Or taking the program to 2 wins? Thanks Jeff.

BC Opens as 21-Point Underdog Against No. 13 Wake Forest​

Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher

Coming off its bye week, Boston College has opened as a 21-point underdog at No. 13 Wake Forest, according to Action Network.

Action Network has the over/under set at 61.5 points, and the BC moneyline is +950. The Eagles are 1-4 against the spread this season. The only time they covered was in their win over Louisville in Week 5 when they were two-touchdown dogs.

BC (2-4, 1-3 ACC) is off to its worst six-game start since 2017. That year, however, the Eagles turned things around after then-head coach Steve Addazio's famous "It'll come together, and it'll be beautiful" postgame presser. BC finished the regular season 5-1, averaging 36 points per game in that span, continuing what is now a bowl eligibility streak of six consecutive seasons.

That streak is in jeopardy in 2022.

BC still has three of the ACC's five AP top-25 teams remaining on its schedule: No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 23 North Carolina State and No. 14 Syracuse.

The Demon Deacons (5-1, 1-1) also had their bye in Week 7. After falling to Clemson at home in a double overtime track meet, Wake Forest has bounced back with a pair of wins: first at Florida State and then against Army.

Wake has followed up a remarkable 2021 campaign—that saw the Deacons crack the AP top-10 for the first time in program history and reach the ACC title game—with similar success.

Quarterback Sam Hartman missed the first game of the season with a non-football medical condition, but, once he returned, he picked up right where he left off last year. Hartman has posted a 16:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio this season while averaging 9.4 yards per attempt, which is tied for the second most of any signal caller in the ACC.

That said, as much as the odds are stacked against BC—which has lost 24 straight games to AP-ranked opponents—in this matchup, road field advantage has been kind of a thing in this series.

The road team has won each of the last seven meetings. Overall, BC holds a 14-12-2 lead over the Deacons all-time. But Wake has won two in a row, dating back to 2019 (the teams didn't play during the COVID-19-affected 2020 campaign).

Last year, the Deacons blew out the Eagles, 41-10. It was the largest margin of victory for Wake in the series. In the week leading up to the regular season finale, the injury-riddled Eagles had 32 players contract the flu, including quarterback Phil Jurkovec. BC entered intermission trailing, 24-10. Its best chance to get back in the game was when star wideout Zay Flowers reversed for a highlight-reel, 73-yard touchdown at the start of the second quarter. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the touchdown was nullified because of a bad blind side block call on Jurkovec.

Generally, however, these have been close games. Five of the last seven have been decided by one score.

This is the first of two straight road games for BC. The next is at UConn.

Expect a run and gun shootout approaching 100 total points.

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Only lost by 28 on the road. It is discernible; you negative bastards have to want to see it.

Dirstine Out for the Year, Kendall Out for Wake Game​

Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher

It's like clockwork at this point. Practically every week this season, Boston College has lost at least one offensive lineman, either for a specific game or the year.

It happened again Saturday morning when ESPN's Pete Thamel broke the news that left guard Finn Dirstine is out for the year with a shoulder injury and center Drew Kendall is out for the Wake Forest game with a broken wrist.

Dirstine missed the previous two games, and, according to Thamel's report, the graduate student and former four star will have surgery in the near future.

Kendall, on the other hand, is expected to return this season. The timeline of that return, though, is unknown. Kendall broke his left wrist against Clemson on Oct. 8, and he had surgery last week, per Thamel.

It's important to note that the redshirt freshman—the crown jewel of head coach Jeff Hafley's 2021 recruiting class and the son of former BC star and NFLer Pete Kendall—snaps with his right hand.

So, here's a quick BC O-Line injury rundown:

— RG Christian Mahogany tore his ACL in late spring and is expected to miss the whole season
— LT Ozzy Trapilo injured his knee against Rutgers and missed two games but has since returned
— RT Kevin Cline tore his ACL at Virginia Tech and is out for the season
— LG Finn Dirstine suffered a season-ending shoulder injury ahead of the Louisville game
— C Drew Kendall broke his wrist against Clemson and could return later this season

In this chaotic game of musical chairs, BC's normally stable offensive line has taken a huge hit. The Eagles have already given up 22 sacks this season—tied for the 15th most in the nation—and their rushing offense is second-to-last in the FBS (69.5 yards per game).

Thamel reported that Jackson Ness, who started the last two games at left guard, will move to center Saturday at Wake. Ness filled in at center during fall camp when Kendall was out back then.

