, just going out [and] playing harder than whatever team you played against to let the outcome take care of itself."
As the year winds down, players like Steele are competing for playing time next year just as much as the older players are building film for a potential career at the next level. Without a bowl game, players like CJ Burton and Cole Batson can really challenge the older players like Jason Maitre and Josh DeBerry who need to show out on a weekly basis to find ways to showcase their skills for NFL scouts who are still watching at every turn, but that competition will only further breed the culture Hafley wants to install over these last three weeks.
"For some guys, these are the last few weeks of college football," Steele said, "and for me, I'm going to go out and give my all because this might be over for them. I want to send them with the best end to the season possible. I love my seniors. They've been helping me and play, so I'm going to do everything in my power to go out and make sure we get these next few [games]."
*****
Question Box
Phil or Emmett?
Phil Jurkovec will start if he's healthy enough to play. He's once again listed atop BC's depth chart, and if his knee allows him to get out on the field, the graduate student will lead the offense against NC State.
If not, then it's a second start for Emmett Morehead. To steal a word from an older era, it's still Jurkovec as of press time, but it's subject to change.
Does the offensive line take a step forward now that it's a repeat line?
The gift of having an offensive line for a second straight week is almost manna from heaven, and after suffering more injuries in the game against UConn, it looks like BC is going to step on the field against NC State with either Jurkovec or Morehead playing behind a line that finally, FINALLY gains some continuity.
Consider the number of graduate students and older players on the offensive line for both Connecticut and Duke, and then look at NC State's line, which features three players listed as a "redshirt graduate student" with a fourth listed as the "or" for the left tackle position. Now consider that the Eagles are going to start the same line this week for the first time all season.
That's still insane to me, but at least BC will have all of that experience coming back next year while everyone else is hypothetically rebuilding their front structure.
Can BC make believers out of the doubters?
I long argued that the chasm between bowl teams and those that are ineligible can only widen because of the dozen-plus extra practices that the postseason game affords its participants, so these last three weeks are an interesting case study for a hypothesis stretching a few years back in time.
My assumptions presume BC has a longer road to the top of the ACC because it missed a bowl game this year, but I'm further arguing that these last weeks are a unique opportunity to test and develop young talent while simultaneously using the veterans to lay the groundwork for future success. I'm not blind to how those points contradict one another, but I feel like the youth movement at BC can only move its way up the charts with the valuable experience it gained this year. The extra practices would be phenomenal, but I'm also saying that the Eagles can use the last three weeks like those bowl season sessions while simultaneously game-planning for the next opponent.
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Meteorology 101
Things I learned this week: there is a subtropical storm that could intensify back into a hurricane, and its remnants are apparently moving up the east coast through the Carolinas and into New England over the weekend.Â
Actually, let me pare that back.Â
Things I learned this week: there is a subtropical storm that exists. I legitimately didn't know that Nicole was churning away in the Atlantic Ocean, but it looks like some funky weather is headed into New England on Friday night and Saturday after it blasts through the Carolinas.Â
I don't think the storm will impact Saturday's game in Raleigh because the weather system should pass through North Carolina on Friday, but I'm guessing some residual wind will hang around for a 3:30 p.m. start. Weather is always the great equalizer, but it's more likely we're getting soaked in Boston while the Eagles are playing the Wolfpack down at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Early weather reports didn't show whether the storm was moving west or east, but it does appear that seasonable temperatures are hanging around for another week of 70s before dipping down into the 50s at night.
Unless you live in Boston, where we woke up on Wednesday with temperatures under 30 for the first time all year.
*****
BC-NC State X Factor
MJ Morris and the NC State Offense
True freshman MJ Morris made his first start for NC State last week when he started against Wake Forest, and his emergence minimized the damage and prognostications of doom caused by Devin Leary's season-ending injury. After losing to Syracuse and struggling with Virginia Tech, the win over the Demon Deacons thrust the Wolfpack back into the race for second place in the Atlantic Division after the Orange faltered and lost quarterback Garrett Schrader to injury.
