Boston College Athletics
October 30, 2026 | Football, #ForBoston Files
BC heads to Durham with sights on its third straight win.
For more than a century, the Rose Bowl has stood as one of college football's most enduring New Year's Day traditions. Its picturesque backdrop in Pasadena, California offers a welcome contrast to the previous night's frigid celebrations in New York City's Times Square. As the new year arrives, the blaring horns and midnight ball drop give way to a different kind of spectacle centered around flower-covered parade floats and marching bands filling Colorado Boulevard with music and pageantry.
The Rose Bowl Game is at the heart of the celebration and offers a postseason showcase that ties generations of the nation's premier college football programs from the East and West. It existed long before the arrival of the Bowl Championship Series or the College Football Playoff, but it occupied one of the sport's most prestigious stages by helping define college football's postseason landscape as the "Granddaddy Of Them All."
The tradition's remarkable longevity is an entrenched piece of American folklore, and its stadium has been the house occupied by legends since 1922 - with two notable exceptions. In 2021, a surge in COVID-19 cases in California forced organizers to relocate the game to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas after state authorities denied mass gatherings. In 1942, the only other departure occurred when the attack on Pearl Harbor and America's entry into World War II prompted officials to move the game to Duke Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
The circumstances made the time all the more frenetic. Military and civilian authorities were forced to reconsider the safety of large public gatherings along the West Coast after the United States was attacked in Hawaii, and the possibility of another attack made staging a sporting event increasingly difficult to justify. Oregon State and Duke were invited to the game, but the proximity of the Pacific Northwest essentially fueled further fears that ultimately led officials to cancel the game's original plans.
All the while, the nation mobilized for war in Europe and the Pacific, and the shock to the social climate demanded citizens cling to their traditions connected to life before the conflict. Relocating the game to the East Coast then emerged as a viable alternative, and Duke offered a suitable venue as one of the game's participants. Its 12-year old stadium held approximately 35,000 spectators but could expand to the 55,000-capacity offered by the Rose Bowl, and head coach Wallace Wade had built the Blue Devils into a national powerhouse. Their undefeated season as Southern Conference champion earned the invitation to face the Beavers, so the relocation to Tobacco Road was made especially poignant for a program that had established itself among the elite.
There would be no Rose Parade, and the Carolina winter offered little resemblance to Southern California's familiar sunshine. The game nevertheless went on, and Oregon State's 20-16 upset victory denied Duke in its quest for the national championship. One year later, players were in military service, rosters were reshaped, and programs across the country felt the human cost of war. The Battle of Midway in June, 1942 made it viable for the game to return to Pasadena, the next eight decades were spent at its traditional California home.
For one remarkable year, however, Durham occupied the center of the college football world. The 1942 Rose Bowl remains a testament to the resilience of American traditions during wartime and demonstrates that even amid fear, sacrifice and uncertainty, the nation could find ways to preserve its rituals. Its legacy endures because of the game that was played and what its relocation represented: a determination to keep a tradition alive when the country needed continuity more than ever.
On with the preview of BC's trip to Duke:
*****
Weekly Storylines (Reservoir Dogs Edition)
Mr. Pink: All right, but normally I would never do this.
Joe Cabot: Never mind what you normally would do.
I never loved Quentin Tarantino's filmography, but Reservoir Dogs is one of those movies that hooked me during its first scene. The whole movie is wonderfully crafted through his trademark storytelling and is, in my opinion, better than Pulp Fiction at establishing a cast with perfectly-acted roles. Even the argument at the start of the movie is convincing because Steve Buscemi is committed to making his character entirely believable.
Tipping and breakfast diners aside, it's worth understanding that Boston College enters Saturday with the ability to craft different game plans for different opponents - a required attribute given Duke's premier defensive front. In particular, the top-25 rushing defense is surrendering approximately 110 yards per game after a rebound performance from its two-game slide, and its dominance over Virginia in last week's win included a 71-yard day over 19 carries. Nothing beyond Will Bettridge's 30-yard field goal crossed the scoreboard after halftime, and few of the drives surrendered by Duke's defense lasted longer than a handful of plays.