Still, Ness has never started a game at center. And he is one of two BC players who have been starting on the O-Line in 2022 but were playing D-Line at the beginning of last season. The other is right guard Dwayne Allick.

Former preferred walk-on Nick Thomas, who started in Trapilo's place at left tackle earlier this season, will play left guard versus Wake, Thamel reported.

The lineup against the Demon Deacons should look like this:

LT - Ozzy Trapilo
LG - Nick Thomas
C - Jackson Ness
RG - Dwayne Allick
RT - Jack Conley

Now, four of BC's five Week 1 offensive line starters have missed time this season—the only not to is guard/tackle Jack Conley. The Clemson game marked the first time this year that the Eagles had the same five starting up front in consecutive games this season.

We'll be seeing another new combination Saturday afternoon.

Makes UConn a trap game for BC.

Just committed to the Eagles!!

This board, like the program, is dead.

For anyone going to the ND game, is there a favorite Chicago bar among BC fans to arrange the bus trip to ND? I’ve been a couple of times and it seems like all of the BC folks try to stick together. But this year I’m going with three ND fans (don’t hate on me) and I don’t want to be the only guy wearing my BC gear on the bus. Any advice welcome. Go Eagles.

The Big Play Could Be BC's Best Friend or Worst Enemy at Wake​

Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher

Boston College ranks 14th in the ACC in both scoring offense (20.0 points per game) and total offense (305.8 yards per game). The Eagles' third-down conversion rate (30.59%) is 121st nationally. And their average third down distance has been 7.8 yards or greater in five of their six games this season.

The first year of OC John McNulty's offensive system has hardly been graceful, in large part because of a revolving door on an already-depleted and inexperienced offensive line.

Even so, however, the Eagles have still produced 25 plays of 20-plus yards from scrimmage in 2022. That's tied for the ninth most in the ACC. And their seven plays of 40-plus yards are fifth most in the conference.

It's incongruent with the rest of the Eagles' offensive statistics, but it speaks to the ability of their skill players.

BC has been able to generate big plays against just about anyone this season. It recorded three pass plays of 20 or more yards against No. 5 Clemson, and it would have likely had another had Jaden Williams not dropped a nice sideline pass from quarterback Phil Jurkovec in the first quarter. The week before that, against Louisville, the Eagles piled up three 50-plus-yard pass plays and seven runs of at least 15 yards.

"Against good defenses, you can't just dink and dime the whole game and expect to win," BC wide receiver Jaelen Gill said Tuesday. "You gotta hit those type of explosives. I think it's real important. With our offense, we have multiple players that can make big plays. It's just a matter of getting the ball in those guys' hands."

As was the case versus Clemson—a game in which the Eagles finished with just three points—BC has often struggled to capitalize on the big play this season. That's where its 52.94% red zone touchdown percentage factors in.

Regardless, the fact of the matter is, the Eagles (2-4, 1-3 ACC) are producing more explosives than you might think, and that's one of the few on-paper advantages they have over No. 13 Wake Forest (5-1, 1-1) this week.

"This is where the challenge of defending them is," Demon Deacons head coach Dave Clawson said Tuesday, via Wake Forest Athletics. "Zay Flowers is who he is, he's elite. But all those other guys are really good players, too. And, at some point, they're going to have a single matchup.

"They've made big plays against everybody."

Unfortunately, for Wake Forest, explosives are its defense's pain point. The Demon Deacons have allowed 34 plays of 20-plus yards from scrimmage this season, tied for the 11th most in the ACC this season.

Of those 34, eight have gone for 40 or more yards. The only other team in the league to concede more 40-plus-yard plays is Louisville, which BC torched for a season-high 448 yards at the start of the month.

Eagles wide receiver Zay Flowers—who entered the week first or tied for first in the ACC in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns—is tied for fourth nationally with four receptions of 40-plus yards. Then there's Jaden Williams and Jaelen Gill, both of whom have a 50-plus-yard catch to their names this season.

"What they do on their offense is they want to run the ball, but they want to take shots," Clawson said.

Of course, running the ball has been the problem for BC. The Eagles are second-to-last in the FBS in rushing offense, averaging a mere 69.5 yards per game on the ground. It goes hand-in-hand with their inability to protect Jurkovec. When BC can't establish itself on the ground, it becomes increasingly one-dimensional on offense, and opponents ramp up the pressure.

If the Eagles' run game gets going, though—which it has in their two wins—Jurkovec has more time to throw, and those big plays start rolling out. Explosives could be BC's best friend Saturday, particularly against a Wake secondary that's been beat up by injuries.