Having that performance in its back pocket is immeasurable for an offense that's still a bit of a work in progress, and after two weeks of transition after losing Leary. There are six different players with over 100 yards on the season, including Morris, who has a net-66 because quarterbacks incur minus-yards whenever they're sacked, and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye is the only player other than Leary with rushing touchdowns. He had one carry last week after not seeing action against Syracuse or Virginia Tech, leaving Jordan Houston as the team's only leading rusher.
The backfield is really the only place where NC State is stuck in various forms of youthful development, and the absence of Sumo-Karngbaye after his injury against Florida State left the Wolfpack with Houston as their only true running back. Morris was the second-leading rusher last week and Michael Allen gained 36 yards on five carries in his second action of the season, but there's a feeling that if someone can cover Thayer Thomas, who went for eight catches and 79 yards last week after grabbing 10 balls for 118 yards and two touchdowns against Virginia Tech, his second 100-yard game of the year, then the heralded NC State offense might get its wheels caught.
The strength of the Wolfpack's defense doesn't mean BC could run away with this one, but there's a direct path to an upset if the Eagles' offense takes another step forward.
*****
Around College Football
The College Football Playoff rankings underwent an overhaul after just one week thanks to Georgia's win over Tennessee, and this week opened with the Bulldogs ascending to the No. 1 spot while the Volunteers slipped to fifth with an outside opportunity at sneaking back into the top four. Ohio State and MIchigan, meanwhile, hold the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, which means the last game of the season potentially becomes a play-in game for the tournament, and TCU very quietly moved into the fourth spot as the undefeated leader in the Big 12.
This type of chaos is typical for the first couple of weeks in the CFP poll, and the number of hungry, good teams waiting for an opening places an emphasis on the criticality of every game. No. 7 LSU, for example, is at Arkansas this week, and No. 8 Southern California needs to play perfect football to get some love to the Pac-12.Â
No. 9 Alabama is at No. 11 Ole Miss this week, and Clemson, Penn State, NC State and Tulane are all fighting for their own positioning either in the tournament or in the New Year's Six games. The Green Wave, naturally, are in the most precarious position since the Group of Five sends its highest-ranked team to the NY6 games, and No. 22 Central Florida is in New Orleans this week for a 3:30 p.m. start.
Those more in tune with the playoff race will really want to watch Saturday night's games when No. 6 Oregon hosts 25th-ranked Washington and fourth-ranked TCU is at No. 18 Texas in the 7 p.m. hour. Later on, No. 12 UCLA and No. 13 Utah host Arizona and Stanford.
From an ACC standpoint, 8-1, undefeated-in-the-ACC North Carolina puts its No. 15 rankings on the line in a rivalry game at Wake Forest at 7:30 p.m.,and No. 23 Florida State is at Syracuse to play an Orange team suddenly scuffling for wins. Duke is home against Virginia Tech with a chance to catch UNC with some help, and Clemson hosts Louisville.Â
Recent years have wrought chaos on the ACC's standings, especially down the stretch, but it increasingly appears that Clemson and UNC, with wins, can end the divisional era of the league with a bit of a quiet race. Both are undefeated with two-game leads entering this weekend.
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Dan's Non-Sports Observation of the Week
My older daughter is officially at the age where she finds her way into things without actually understanding ramifications or consequences, but even I was surprised at her ability to wreak havoc on the house while I was recording a podcast appearance last week. I was in the garage, which is apparently where I exile myself for most media work these days, and while I was out there, she found her way into our spice cabinet while my wife tended to our newborn.
My wife usually has infinite patience, but the look in her eyes told me a very different story when I opened the garage door to the house and found a dead stare at the floor where the older child apparently dumped an entire bottle of garlic powder. I had really enjoyed recording that podcast, but my happiness quickly faded when I realized how she further grabbed some of the spice and dragged it throughout the floor with her hands and feet.