All of that said, BC's run-first mentality is significantly different from any of Duke's previous opponents, and the improvement along the offensive line in last week's win over Georgia Tech adds degrees that the Blue Devils haven't faced. The per-rush average within Virginia's backfield is nowhere near the growing chemistry between Mason McKenzie and his running back stable. Last week's emergence by Bo MacCormack III added a new layer, and the line's mauling of Georgia Tech's front four is going to add cautious optimism ahead of the four-man front that'll be attacking on Saturday.
"Mason [McKenzie] has gotten better and better," said head coach Bill O'Brien. "The offensive line has gelled and gotten better and better. Not to burst anybody's bubble, but Duke is one of the best defenses in the country. They only give up 16 points per game and only give up 100 yards rushing per game. They only give up 300 yards per game, so it's a whole different challenge. The rhythm is the key. That's the chess match."
Getting into a rhythm offensively will force Duke into the same rushed sense of desperation as Georgia Tech. While the Blue Devils are one of the best teams in terms of protecting the football, quarterback Walker Eget's worst ACC performances occurred when Georgia Tech and North Carolina forced him to throw the ball closer to 40 times per game. He hadn't thrown 30 passes in a single game before going 26-for-41 against the Yellow Jackets, and he chased a 259-yard performance with a 249-yard showing with an interception against North Carolina.
Eget went 14-for-25 for 211 yards and no touchdowns against Virginia, so getting pressure on his traditional presence in the backfield creates more chances at hawking towards shorter passes. He's also not a quarterback who typically throws downfield routes, so forcing him into higher risk situations against a defense that's been successful at intercepting passes - Charlie Comella, especially - is a key component of BC's back end road to success.
"Their offensive line is really good," said O'Brien. "They're really well coached. They play together, and the quarterback does a really good job of getting it out on time. He's very smart. He's a veteran player, and a lot of credit to them. I think [Duke head coach Manny Diaz] is a great coach. It's a great credit to their offensive coaching staff and Manny that they were able to get this guy ready to go, and he's played really well."
Mr. Pink: I can say I definitely didn't do it because I know what I did or didn't do. But I cannot definitely say that about anybody else because I don't definitely know.
Duke's third down defense is among one of the country's best units, and the success from the Virginia game is compounded by the Blue Devils' ability to get off of the home field in time to force stoppages and control field position. Compared to last year's 45 percent opposing success rate, Duke is ahead in nearly every facet of its situational game.Â
Within the numbers, though, the Eagles exploded their third down conversion rate to 55 percent in the combined wins over Pitt and Georgia Tech, and last week's win avoided third down conversions by extending drives before hitting situational play calls. Even with a heavier packaged offense, BC is more likely to extend drives when facing short yardage, a fairly obvious observation against the law of probabilities.
Duke is going to counter with a multiple-receiver formation that's built around Nate Sheppard's ability to create plays, and the contrast of spreading out red zone defenses means that players like Demetrius Ballard and Anthony Palano are needed for stuffing the middle when safeties and defensive backs are on the perimeter.
"Coach Roof, Ben Albert, [all of the coaches] have done a great job of coaching," explained O'Brien. "He's [Demetrius Ballard's] played well. He's been a little banged up. He had a bad case of the flu before the SMU game, so give him credit. I don't even know if he knows how good he can can be. He's a very talented guy. He can play in a lot of different positions. He can play on the edge. He can play inside. He's very humble and very quiet. He works very hard."
*****
Question Box
Does Duke deploy heavier sets if the game slows down?
Sheppard is nearing 1,000 yards with nine touchdowns and a per-rush average that's just under six yards per carry. Two other running backs - CJ Campbell, Jr. and Jayvian Tanelus - average five yards or more per carry, and Campbell's nine carries for 61 yards against North Carolina included a 33-yard dash that tipped his averages ahead of Sheppard. Given that Eget will not run the football, keying on the back at the right time will require the defensive front to hold their blocks for linebackers to stuff the gaps.
Is there a receiver to watch?