Conversely, the big play could also be the Eagles' worst enemy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina—defensively, that is.

Wake can hang in a shootout with the best of the best—as seen last month in its 51-45, double-overtime loss to Clemson—and that's not so coincidentally because its offense can erupt at any moment. There's a reason why the Deacons rank 105th nationally in time of possession. They might have a slow-mesh offense, but they score quickly.

Explosives help. Thanks to a veteran passer in Sam Hartman and an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, Wake has logged 17 plays of 30-plus yards this season, tied for the fourth most in the ACC. Hartman has the third-highest Pro Football Focus big-time throw percentage (7.9%) in the league right now.

Headlined by AT Perry, and his 482 receiving yards, the Deacons have five wideouts with at least 15 catches right now.

"Their wide receivers are as deep as anyone we've played," BC head coach Jeff Hafley said.

Hafley went one step further: "I think, collectively, this is the best wide receiver group that we have played."

With the rise of burner Donavon Greene and fellow perimeter threat Jahmal Banks, plus slot guys Taylor Morin and Ke’Shawn Williams, Hartman has his options. He's not giving the ball way, either. Despite posting an average depth of target of 12.8 yards—the highest in the ACC, per PFF—Hartman has only thrown two picks versus 16 touchdowns in 2022.

"We gotta make him drive the length of the field," Hafley said of Hartman. "We have to eliminate explosives. They love those RPOs where they're not only throwing the short ones, but they're taking shots down the field, and they make a lot of people pay."

BC can't get gashed by the big play, or else it might have another Florida State runaway loss on it hands.

On the flip side, attacking Wake downfield could be the upset recipe Saturday. The trick is, finding a way to run the ball and protect Jurkovec so he has time to hit those explosives.

That's been easier said than done this season.

Eagles Looking to Get Right After Off Week: 'It's Two Different Halves'​

Andy Backstrom • EagleAction
Publisher Edit
@andybackstrom

Adversity isn't new for Boston College.

Not when Jeff Hafley began his head coaching tenure during a pandemic. Not when the Eagles have been ravaged by injuries each of the last two seasons, the first of which saw them lose four straight games before rallying for bowl eligibility.

"I feel like we were ready for it," senior defensive back Josh DeBerry said of the challenges a 2-4 BC has faced in 2022. "There's always going to be some type of adversity. You don't know exactly what it's gonna be, but you just gotta be prepared for it."

DeBerry continued: "I feel like we're prepared for it, and we're prepared to bounce back."

The Eagles' bye week probably came a week too late, head coach Jeff Hafley admitted following their 31-3 loss to No. 5 Clemson in Week 6. Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for BC to hit the reset button and get some players back from injury.

Still, because the Eagles had so many players hurt—and, in turn, so many underclassmen contributors in the first half of the season—the off week was atypical.

Hafley conceded early this week that the bye wasn't "as productive as you would want it to be because we're so banged up."

"We got as much work in as we could," he said. "Some guys were on the road recruiting. Others really looked hard at the film to try to figure out what we could do better scheme-wise, coaching-wise, and if there's any personnel movements we have to make.

"It wasn't wasn't like a vacation, that's for sure."

The recruiting aspect of the off week is particularly interesting. The recruiting world almost never stops, and, as Hafley says, it's "always the key."

But since he wanted to stay around his players, he didn't recruit until the latter part of the off week, and, even then, he remained in Massachusetts.

During the bye week, Class of 2023 defensive end Brian Simms III from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, decommitted from the Eagles. Still, they are on track for their third straight top-40 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com.

This cycle, the Eagles' 18-player class ranks 38th nationally and eighth in the ACC.

"Last night, I was probably on the phone with 15 to 20 guys," Hafley said Tuesday. 'You have to make time for it. It's easy to push it aside, but you can't."

He added: "We gotta finish this class out because it's a really good class that we're excited about. We gotta find some other guys. But there's nothing more important. We gotta stay on it. That's how you build a roster."

Staying in state during the bye not only allowed Hafley to reconnect with Massachusetts high school football coaches, but it also afforded him the time necessary to assess BC's offense and defense schematically. He and the staff took inventory of who's available health-wise at this point of the season, who can do what and how they can maximize those players' strengths, Hafley explained.

While the coaches were taking a big-picture look at the first half of the season, the players had a chance to get away for a bit. Hafley emphasized how helpful it is for players to refresh, even briefly, and, if they're able, see their families.