I tried to make a joke that it at least wasn't maple syrup in the heating vents, but the lack of laughter instead forced me to realize the vacuum was already against the wall. In the time period I was outside, this whole event unfolded from start to finish, and I missed virtually the entire thing. On the list of things I could've done to help in that situation, "missing cleanup of a mess that happened because I was outside in the garage recording a media podcast" probably ranked above "dumping the garlic powder on the floor myself," but that's about it.
We had family photos two days later, and we got this really cute picture of our daughters sitting together (well…sort of, since a one-month-old doesn't exactly sit). We also got a picture where all of us were smiling. Neither of them involved garlic powder.
*****
Pregame Quote and Prediction
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan. -Tom Landry
I would love to be sitting here writing about how Saturday's game is going to impact the bowl race, but it'd be a pretty direct statement about how a Boston College win would effectively ruin NC State's bid for a New Year's Six bowl game. I'd also love to be sitting here talking about how all of the young guys on the depth chart are going to play because Saturday likely won't impact a redshirt status or the Eagles' own bowl aspirations, but then I'd be doing a disservice to the upper class players who are still competing every day.
Instead, I'll say this: every game is precious, and I still believe that every game is critical to a player's career. There are too few opportunities to wear the uniform and pads, and I believe football players are well aware that everyone operates on an exploding timeline. Everyone, in that respect, needs to set a goal.
Merely setting that goal, though, doesn't make it happen, and with the finite number of days remaining in the season, the players and coaches have to relish the opportunity to play together as a team. Maybe this year hasn't gone the way anyone planned it, but that doesn't mean now is the time to abandon the build for this season. With that growth, maybe BC can surprise a few folks here and there, and it starts on Saturday with the Wolfpack.
Boston College and No. 17 NC State kick off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. from Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. The game can be seen on national television via the ACC Network with streaming available through ESPN's online website and mobile device apps. Radio broadcast is also available through the BC Learfield IMG Sports Network, which is on local radio in Boston via WEEI 93.7 FM with satellite options available via Sirius XM channel 380 and App channel 970.
Every school has something it claims. Boston College, for example, is "O-Line U" because of the linemen sent to the NFL over decades' worth of time. Miami has the renegades and the Turnover Chain. The entire SEC is defined by the motto that "it just means more," and football is tradition for the schools in Texas and the American southwest.Â
At NC State, a cradle of quarterbacks lends itself to the program's history books, and though the names run predominantly through the 21st century, the players handed torches to one another to build a masterful tradition of college all-stars and pro prospects with Devin Leary, its most recent installation, topping most NFL Draft boards for the upcoming 2023 class of quarterbacks. Though Leary's season ended with a torn pectoral, his impact still looms large over an offense featuring a true freshman quarterback and playmakers who understand how their assignments make teams better.
"NC State's a really good team," said BC head coach Jeff Hafley. "They're ranked 17th in the country. I have a ton of respect for [head coach Dave Doeren]. I've known him for a really long time…has a really good culture. Those guys play hard. He's recruited really well to his systems, and he's got a veteran team."
The team itself is built on a culture dating back to the earliest years of the 21st century. Football fans of a certain age remember how Philip Rivers rebuilt the then-San Diego Chargers into an NFL playoff contender, but few likely recall how he shattered the NC State record book by throwing for over 13,000 yards with 95 career touchdowns across 51 consecutive starts. He won four consecutive bowl games and threw for 3,000 yards or more in three of his four years in Raleigh with a 72 percent completion percentage in his senior year in 2003, when he also threw for 4,491 yards and 34 touchdowns. In his final game against Kansas in the Tangerine Bowl, he went 37-for-45 for 475 yards and five touchdowns as part of a 56-26 win.
He later became the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2004 and was part of the trade that sent Eli Manning to New York, but he laid the foundation for a standard that raised the bar on players like Daniel Evans and Harrison Beck before Russell Wilson arrived and started for former BC head coach Tom O'Brien in 2008.
Wilson spent three years in Raleigh and twice threw for 3,000 yards, and his sophomore season in 2009 included 31 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions before he threw 28 scores with 3,500 yards in his junior season. He would later transfer to Wisconsin, but after Seattle chose him as its third round pick in 2012, Tampa Bay picked his successor, Mike Glennon, one year later with almost the same identical pick.