Sheppard's dual threat out of the backfield is reminiscent of Jaylen Warren's 60-reception season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his 30 catches leads all receivers by nearly 10 grabs, so stopping him is the primary threat on any play that options out of the backfield. From there, wide receiver Jonah Burton represents the downfield threat while tight end Jeremiah Hasley is more of an underneath or slot-based receiver. Even in a spread format, most of Duke's offense starts in the backfield, so the linebackers or a safety will have to double down on whichever direction is forced by the back.
Anyone willing to hit the bull and win a steak?
Boston College baseball hasn't appeared in a road series against Duke since it won two of its three games in a 2021 series at Durham Balls Athletic Park. A 5-2 rubber match in the third game notably featured a game-extending and insurance-sealing two-run homer from Sal Frelick in the seventh inning, and Emmet Sheehan threw six innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts for a Birdball club that won its first series over a ranked opponent in three years.
Frelick won the World Series on Wednesday when the Milwaukee Brewers completed a gentlemen's sweep with a 3-to-1 series victory over Tampa Bay after previously defeating Sheehan's Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Needless to say, it was a great day for BC baseball, even if those two Eagles didn't play Duke at the on-campus Jack Coombs Field.
*****
Meteorology 101
Durham's forecast Thursday and Friday included bright sunshine and daytime temperatures reaching towards the 80s. The beginning of next week featured sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. Saturday: cloudy and 60.
At least it's not going to rain, but I feel like anyone heading down to Tobacco Road is getting pranked by the weather gods. There's all of this beautiful weather surrounding the North Carolina fall, and the one cloudy day happens to land when football is kicking off.
Again, at least it's not going to rain.
*****
X Factor of the Week
I led the league in 'go get 'em next time.' -Bob Uecker
Winning high-stakes conference games against disciplined opponents like PIttsburgh and Georgia Tech fundamentally altered Boston College's identity. A team that previously hoped not to lose its games found a way to actively take control by physically pounding both the Panthers and the Yellow Jackets into the ground with a punishing ground game and an aggressive and attacking defense before withstanding pressure against a fast-paced offense playing with an air of desperation and anxiety.
Replicating that success against Duke requires an early start on Saturday before the coverage rotations and heavy run formations can continue to ground the Blue Devils into similar nubs, after which the play action off-shoots and quarterback run options can operate against simulated pressures and defensive discipline. Eliminating early penalties is a big component within that realm, but schematic dominance is a bit more critical to establishing a game flow that won't benefit the pro style multiple attack from the Duke offense.
"I think that this is a very connected team," said O'Brien. "I think the leadership is excellent. We have five really good captains, but then we have several guys that aren't captains but are really good leaders. There are a bunch of guys who understand what BC is all about. They play hard, and it's getting tougher now. Duke is an excellent team, and I'm happy that these guys have had some success, but the trick is now if we can keep it going. We've had a good week of practice, so hopefully we can keep [our success] going."
BC followed a simple formula in its previous two wins by overcoming an early deficit. The so-called "middle eight" minutes of the second quarter then turned momentum onto the Eagles before they closed out an opponent with a rugged and tough eight-minute stretch of the third quarter. This transformed the fourth quarter into attritional games that keyed around the offensive line and the push for four-to-five yards per play.
Blending that aggression with late-game execution honed the Pitt and Georgia Tech games into wins, so finding the same precise formula against Duke is now something that the Eagles understand how to do while establishing a game plan for an individual opponent.
*****
Around College Football
The weekly chaos of college football produced major results against Brigham Young, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Iowa and Southern California, but a relative stability emerged with the wins by No. 1 Miami, No. 6 Indiana, No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Utah. Ole Miss lost to Texas in a game that reestablished the Longhorns after two consecutive setbacks, and Kentucky and Alabama avoided crushing losses while LSU's 38-17 win over Auburn included a 21-point second quarter.
Heading into Halloween and the eventual debut of the College Football Playoff rankings therefore has this week seemingly on edge with a few games that will determine the futures of teams bidding for the 12-team bracket. The annual Florida-Georgia game, for example, features the two-loss Gators and one-loss Bulldogs in a mid-afternoon tilt in Atlanta while No. 6 Utah is forced to travel east for a Big 12 game against Cincinnati, which just upended Texas Tech. No. 8 BYU, meanwhile, is still holding firm atop the Big 12, but a home game against Arizona State features a team that's been very good against some teams while suffering three blowouts against Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas Tech.