"It was very important, just from a health standpoint, being able to heal and get everybody back right," said DeBerry, who had the wind knocked out of him after a Clemson player landed on him during the second half of the Week 6 matchup.

Hafley wanted his players to be excited about coming back to Fish Field House, and he made it clear this week that they're as motivated as ever to turn things around. He also noted that the 28-point defeat to Clemson wasn't indicative of the improvement the Eagles—who beat Louisville, 34-33, the week before—have made this season.

"The way they fought and the way they played in those last two games, these guys are doing everything that they can," Hafley said. "They're not making excuses. They're not pointing fingers. They're not blaming it on injuries. They're just trying to get better. And they are."

BC did record a season-high 448 yards of total offense against Louisville, and it played its best defensive half of the year versus Clemson. Poor offense and special teams against the Tigers, plus a lopsided second half, left a bad taste in BC fans' mouths, though.

Except, that was two weeks ago, and that was the first half of the season.

"It's two different halves," DeBerry said. "This is a time for us to pick it up and get like a fresher start to the season in the second half and get things back rolling again in the right direction."

Good grades for some edge guys but not as many over the 60.0 default starting point on offense.

nm

By the Numbers: Comparing BC and Wake Forest​

Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher

Creating takeaways is an emphasis for Boston College in the second half of the season. The Eagles forced just six turnovers in the first six games, and they scored zero points off those turnovers.

Unfortunately for BC, it's going up against a Wake Forest team this week that barely coughs up the rock. In fact, the No. 13 Demon Deacons are tied for fourth nationally and tied for first in the ACC in turnover margin per game.

That's just one of the many on-paper advantages Wake (5-1, 1-1 ACC) has over BC (2-4, 1-3) this week. Here's how the Atlantic Division foes compare, by the numbers:

SCORING OFFENSE
BC: 20.0 points per game (113th nationally, 11th ACC)
Wake Forest: 41.2 points per game (14th nationally, 2nd ACC)

TOTAL OFFENSE
BC: 305.8 yards per game (118th nationally, 14th ACC)
Wake Forest: 440.5 yards per game (39th nationally, 4th ACC)

RUSHING OFFENSE
BC: 69.50 yards per game (130th nationally, 14th ACC)
Wake Forest: 147.67 yards per game (72nd nationally, 9th ACC)

PASSING OFFENSE
BC: 236.3 yards per game (71st nationally, 8th ACC)
Wake Forest: 292.8 yards per game (27th nationally, 3rd ACC)

SCORING DEFENSE
BC: 29.0 points per game allowed (T-84th nationally, 13th ACC)
Wake Forest: 25.5 points per game allowed (63rd nationally, 10th ACC)

TOTAL DEFENSE
BC: 371.7 yards per game allowed (60th nationally, 9th ACC)
Wake Forest: 384.3 yards per game allowed (73rd nationally, 11th ACC)

RUSHING DEFENSE
BC: 152.7 yards per game allowed (78th nationally, 10th ACC)
Wake Forest: 149.3 yards per game allowed (74th nationally, 9th ACC)

PASSING DEFENSE
BC: 219.0 yards per game allowed (53rd nationally, 7th ACC)
Wake Forest: 235.0 yards per game allowed (75th nationally, 10th ACC)

PENALTIES
BC: 5.3 penalties per game (T-31st nationally, 2nd ACC)
Wake Forest: 4.7 penalties per game (T-12th nationally, 1st ACC)

TURNOVER MARGIN PER GAME
BC: -0.67 (T-109th nationally, T-12th ACC)
Wake Forest: 1.33 (T-4th nationally, T-1st ACC)

TIME OF POSSESSION
BC: 29:40.00 (69th nationally, 10th ACC)
Wake Forest: 27:55.67 (103rd nationally, 11th ACC)

SACKS
BC: 2.00 sacks per game (T-72nd nationally, 10th ACC)
Wake Forest: 2.50 sacks per game (T-33rd nationally, T-6th ACC)

THIRD DOWN CONVERSION RATE
BC: 30.59% (121st nationally, 13th ACC)
Wake Forest: 44.58% (43rd nationally, 6th ACC)

OPPONENT THIRD DOWN CONVERSION RATE
BC: 36.36% (T-55th nationally, 7th ACC)
Wake Forest: 38.38% (68th nationally, 12th ACC)

RED ZONE TOUCHDOWN PERCENTAGE
BC: 52.94% (T-103rd nationally, 10th ACC)
Wake Forest: 63.64% (T-66th nationally, T-3rd ACC)