Their traditions carried to Jacoby Brissett and Ryan Finley, and it continued through each after they were essentially picked around the same area of the NFL Draft. Brissett, the current starter in Cleveland, was the 91st overall pick by New England in 2016, while Finley went to Cincinnati three years later with the 104th overall selection, continuing the groundwork assumed by Leary at the start of last year before he won nine games with 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns to 5 picks.Â
"[Leary] went down, and I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country," Hafley said, "but they have a freshman who they really liked and went to after platooning [for a couple of games]. He looks like he'll be a really good player, and their [offensive line] is really good, really talented."
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The Podcast For Boston: "For The Podcast" Ep. 10 -- Dino Tomlin
Here's what to watch for when Boston College heads to Raleigh for a Saturday afternoon matinee against the nationally-ranked Wolfpack:
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Game Storylines (U2 Edition)
Sleight of hand and twist of fate,
On a bed of nails she makes me wait.
And I wait without you.
-With or without you
I have always loved U2, but this song always hit home with me for a number of reasons. The lyrics themselves are super meaningful and represent a tortured Bono talking through the tortured balance between his relationships at home and his life on the road, and the softer start to the song eventually builds into this crescendo backed by the Edge's guitar riff.Â
It makes With or Without You a great metaphor for a number of different situations, but this week really impacted me because BC is traveling to Raleigh this week as a seven-loss team intent on competing with one of the ACC's best teams. It would be too easy to write off the rest of football season as a distraction for the players or coaches focusing on their future, and the Eagles have never one to embrace the easier road.
"There are a lot of veteran teams in the Atlantic Division," said Jeff Hafley. "They still have their [extra-year] guys and graduate transfers, and they have really good coaches and schemes. I think [the division] is really good, and it's a very, very competitive conference. Look at Louisville and what they've been able to do since our game (the Cardinals have won four in a row since losing to BC). To me, it's the best it's been since I've been here."
The rest of this season isn't about simply getting through these last couple of games, and there is real value in competing as hard against NC State, Notre Dame and Syracuse as there is in playing Louisville or Clemson earlier in the year. These games are critical to the future prospects of veterans looking to compete for NFL roster spots, and the younger players need this time to develop within the scheme as it would appear for the next couple of years.
These are all foundational steps, and ending the season without a bowl game is disappointing, there is still plenty of football left to play,.
I want to run,
I want to hide.
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out and touch the flame
Where the streets have no name.
-Where The Streets Have No Name
Streets remains one of the band's most famous live songs, with Bono once telling an author that the song could salvage even its worst show by simply breaking into the opening riff, which itself is about as iconic as it gets. With that in mind, I've long believed that there are things that BC can do which can salvage some of the most trying moments of this season, as last week's performance by Emmett Morehead illustrated when he threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns against Duke.
NC State's defense is an entirely different beef, but a unit with multiple interceptions in six of its nine games offers a unique challenge for whichever quarterback gets the call on Saturday. The Wolfpack lead the league in interceptions and are atop the conference in third-down conversion, rushing defense, scoring defense and pass efficiency defense. It ranks third in the nation in picks and in the top-25 in total defense, and cornerback Aydan White is tied for fourth among Power Five players with four picks, most among ACC defensive backs.
"[Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson] has had that scheme and the players within that scheme for a long time," said Jeff Hafley. "There's a lot of creativity, and they're very aggressive. The nose guard [Corey Durden] is an outstanding player, and I think their safeties play with their hair on fire. Their linebackers are big, strong guys, and can cover. They give you a variety of looks, but on third down, they come after your heart, and I don't mean that schematically. They play really fast, and they know what they're doing."
Getting away from that rush on third down isn't easy, but each quarterback does something different that could help in BC's preparation. Jurkovec, if healthy, is a more mobile option who understands how to scramble, while Morehead illustrated last week how fast he can deliver a pass downfield. If NC State sends the house, it's up to whichever quarterback is playing to find the soft spot and deliver either the pass or run to pick up chunk yardage.