In the ACC, No. 1 Miami heads to North Carolina to play a Tar Heel team with bowl aspirations while the two most prevalent teams behind the Hurricanes face their own stiff tests in No. 14 Wake Forest's game against Virginia and No. 16 SMU's trip to Syracuse. Even at 1-4 in the league, there's something about a trip to Western New York that smells like a dark horse upset alert. Both BC and Duke are one game behind those one-loss teams in the ACC race, as is Louisville - which plays Stanford - and Clemson, which is heading to Tallahassee for a make-or-break matchup with a Florida State squad that's 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the league.Â
In the Big 12, No. 22 Arizona heads to one-loss Texas Tech after the Red Raiders tumbled to No. 13 nationally, and No. 24 Oklahoma State heads to Iowa State with its one-loss conference record.Â
In the Big Ten, a suddenly-surging Wisconsin team entered the top-25 after beating the Trojans and head to Iowa with a chance to jump in front of either Minnesota or Indiana after they meet in a head-to-head matchup in Bloomington. No. 20 Northwestern is the fourth one-loss team behind UCLA and Ohio State, and they're heading to Oregon in a virtual elimination game for the conference race. The No. 2 Buckeyes, meanwhile, end the night at USC.
Other notable games around the FBS include No. 5 Notre Dame's game against Navy that's being held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough while Sun Belt-leading Louisiana Tech heads to South Alabama for a game capable of determining the West Division championship. Neither have the inside track of the Group of Six bid to the CFP, but a slip by No. 20 Boise State would open the door for a replacement - likely Liberty, which is undefeated in Conference USA after losing to James Madison, which has since lost two games. New Mexico is another option there, and the Lobos play at San Diego State on Saturday afternoon.
On the local radar, still-unbeaten Harvard is at Dartmouth on Friday night on ESPNU while Stonehill hosts Mercyhurst in a Saturday game that's sneaky important to the Skyhawks' still-beating NEC championship hopes, and Bryant's trip to Monmouth could upend the CAA if the Bulldogs grab a victory.
And in the lower divisions, the Conference of New England-leading Endicott Gulls head to Maine Maritime while Amherst is at Tufts in a key NESCAC conference game. Springfield College is at the Coast Guard in Connecticut for a game that's critical to the Pride continuing to set the pace in the NEWMAC.
*****
Dan's Non-Sports Observation of the Week
My wife's knack for telling me stories when I'm in the middle of doing something else reached a boiling point on Thursday when she flew through the front door of our house after dropping the kids off for school. I was in the middle of writing this piece and completely lost my train of thought because she began telling me a story about how one of our daughters basically sat in a glitter chair for an art project. I naturally turned around and asked for a couple of minutes to finish whatever I was doing, at which point I turned around and blanked on whatever I'd started outlining.
She later accused me of not listening (I wasn't), and I retorted that she needed to have better situational awareness when my head was buried in the computer (it was). Naturally, all of this quickly became my fault.
Maybe this is breaking the fourth wall, but I told her that I was making it the point of this section for no other reason other than the ridiculousness of curing writer's block with a story about glitter. I'm sure the other story that I started centered on Halloween, but I don't actually like Halloween, so it worked out.
Bottom line - I had a pretty nondescript week, and my wife and I arguing over bothering one another is now the mundane story that you never asked to read.Â
*****
Pregame Quote and Final Thought
I never could stand losing. Second place didn't interest me. I had a fire in my belly.
-Ty Cobb
Cobb's reputation as one of baseball's biggest antiheroes - nobody liked him, not even his own teammates - often overshadows his legacy as one of the fiercest competitors in the history of the American sports landscape. He hated losing more than he enjoyed winning, and he'd do anything to ensure his team didn't lose.
Saturday is unquestionably headed for a tight and corked battle. Fire in the belly…that's a good thing to have to get ready for noon.
