Anyone who would write a blog about their team for that long would have to be
On September 29, 2007 Boston college defeated UMass 24-14. The Eagles had 323 yards of total offense and UMass managed 277. The UMass running game was held to 69 yards. The UMass writeup on the 2007 game. The Eagles led by future NFL QB Matt Ryan had one of their best teams in recent memory. If I remember right, Don Brown's defense held BC to their second lowest point total of that season.
This year "Eagle in Atlanta" answers six questions about Saturday's game and the state of BC football.
1. BC's 0-3 start is obviously not where Eagle fans hoped to be at this stage of your season. What has gone wrong?
"Short answer: everything! While things haven't gone as planned, there are a variety of issues. The big obvious ones are injuries. They've sidelined our leading rusher, our Senior Captain WR, had us shuffling the offensive line and led to a very thing defensive line. But the injuries alone don't explain the winless start. There have been numerous issues in game management and adjusting to the other team's plans. Plus we are still very young on offense and at times it shows.
Oh and did I mention we changed offensive coordinators after two weeks? At this point a loss to UMass (no offense to the Minutemen) is almost expected."
2. Even in bad seasons, a team usually has someone playing well. Who looks like a future star for BC or who is playing well and not getting a lot of credit because of the team's results?
"The two shining stars of BC's season have been linebackers Luke Kuechly and Kevin Pierre-Louis. They are really carrying the load on defense. They seem to make every tackle and every big play. And in a season where at times it feels like guys have given up, these two go all out, every play."
3. Can BC turn the season around? If so, what would it take?
" I actually think BC is close to breaking through. I think the hole is deep enough now, that a true turnaround (i.e. winning season) won't happen, but I still think they can win four or five games. The key will be both sides of the ball getting a little better. The offense is almost there -- they just need to convert more drives in the redzone into TDs.
On the defensive side, they've been keeping scoring down for the most part. They just need to stop drives or force a few more turnovers."
4. In our last blog-swap a couple of years ago, I said I was somewhat surprised at BC's success in the ACC given the Eagles high academic standards. Do you think Boston College's football and basketball programs are in a downward trend?
"Football is not trending the right way. But I think it has to do with coaching, not academics. Put the right guy in charge and we can be a successful program.
Basketball has a young team and will have a rough go this year, but I think they will trend in the right way too. I like what I've seen from Steve Donahue and think he will rebuild quickly at BC."
5. What's your take on the pending ACC "Super Conference"?
"The Super Conference is inevitable. My only concern throughout the process was that BC kept access to the BCS and stayed in the same ballpark as other programs financially. It looks as though the expanded ACC will accomplish that. So I am content with that for now."
6. What's your prediction on the UMass-BC game?
"I want to believe that BC finally puts it together. I respect UMass but don't think the will be able to stop BC's passing. I think the Eagles win by at least 14."