"They're direct and somewhat reckless, which I appreciate as a defensive coach," Hafley said, "so they have a combination of front guys that create pressure within blitz packages. But they sometimes drop three and just confuse you and force you to hold the ball and get pressure that way. I think it's a combination of good coaching and a veteran group that has played in the scheme for a long time."
You're on the road,
But you've got no destination.
You're in the mud,
In the maze of her imagination.
You love this town,
Even if that doesn't ring true.
You've been all over,
And it's been all over you.
It's a beautiful day.
-Beautiful Day
I debated on using Vertigo here, but the fact that Bono literally can't count at the start of the song ("uno, dos, tres, catorce" literally translates to "one, two, three, 14,"), and since I never understood why he did that, I went in another direction.
The lead single off All That You Can't Leave Behind, Beautiful Day reintroduced U2 to the pop culture scene after Pop incorporated electronic and a more edgy (no pun intended) sound a few years earlier. I never really liked Pop, so bring the group's sound back to its roots with an album built around a good old-fashioned rock sound was enhanced only when the group performed at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVI in the aftermath of 9/11.
Back to the point at hand, though. Given everything that happened this year, Saturday feels like a reboot for a young roster thrust into the war-weary practices that accompany the end of the season. Every team is beat up by this point of the year, but BC especially felt like the season zapped whatever depth and health existed during both the spring and summer training camps. That's been well-documented, of course, but this week, the Eagles enter a game with a repeat offensive line for the first time all season, and a continuation of last week's lineup should help with achieving some form of balance between the different phases of the game.
"Clearly we need to get better," Jeff Hafley said, "but I'm very optimistic about those young guys. I think they're really good players, and I think a lot of them have really bright futures. I think they're made of the right stuff, and I think they care a lot."
It's not difficult to understand why players clicked last week on offense, but the defense still played relatively well despite surrendering 38 points. Riley Leonard didn't offer a whole lot despite everyone expecting a dynamism on par with Sam Hartman or Drake Maye, and after adjusting to some injuries, BC's youth movement made the most of the opportunities presented.
"Coach Hafley really emphasizes effort and attitude," said sophomore linebacker Bryce Steele. "That's really all we can control right now, just going out [and] playing harder than whatever team you played against to let the outcome take care of itself."
As the year winds down, players like Steele are competing for playing time next year just as much as the older players are building film for a potential career at the next level. Without a bowl game, players like CJ Burton and Cole Batson can really challenge the older players like Jason Maitre and Josh DeBerry who need to show out on a weekly basis to find ways to showcase their skills for NFL scouts who are still watching at every turn, but that competition will only further breed the culture Hafley wants to install over these last three weeks.
"For some guys, these are the last few weeks of college football," Steele said, "and for me, I'm going to go out and give my all because this might be over for them. I want to send them with the best end to the season possible. I love my seniors. They've been helping me and play, so I'm going to do everything in my power to go out and make sure we get these next few [games]."
*****
Question Box
Phil or Emmett?
Phil Jurkovec will start if he's healthy enough to play. He's once again listed atop BC's depth chart, and if his knee allows him to get out on the field, the graduate student will lead the offense against NC State.
If not, then it's a second start for Emmett Morehead. To steal a word from an older era, it's still Jurkovec as of press time, but it's subject to change.
Does the offensive line take a step forward now that it's a repeat line?
The gift of having an offensive line for a second straight week is almost manna from heaven, and after suffering more injuries in the game against UConn, it looks like BC is going to step on the field against NC State with either Jurkovec or Morehead playing behind a line that finally, FINALLY gains some continuity.
Consider the number of graduate students and older players on the offensive line for both Connecticut and Duke, and then look at NC State's line, which features three players listed as a "redshirt graduate student" with a fourth listed as the "or" for the left tackle position. Now consider that the Eagles are going to start the same line this week for the first time all season.
That's still insane to me, but at least BC will have all of that experience coming back next year while everyone else is hypothetically rebuilding their front structure.
Can BC make believers out of the doubters?