OPPONENT RED ZONE TOUCHDOWN PERCENTAGE
BC: 62.50% (84th nationally, 12th ACC)
Wake Forest: 57.14% (T-56th nationally, 9th ACC)

LONG SCRIMMAGE PLAYS (20-PLUS YARDS)
BC: 25 (T-96th nationally, T-9th ACC)
Wake Forest: 33 (T-55th nationally, T-5th ACC)

PUNT AVERAGE
BC: 41.64 yards per punt (79th nationally, 8th ACC)
Wake Forest: 37.91 yards per punt (125th nationally, 13th ACC)

PFF OVERALL GRADE
BC: 68.7 (111th nationally)
Wake Forest: 94.0 (6th nationally)

PFF OFFENSE GRADE
BC: 61.9 (114th nationally)
Wake Forest: 84.7 (T-9th nationally)

PFF PASS GRADE
BC: 56.0 (109th nationally)
Wake Forest: 88.3 (5th nationally)

PFF RUN GRADE
BC: 73.5 (T-101st nationally)
Wake Forest: 71.0 (117th nationally)

PFF DEFENSE GRADE
BC: 71.5 (89th nationally)
Wake Forest: 93.2 (5th nationally)

PFF COVERAGE GRADE
BC: 59.1 (T-110th nationally)
Wake Forest: 89.5 (20th nationally)

PFF PASS RUSHING GRADE
BC: 68.1 (T-89th nationally)
Wake Forest: 92.0 (1st nationally)

PFF RUN DEFENSE GRADE
BC: 77.6 (T-52nd nationally)
Wake Forest: 88.4 (17th nationally)

What Did Wake Forest HC Dave Clawson Say About BC?​

Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher

Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson isn't putting too much stock in last year's 41-10 beatdown of Boston College.

After all, the Eagles had 32 players affected by the flu, including quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who was still missing grip strength on his throwing hand that he fractured earlier that season.

BC turned the ball over three times, and the Demon Deacons pulled away, not long after Zay Flowers' potentially game-altering 73-yard touchdown run was called back because of a bad blind side block call.

Clawson said Tuesday that Wake caught BC at the right time last year, considering how many players the Eagles were down. He knows the Deacons will get a different version of BC this time around.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, they are far from injury-free in 2022, either. Regardless, they do pose some challenges to a Wake defense that has struggled with the big play.
Clawson talked about BC's offensive talent and a lot more. Here's what he said:

Introductory Statement​

"Boston College has always been a very competitive football game. I think it starts with their head coach. I’m a big fan of Jeff Hafley. I’ve known Jeff for a lot of years. He started his career at Albany like I did. I think I’ve got a few years on him. But he was on Greg Schiano’s staff for a long time. And I used to always go visit Tampa Bay when Greg was there, and I used to sit in Jeff’s meetings because I just loved the way that he taught. I thought he had a great relationship with his players. And I really think he’s one of the good guys in college football. He’s doing it for the right reasons.

And I think they have a talented football team. It starts with their offensive skill. The collection of offensive skill they have is one of the very, very top of the ACC. From the quarterback, [Phil] Jurkovec, who probably would have got drafted last year and came back. Zay Flowers might be as good of a skill player as we’ll play all year. He can start for anybody in the country. He is elusive. They play him everywhere. They’ll line him up as No. 1, as a slot, as a wing, in the backfield. They’re going to get him the football. And he is really hard to get down. He makes people miss in space. He’s one of the very elite players in the country, not just the conference. And the one thing he’s doing this year, even better than a year ago, is making contested catches. He’s going up and competing for the football. And the other receivers—[Jaden] Williams, [Joe] Griffin, Jaelen Gill—these guys are all really high-level ACC players. They got a big tight end transfer from Notre Dame: 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, George Takacs. He’s very impressive, too. They’ll line him up as a receiver.

They just have so many weapons. [Pat] Garwo is a really good tailback. And they can spread the ball out. Their challenge this year has been they just have a younger offensive line. BC’s always had a great offensive line. They graduated a fair number of guys. They have had a couple of injuries. But I think it’s a unit that’s improving, when you put on the Louisville game. And they’re very athletic. These guys can move their feet. They have the makings of a very good offense.

Defensively, they have nine starters back. The other two guys were part-time starters. It’s an older, experienced group. And they know what they’re doing. Jeff’s very involved with the defense, and it’s a different style of defense than we normally see. They play a lot more single-safety coverage, which presents new challenges to us."