Boston College and Duke kick off on Saturday at 12 p.m., from Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Television coverage is available on the CW Network with Thom Brennaman and Jason Cabinda on the booth call and Wes Bryant on the sidelines.
The Rose Bowl Game is at the heart of the celebration and offers a postseason showcase that ties generations of the nation's premier college football programs from the East and West. It existed long before the arrival of the Bowl Championship Series or the College Football Playoff, but it occupied one of the sport's most prestigious stages by helping define college football's postseason landscape as the "Granddaddy Of Them All."
The tradition's remarkable longevity is an entrenched piece of American folklore, and its stadium has been the house occupied by legends since 1922 - with two notable exceptions. In 2021, a surge in COVID-19 cases in California forced organizers to relocate the game to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas after state authorities denied mass gatherings. In 1942, the only other departure occurred when the attack on Pearl Harbor and America's entry into World War II prompted officials to move the game to Duke Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
The circumstances made the time all the more frenetic. Military and civilian authorities were forced to reconsider the safety of large public gatherings along the West Coast after the United States was attacked in Hawaii, and the possibility of another attack made staging a sporting event increasingly difficult to justify. Oregon State and Duke were invited to the game, but the proximity of the Pacific Northwest essentially fueled further fears that ultimately led officials to cancel the game's original plans.
All the while, the nation mobilized for war in Europe and the Pacific, and the shock to the social climate demanded citizens cling to their traditions connected to life before the conflict. Relocating the game to the East Coast then emerged as a viable alternative, and Duke offered a suitable venue as one of the game's participants. Its 12-year old stadium held approximately 35,000 spectators but could expand to the 55,000-capacity offered by the Rose Bowl, and head coach Wallace Wade had built the Blue Devils into a national powerhouse. Their undefeated season as Southern Conference champion earned the invitation to face the Beavers, so the relocation to Tobacco Road was made especially poignant for a program that had established itself among the elite.
There would be no Rose Parade, and the Carolina winter offered little resemblance to Southern California's familiar sunshine. The game nevertheless went on, and Oregon State's 20-16 upset victory denied Duke in its quest for the national championship. One year later, players were in military service, rosters were reshaped, and programs across the country felt the human cost of war. The Battle of Midway in June, 1942 made it viable for the game to return to Pasadena, the next eight decades were spent at its traditional California home.
For one remarkable year, however, Durham occupied the center of the college football world. The 1942 Rose Bowl remains a testament to the resilience of American traditions during wartime and demonstrates that even amid fear, sacrifice and uncertainty, the nation could find ways to preserve its rituals. Its legacy endures because of the game that was played and what its relocation represented: a determination to keep a tradition alive when the country needed continuity more than ever.
On with the preview of BC's trip to Duke:
*****
Weekly Storylines (Reservoir Dogs Edition)
Mr. Pink: All right, but normally I would never do this.
Joe Cabot: Never mind what you normally would do.
I never loved Quentin Tarantino's filmography, but Reservoir Dogs is one of those movies that hooked me during its first scene. The whole movie is wonderfully crafted through his trademark storytelling and is, in my opinion, better than Pulp Fiction at establishing a cast with perfectly-acted roles. Even the argument at the start of the movie is convincing because Steve Buscemi is committed to making his character entirely believable.
Tipping and breakfast diners aside, it's worth understanding that Boston College enters Saturday with the ability to craft different game plans for different opponents - a required attribute given Duke's premier defensive front. In particular, the top-25 rushing defense is surrendering approximately 110 yards per game after a rebound performance from its two-game slide, and its dominance over Virginia in last week's win included a 71-yard day over 19 carries. Nothing beyond Will Bettridge's 30-yard field goal crossed the scoreboard after halftime, and few of the drives surrendered by Duke's defense lasted longer than a handful of plays.
All of that said, BC's run-first mentality is significantly different from any of Duke's previous opponents, and the improvement along the offensive line in last week's win over Georgia Tech adds degrees that the Blue Devils haven't faced. The per-rush average within Virginia's backfield is nowhere near the growing chemistry between Mason McKenzie and his running back stable. Last week's emergence by Bo MacCormack III added a new layer, and the line's mauling of Georgia Tech's front four is going to add cautious optimism ahead of the four-man front that'll be attacking on Saturday.