I long argued that the chasm between bowl teams and those that are ineligible can only widen because of the dozen-plus extra practices that the postseason game affords its participants, so these last three weeks are an interesting case study for a hypothesis stretching a few years back in time.
My assumptions presume BC has a longer road to the top of the ACC because it missed a bowl game this year, but I'm further arguing that these last weeks are a unique opportunity to test and develop young talent while simultaneously using the veterans to lay the groundwork for future success. I'm not blind to how those points contradict one another, but I feel like the youth movement at BC can only move its way up the charts with the valuable experience it gained this year. The extra practices would be phenomenal, but I'm also saying that the Eagles can use the last three weeks like those bowl season sessions while simultaneously game-planning for the next opponent.
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Meteorology 101
Things I learned this week: there is a subtropical storm that could intensify back into a hurricane, and its remnants are apparently moving up the east coast through the Carolinas and into New England over the weekend.Â
Actually, let me pare that back.Â
Things I learned this week: there is a subtropical storm that exists. I legitimately didn't know that Nicole was churning away in the Atlantic Ocean, but it looks like some funky weather is headed into New England on Friday night and Saturday after it blasts through the Carolinas.Â
I don't think the storm will impact Saturday's game in Raleigh because the weather system should pass through North Carolina on Friday, but I'm guessing some residual wind will hang around for a 3:30 p.m. start. Weather is always the great equalizer, but it's more likely we're getting soaked in Boston while the Eagles are playing the Wolfpack down at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Early weather reports didn't show whether the storm was moving west or east, but it does appear that seasonable temperatures are hanging around for another week of 70s before dipping down into the 50s at night.
Unless you live in Boston, where we woke up on Wednesday with temperatures under 30 for the first time all year.
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BC-NC State X Factor
MJ Morris and the NC State Offense
True freshman MJ Morris made his first start for NC State last week when he started against Wake Forest, and his emergence minimized the damage and prognostications of doom caused by Devin Leary's season-ending injury. After losing to Syracuse and struggling with Virginia Tech, the win over the Demon Deacons thrust the Wolfpack back into the race for second place in the Atlantic Division after the Orange faltered and lost quarterback Garrett Schrader to injury.
Having that performance in its back pocket is immeasurable for an offense that's still a bit of a work in progress, and after two weeks of transition after losing Leary. There are six different players with over 100 yards on the season, including Morris, who has a net-66 because quarterbacks incur minus-yards whenever they're sacked, and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye is the only player other than Leary with rushing touchdowns. He had one carry last week after not seeing action against Syracuse or Virginia Tech, leaving Jordan Houston as the team's only leading rusher.
The backfield is really the only place where NC State is stuck in various forms of youthful development, and the absence of Sumo-Karngbaye after his injury against Florida State left the Wolfpack with Houston as their only true running back. Morris was the second-leading rusher last week and Michael Allen gained 36 yards on five carries in his second action of the season, but there's a feeling that if someone can cover Thayer Thomas, who went for eight catches and 79 yards last week after grabbing 10 balls for 118 yards and two touchdowns against Virginia Tech, his second 100-yard game of the year, then the heralded NC State offense might get its wheels caught.
The strength of the Wolfpack's defense doesn't mean BC could run away with this one, but there's a direct path to an upset if the Eagles' offense takes another step forward.
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Around College Football
The College Football Playoff rankings underwent an overhaul after just one week thanks to Georgia's win over Tennessee, and this week opened with the Bulldogs ascending to the No. 1 spot while the Volunteers slipped to fifth with an outside opportunity at sneaking back into the top four. Ohio State and MIchigan, meanwhile, hold the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, which means the last game of the season potentially becomes a play-in game for the tournament, and TCU very quietly moved into the fourth spot as the undefeated leader in the Big 12.