Q: In last year’s game against Boston College, Phil Jurkovec had the same number of passing attempts that he did rushes with only three completions. How do you mitigate that balance with Jurkovec but also having Garwo in the backfield?​

"A year ago, half their team had the flu. I don’t know this for sure—I had heard the quarterback had the flu. And I thought he played really gutsy just to play. I think we caught them at a good time last year. They weren’t at full strength. They had a flu strain going on. They were down a lot of players. Jurkovec is a really good player. What they do on their offense is they want to run the ball, but they want to take shots. And he has a strong arm. He can make plays with his feet. I think he’s a really strong competitor. And he willed them back into that game last year. We were covering them pretty good, and they were down some people, and he took off on a couple of runs that put them right back in the game.

We didn’t get the best version of him a year ago because of illness. He was also coming off that hand injury. So he wasn’t the same quarterback for our game that he was at the beginning of last year or he is now. It’s a different challenge. We’re getting him closer to full strength."

Q: You mentioned BC presenting a unique defensive look with the single-safety coverage. What it’s been like coming off the bye week and preparing for that look that you haven’t seen so far?​

"Well, we’ve had a little more time to get ready for it, which helps. But it’s a challenge. They try to dictate things to you. They know exactly what they’re doing in the defense. This is the same defense that Coach Hafley ran when he was the defensive coordinator at Ohio State with a lot of success. And now they’re into their third year with it, and they really know what they’re doing. They kind of present similar looks and then play multiple coverages. The blitz package is very complementary to their base looks. And so it’s a lot of looking the same, but it becomes different. It requires a lot of post-snap reaction.

When you know what a team’s in, it’s always easier. With these guys, what you see isn’t always what you get. I’d say they’re very good at disguise. And, again, because of what they do, they dictate certain things that they’re going to take away from you."

Q: You mentioned Boston College’s tight end. How do you handle him in coverage when, at certain points of the season, Wake has struggled against tight ends?​

"[Takacs is] a big target. So part of the problem is they line up there with Flowers—if you said, ‘Who are the top one, two or three receivers in the ACC?,’ he would be certainly on that list, whether he’s the best, second best, third best. He’s a returning first-team All-ACC receiver who’s gotten better. And then the Ohio State transfer, Jaelen Gill, has really, I think, gotten better. He’s bigger, physical, kick returner. And then the Jaden Williams guy, who was a freshman last year, is almost a younger version of Zay Flowers. He is going to be a high-end player, too. So the problem is, you have these three really good receivers, and then when they’re in 11-personnel, they have this tight end who’s 6-foot-6, 250 pounds who’s an excellent pass catcher who they can line up as a receiver.

There’s times that they put the three receivers to the field, and they split him out to the boundary, and it presents some matchup issues. It’s not just the tight end position, but it’s the fact that you’ve gotta give those other receivers so much attention that you can’t double everybody. And he can beat you. And then you start playing all nickel coverages and all two-highs, and Garwo’s a really good back. He was good last year. He’s downhill, and he’s physical. They’ve got five tailbacks. They’ve always been able to recruit good tailbacks there. A lot of times it’s been those 230-pound guys that run you over. But these guys are downhill, one cut—they can make you miss, and they can run you over.

And so this is where the challenge of defending them is—Zay Flowers is who is, he’s elite. But all those other guys are really good players, too. And, at some point, they’re going to have a single matchup. … They’ve made big plays against everybody. They made big plays against Clemson and Louisville and good football teams."

Thank you all very much.
Especially @jstein1955 , @bodnarch , @BodySuit Man , @andy_backstrom , @D Able

Since the current team sucks, we must delve into the past. This thread is to lament the lesser known or more forgotten plays that still haunt you. Ed Reed 2001, Mike Cloud goal line stuff, David Green fumble, etc. don't apply. I'll get it started:

Down 23-16 in the 2007 ACCCG at like the VT 40 yard line. Matty Ice throws a strike to Challenger over the middle and he has one guy to beat to hit pay dirt. Gets tackled. Drive stalls and ultimately leads to an INT that effectively ends the game. Was at the game and you could see the open field in front of him.

Behind Enemy Lines: Wake Forest​

Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher

Boston College has had two weeks to prepare for No. 13 Wake Forest. But the Demon Deacons have also enjoyed the same luxury. The Atlantic Division foes are often linked because they are the two smallest full-time members of the ACC, enrollment-wise.