"Mason [McKenzie] has gotten better and better," said head coach Bill O'Brien. "The offensive line has gelled and gotten better and better. Not to burst anybody's bubble, but Duke is one of the best defenses in the country. They only give up 16 points per game and only give up 100 yards rushing per game. They only give up 300 yards per game, so it's a whole different challenge. The rhythm is the key. That's the chess match."
Getting into a rhythm offensively will force Duke into the same rushed sense of desperation as Georgia Tech. While the Blue Devils are one of the best teams in terms of protecting the football, quarterback Walker Eget's worst ACC performances occurred when Georgia Tech and North Carolina forced him to throw the ball closer to 40 times per game. He hadn't thrown 30 passes in a single game before going 26-for-41 against the Yellow Jackets, and he chased a 259-yard performance with a 249-yard showing with an interception against North Carolina.
Eget went 14-for-25 for 211 yards and no touchdowns against Virginia, so getting pressure on his traditional presence in the backfield creates more chances at hawking towards shorter passes. He's also not a quarterback who typically throws downfield routes, so forcing him into higher risk situations against a defense that's been successful at intercepting passes - Charlie Comella, especially - is a key component of BC's back end road to success.
"Their offensive line is really good," said O'Brien. "They're really well coached. They play together, and the quarterback does a really good job of getting it out on time. He's very smart. He's a veteran player, and a lot of credit to them. I think [Duke head coach Manny Diaz] is a great coach. It's a great credit to their offensive coaching staff and Manny that they were able to get this guy ready to go, and he's played really well."
Mr. Pink: I can say I definitely didn't do it because I know what I did or didn't do. But I cannot definitely say that about anybody else because I don't definitely know.
Duke's third down defense is among one of the country's best units, and the success from the Virginia game is compounded by the Blue Devils' ability to get off of the home field in time to force stoppages and control field position. Compared to last year's 45 percent opposing success rate, Duke is ahead in nearly every facet of its situational game.Â
Within the numbers, though, the Eagles exploded their third down conversion rate to 55 percent in the combined wins over Pitt and Georgia Tech, and last week's win avoided third down conversions by extending drives before hitting situational play calls. Even with a heavier packaged offense, BC is more likely to extend drives when facing short yardage, a fairly obvious observation against the law of probabilities.
Duke is going to counter with a multiple-receiver formation that's built around Nate Sheppard's ability to create plays, and the contrast of spreading out red zone defenses means that players like Demetrius Ballard and Anthony Palano are needed for stuffing the middle when safeties and defensive backs are on the perimeter.
"Coach Roof, Ben Albert, [all of the coaches] have done a great job of coaching," explained O'Brien. "He's [Demetrius Ballard's] played well. He's been a little banged up. He had a bad case of the flu before the SMU game, so give him credit. I don't even know if he knows how good he can can be. He's a very talented guy. He can play in a lot of different positions. He can play on the edge. He can play inside. He's very humble and very quiet. He works very hard."
*****
Question Box
Does Duke deploy heavier sets if the game slows down?
Sheppard is nearing 1,000 yards with nine touchdowns and a per-rush average that's just under six yards per carry. Two other running backs - CJ Campbell, Jr. and Jayvian Tanelus - average five yards or more per carry, and Campbell's nine carries for 61 yards against North Carolina included a 33-yard dash that tipped his averages ahead of Sheppard. Given that Eget will not run the football, keying on the back at the right time will require the defensive front to hold their blocks for linebackers to stuff the gaps.
Is there a receiver to watch?
Sheppard's dual threat out of the backfield is reminiscent of Jaylen Warren's 60-reception season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his 30 catches leads all receivers by nearly 10 grabs, so stopping him is the primary threat on any play that options out of the backfield. From there, wide receiver Jonah Burton represents the downfield threat while tight end Jeremiah Hasley is more of an underneath or slot-based receiver. Even in a spread format, most of Duke's offense starts in the backfield, so the linebackers or a safety will have to double down on whichever direction is forced by the back.