This type of chaos is typical for the first couple of weeks in the CFP poll, and the number of hungry, good teams waiting for an opening places an emphasis on the criticality of every game. No. 7 LSU, for example, is at Arkansas this week, and No. 8 Southern California needs to play perfect football to get some love to the Pac-12.Â
No. 9 Alabama is at No. 11 Ole Miss this week, and Clemson, Penn State, NC State and Tulane are all fighting for their own positioning either in the tournament or in the New Year's Six games. The Green Wave, naturally, are in the most precarious position since the Group of Five sends its highest-ranked team to the NY6 games, and No. 22 Central Florida is in New Orleans this week for a 3:30 p.m. start.
Those more in tune with the playoff race will really want to watch Saturday night's games when No. 6 Oregon hosts 25th-ranked Washington and fourth-ranked TCU is at No. 18 Texas in the 7 p.m. hour. Later on, No. 12 UCLA and No. 13 Utah host Arizona and Stanford.
From an ACC standpoint, 8-1, undefeated-in-the-ACC North Carolina puts its No. 15 rankings on the line in a rivalry game at Wake Forest at 7:30 p.m.,and No. 23 Florida State is at Syracuse to play an Orange team suddenly scuffling for wins. Duke is home against Virginia Tech with a chance to catch UNC with some help, and Clemson hosts Louisville.Â
Recent years have wrought chaos on the ACC's standings, especially down the stretch, but it increasingly appears that Clemson and UNC, with wins, can end the divisional era of the league with a bit of a quiet race. Both are undefeated with two-game leads entering this weekend.
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Dan's Non-Sports Observation of the Week
My older daughter is officially at the age where she finds her way into things without actually understanding ramifications or consequences, but even I was surprised at her ability to wreak havoc on the house while I was recording a podcast appearance last week. I was in the garage, which is apparently where I exile myself for most media work these days, and while I was out there, she found her way into our spice cabinet while my wife tended to our newborn.
My wife usually has infinite patience, but the look in her eyes told me a very different story when I opened the garage door to the house and found a dead stare at the floor where the older child apparently dumped an entire bottle of garlic powder. I had really enjoyed recording that podcast, but my happiness quickly faded when I realized how she further grabbed some of the spice and dragged it throughout the floor with her hands and feet.
I tried to make a joke that it at least wasn't maple syrup in the heating vents, but the lack of laughter instead forced me to realize the vacuum was already against the wall. In the time period I was outside, this whole event unfolded from start to finish, and I missed virtually the entire thing. On the list of things I could've done to help in that situation, "missing cleanup of a mess that happened because I was outside in the garage recording a media podcast" probably ranked above "dumping the garlic powder on the floor myself," but that's about it.
We had family photos two days later, and we got this really cute picture of our daughters sitting together (well…sort of, since a one-month-old doesn't exactly sit). We also got a picture where all of us were smiling. Neither of them involved garlic powder.
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Pregame Quote and Prediction
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan. -Tom Landry
I would love to be sitting here writing about how Saturday's game is going to impact the bowl race, but it'd be a pretty direct statement about how a Boston College win would effectively ruin NC State's bid for a New Year's Six bowl game. I'd also love to be sitting here talking about how all of the young guys on the depth chart are going to play because Saturday likely won't impact a redshirt status or the Eagles' own bowl aspirations, but then I'd be doing a disservice to the upper class players who are still competing every day.
Instead, I'll say this: every game is precious, and I still believe that every game is critical to a player's career. There are too few opportunities to wear the uniform and pads, and I believe football players are well aware that everyone operates on an exploding timeline. Everyone, in that respect, needs to set a goal.
Merely setting that goal, though, doesn't make it happen, and with the finite number of days remaining in the season, the players and coaches have to relish the opportunity to play together as a team. Maybe this year hasn't gone the way anyone planned it, but that doesn't mean now is the time to abandon the build for this season. With that growth, maybe BC can surprise a few folks here and there, and it starts on Saturday with the Wolfpack.
Boston College and No. 17 NC State kick off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. from Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina. The game can be seen on national television via the ACC Network with streaming available through ESPN's online website and mobile device apps. Radio broadcast is also available through the BC Learfield IMG Sports Network, which is on local radio in Boston via WEEI 93.7 FM with satellite options available via Sirius XM channel 380 and App channel 970.
Players Mentioned
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