And, for much of the last decade, they have traded blows. Interestingly enough, the road team has won each of the teams' last seven meetings. Five of those seven games have been decided by one score.

Last year's matchup was a blowout, however, as the Atlantic Division champion Demon Deacons dealt BC a 41-10 loss in the regular season finale—granted, a total of 32 Eagles were affected by the flu that game.

Wake has built off its magical season in 2021 with more top of the shelf ACC success this fall.

Here at Eagle Action, we reached out to DeaconsIllustrated publisher Conor O'Neill to learn about this year's Wake Forest ahead of Saturday's Week 8 matchup.

Q: Did the bye come at the right time for Wake? Who got healthy, and which position groups are still notably affected by injury?​

O'Neill: "So … yes and no. The 'no' answer is because Wake Forest, as Dave Clawson pointed out Tuesday, played three strong, complete football games in a row entering its off week. Going toe-to-toe with Clemson was a step forward for Wake’s program, despite the loss. The Deacons were able to wrestle the Atlantic Division crown from the Tigers last year, yet still lost by 21 down there.

Then Wake Forest went on the road and scored 28 straight points on Florida State and held off a late charge, and, before the off week, the Deacons exorcised some 2021 demons by not giving up 56 points to a triple-option Army team and won handily, 45-10.

But the 'yes' part overrules how well Wake Forest was playing as long as the Deacons didn’t completely lose their steam.

Wake Forest was banged up in the secondary. Most notably, their best cornerback, Caelen Carson, didn’t play in the last three games. Their next best two, Gavin Holmes and JJ Roberts, both missed the Army game.

Clawson said he’s hopeful on Carson this week and sounded more optimistic that Holmes and Roberts will be back–obviously a big gain when facing Zay Flowers.

There are other positions–safety and defensive line come to mind–where Wake Forest hasn’t had guys miss games, per se, but have had guys limited in practices during the week. Those situations will have been smoothed out a bit with an extra week of recovery."

Q: Jeff Hafley believes the Deacons have the deepest WR corps BC has faced this season. Most are aware of AT Perry's downfield threat, but what can you tell us about the other four wideouts with 15-plus catches this season?​

O'Neill: "Man, Wake Forest has really become a factory of developing talented receivers.

The other two perimeter threats are Donavon Greene and Jahmal Banks. Greene doesn’t have the height of Perry–he’s 6-2, 210; Perry is 6-5, 205–but he’s more of a burner and creates separation because of that and because of his physicality. Even though he’s in his fourth season, it’ll be his first time playing BC–he played in the last four games of 2019, had a good COVID season, and then tore his ACL last summer and missed the season.

Banks is the only new contributor–he’s a third-year player whose last season of high school football was at a familiar high school for BC fans: St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. He flashed last year in fall camp but didn’t do much; he has put it all together this season, and it’s not crazy to think he might be the best future pro of the group.
Taylor Morin and Ke’Shawn Williams are the slots, and for what’s really the first time under Clawson, Wake Forest can actually split the slot reps 50-50. It’s always been the goal … but they’d always fall short.

Williams has actually had the better performances of late. He made a couple of third-down catches on a win-sealing drive at FSU that were remarkable. Morin is the older player, and he’s honestly the one who feels due for a breakout."

Q: Wake has committed just three turnovers this year. A big part of that is Sam Hartman taking a hack at his interception total from last year, which mounted toward the end of 2021. Where has Hartman grown the most in his decision-making ability?​

O'Neill: "Honestly this might be a little hard on him … but I think you’ve got to wait until after the season to evaluate this.

Hartman’s interceptions have typically come in bunches, and it’s not like they’ve been forecasted. He threw one in the first eight games of 2020, and then threw four in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. He threw three in the first eight games last season, and then threw 11 across the next five games–including another four in the same stadium (Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium).

So going back to the bowl game against Rutgers, he’s only thrown two–both against Liberty–in Wake’s last six games. Hartman has done a fairly decent job of keeping the ball out of harm’s way in those games, too–PFF only has him with four turnover-worthy plays in five games this season.

It’s just hard, based on the last two seasons, to say it’s going to be that way for the entire season."

Q: Who are three players BC fans should know on Wake's defense, and why?​

O'Neill: "Given BC’s struggles in protecting Phil Jurkovec–and since I’ve already named their best corners who’ll be tasked with attempting to cover Flowers–I’ll give you two defensive linemen and a safety who’s used in third-down packages as a blitzer.