Anyone willing to hit the bull and win a steak?
Boston College baseball hasn't appeared in a road series against Duke since it won two of its three games in a 2021 series at Durham Balls Athletic Park. A 5-2 rubber match in the third game notably featured a game-extending and insurance-sealing two-run homer from Sal Frelick in the seventh inning, and Emmet Sheehan threw six innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts for a Birdball club that won its first series over a ranked opponent in three years.
Frelick won the World Series on Wednesday when the Milwaukee Brewers completed a gentlemen's sweep with a 3-to-1 series victory over Tampa Bay after previously defeating Sheehan's Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Needless to say, it was a great day for BC baseball, even if those two Eagles didn't play Duke at the on-campus Jack Coombs Field.
*****
Meteorology 101
Durham's forecast Thursday and Friday included bright sunshine and daytime temperatures reaching towards the 80s. The beginning of next week featured sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. Saturday: cloudy and 60.
At least it's not going to rain, but I feel like anyone heading down to Tobacco Road is getting pranked by the weather gods. There's all of this beautiful weather surrounding the North Carolina fall, and the one cloudy day happens to land when football is kicking off.
Again, at least it's not going to rain.
*****
X Factor of the Week
I led the league in 'go get 'em next time.' -Bob Uecker
Winning high-stakes conference games against disciplined opponents like PIttsburgh and Georgia Tech fundamentally altered Boston College's identity. A team that previously hoped not to lose its games found a way to actively take control by physically pounding both the Panthers and the Yellow Jackets into the ground with a punishing ground game and an aggressive and attacking defense before withstanding pressure against a fast-paced offense playing with an air of desperation and anxiety.
Replicating that success against Duke requires an early start on Saturday before the coverage rotations and heavy run formations can continue to ground the Blue Devils into similar nubs, after which the play action off-shoots and quarterback run options can operate against simulated pressures and defensive discipline. Eliminating early penalties is a big component within that realm, but schematic dominance is a bit more critical to establishing a game flow that won't benefit the pro style multiple attack from the Duke offense.
"I think that this is a very connected team," said O'Brien. "I think the leadership is excellent. We have five really good captains, but then we have several guys that aren't captains but are really good leaders. There are a bunch of guys who understand what BC is all about. They play hard, and it's getting tougher now. Duke is an excellent team, and I'm happy that these guys have had some success, but the trick is now if we can keep it going. We've had a good week of practice, so hopefully we can keep [our success] going."
BC followed a simple formula in its previous two wins by overcoming an early deficit. The so-called "middle eight" minutes of the second quarter then turned momentum onto the Eagles before they closed out an opponent with a rugged and tough eight-minute stretch of the third quarter. This transformed the fourth quarter into attritional games that keyed around the offensive line and the push for four-to-five yards per play.
Blending that aggression with late-game execution honed the Pitt and Georgia Tech games into wins, so finding the same precise formula against Duke is now something that the Eagles understand how to do while establishing a game plan for an individual opponent.
*****
Around College Football
The weekly chaos of college football produced major results against Brigham Young, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Iowa and Southern California, but a relative stability emerged with the wins by No. 1 Miami, No. 6 Indiana, No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Utah. Ole Miss lost to Texas in a game that reestablished the Longhorns after two consecutive setbacks, and Kentucky and Alabama avoided crushing losses while LSU's 38-17 win over Auburn included a 21-point second quarter.
Heading into Halloween and the eventual debut of the College Football Playoff rankings therefore has this week seemingly on edge with a few games that will determine the futures of teams bidding for the 12-team bracket. The annual Florida-Georgia game, for example, features the two-loss Gators and one-loss Bulldogs in a mid-afternoon tilt in Atlanta while No. 6 Utah is forced to travel east for a Big 12 game against Cincinnati, which just upended Texas Tech. No. 8 BYU, meanwhile, is still holding firm atop the Big 12, but a home game against Arizona State features a team that's been very good against some teams while suffering three blowouts against Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas Tech.
In the ACC, No. 1 Miami heads to North Carolina to play a Tar Heel team with bowl aspirations while the two most prevalent teams behind the Hurricanes face their own stiff tests in No. 14 Wake Forest's game against Virginia and No. 16 SMU's trip to Syracuse. Even at 1-4 in the league, there's something about a trip to Western New York that smells like a dark horse upset alert. Both BC and Duke are one game behind those one-loss teams in the ACC race, as is Louisville - which plays Stanford - and Clemson, which is heading to Tallahassee for a make-or-break matchup with a Florida State squad that's 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the league.Â
In the Big 12, No. 22 Arizona heads to one-loss Texas Tech after the Red Raiders tumbled to No. 13 nationally, and No. 24 Oklahoma State heads to Iowa State with its one-loss conference record.Â
In the Big Ten, a suddenly-surging Wisconsin team entered the top-25 after beating the Trojans and head to Iowa with a chance to jump in front of either Minnesota or Indiana after they meet in a head-to-head matchup in Bloomington. No. 20 Northwestern is the fourth one-loss team behind UCLA and Ohio State, and they're heading to Oregon in a virtual elimination game for the conference race. The No. 2 Buckeyes, meanwhile, end the night at USC.
Other notable games around the FBS include No. 5 Notre Dame's game against Navy that's being held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough while Sun Belt-leading Louisiana Tech heads to South Alabama for a game capable of determining the West Division championship. Neither have the inside track of the Group of Six bid to the CFP, but a slip by No. 20 Boise State would open the door for a replacement - likely Liberty, which is undefeated in Conference USA after losing to James Madison, which has since lost two games. New Mexico is another option there, and the Lobos play at San Diego State on Saturday afternoon.
On the local radar, still-unbeaten Harvard is at Dartmouth on Friday night on ESPNU while Stonehill hosts Mercyhurst in a Saturday game that's sneaky important to the Skyhawks' still-beating NEC championship hopes, and Bryant's trip to Monmouth could upend the CAA if the Bulldogs grab a victory.
And in the lower divisions, the Conference of New England-leading Endicott Gulls head to Maine Maritime while Amherst is at Tufts in a key NESCAC conference game. Springfield College is at the Coast Guard in Connecticut for a game that's critical to the Pride continuing to set the pace in the NEWMAC.
*****
Dan's Non-Sports Observation of the Week
My wife's knack for telling me stories when I'm in the middle of doing something else reached a boiling point on Thursday when she flew through the front door of our house after dropping the kids off for school. I was in the middle of writing this piece and completely lost my train of thought because she began telling me a story about how one of our daughters basically sat in a glitter chair for an art project. I naturally turned around and asked for a couple of minutes to finish whatever I was doing, at which point I turned around and blanked on whatever I'd started outlining.
She later accused me of not listening (I wasn't), and I retorted that she needed to have better situational awareness when my head was buried in the computer (it was). Naturally, all of this quickly became my fault.
Maybe this is breaking the fourth wall, but I told her that I was making it the point of this section for no other reason other than the ridiculousness of curing writer's block with a story about glitter. I'm sure the other story that I started centered on Halloween, but I don't actually like Halloween, so it worked out.
Bottom line - I had a pretty nondescript week, and my wife and I arguing over bothering one another is now the mundane story that you never asked to read.Â
*****
Pregame Quote and Final Thought
I never could stand losing. Second place didn't interest me. I had a fire in my belly.
-Ty Cobb
Cobb's reputation as one of baseball's biggest antiheroes - nobody liked him, not even his own teammates - often overshadows his legacy as one of the fiercest competitors in the history of the American sports landscape. He hated losing more than he enjoyed winning, and he'd do anything to ensure his team didn't lose.
Saturday is unquestionably headed for a tight and corked battle. Fire in the belly…that's a good thing to have to get ready for noon.
Boston College and Duke kick off on Saturday at 12 p.m., from Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. Television coverage is available on the CW Network with Thom Brennaman and Jason Cabinda on the booth call and Wes Bryant on the sidelines.
Players Mentioned
DE
/ Football
DB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballSunday, November 01
Sunday, November 01
Sunday, November 01
Sunday, November 01