Kobie Turner has been a revelation as a defensive tackle transfer from Richmond. He’s PFF’s highest-graded overall defensive player (92.8) heading into Wednesday night’s game. Turner is able to generate pressure as an interior rusher, but it’s his consistent penetration and motor that shines on every snap.

Rondell Bothroyd was Wake’s best defensive player last season and might not have the same caliber of stats, but he’s still probably the most important piece of the equation. I think he’s a future NFL defensive end.

Malik Mustapha means two of these three are Richmond transfers. Wake Forest got Mustapha last season and he was … OK. But he’s graduated his game this season– despite a torn ACL in the bowl game–to another level and is second in tackles (35) and TFLs (4.5), and is third in sacks (2.5).

On obvious passing downs, Wake Forest will line up with a three-man line that’s almost certain to include Turner and Bothroyd, and they’ll try to flush the QB to one side with Mustapha coming to that side on a delayed blitz."

Q: Is the big play the Achilles' heel of Wake's defense, or are the Deacons' 14 plays of 30-plus yards allowed this season simply a reminder of the Clemson shootout?​

O'Neill: "The big plays are definitely an area of concern for Clawson.

Bringing things back to Carson, Wake Forest has given up several chunk plays through the air, even against Army, and Clawson has been frustrated that defensive backs have been in position but haven’t made plays on the ball.

Otherwise: You’re going to misfit a run every now and then. Will Shipley went for 53 yards on his first carry because Wake’s linebackers were too wide. And Liberty hit them for a couple of 40-plus-yard touchdown runs because Hugh Freeze knows how to call a game.

The goal is to just get those things stopped in the 15-25-yard range, and that’s not happened as often as they’d like."

Bye Tom. Thanks for being the Greatest of All Time.

You quit Best Buddies, you removed the franchise tag language from your contract, you sold your house.....this is the least surprising news I have ever heard. You emotionally left last year....it was painfully obvious you were not fully invested into the Pats. Every superstar acts like a diva eventually, your time has come.

All good things come to an end. Go decline with someone else, go get overpaid by someone else, go pitch your lifestyle brand somewhere else, go roll your eyes and whine about weapons somewhere else. Go lecture us about the environment while fly PJs all over the world somewhere else.

You are easily the best QB to ever play the game. But you've changed.....skipping OTA's , doing your own thing while the other 51 guys train as a unit. No longer the first one in, last one out.....I get it, but I don't like it. You need to spend time with your family ( I've been working 60 hour weeks , 48 weeks a year for the past 30 years...you work part time, you literally have the annual schedule of a part time high school teacher ) and after you have 20 years in the league, you must feel entitled. But winning rings and being a team leader are not your focus anymore. You bitched at receivers all year....you rolled your eyes, your body language sucked You acted like a disgruntled employee.....Guess you missed the part where you had the best D in league and we were 12-4.

See ya Tom....don't let the door hit you in the ass.



Fade into the sunset somewhere else.

Eagles Picked to Finish 13th in 2022-23 ACC Preseason Poll​

Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher

Boston College men's basketball enters the 2022-23 season with depth the program hasn't enjoyed in years. That's reflected in the team's KenPom preseason ranking (74th nationally and 10th in the ACC).

But the media have picked the Eagles to finish 13th in the conference, only ahead of Pitt and Georgia Tech.

North Carolina, which lost last year's National Championship to Kansas and is No. 1 in the AP's preseason Top 25, was selected as the preseason favorite to win the ACC. Compared to UNC's 90 first-place votes, Duke collected only two yet still ranks second in the ACC preseason poll. Virginia (six first-place votes), Miami (two first-place votes) and Florida State are third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

UNC senior forward/center Armando Bacot was voted ACC Preseason Player of the Year, and Duke freshman center Dereck Lively II was named ACC Rookie of the Year.

BC didn't have an honoree on either the Preseason All-ACC First or Second Team. It's worth noting, however, that Eagles freshman guard/forward Prince Aligbe received one vote for ACC Rookie of the Year.

BC was 13th in the first year of the Earl Grant era, posting a record of 13-20, including a 6-14 mark in ACC competition.

The Eagles weathered a pair of five-game losing streaks yet played their best basketball in March, when they strung together a mini run in the ACC Tournament. BC beat Pitt and then spoiled Wake Forest's NCAA Tourney hopes before flirting with a semifinal appearance in a buzzer-beating quarterfinal loss to an Elite Eight-bound Miami team.

Unlike last year, when BC ranked 296th nationally in minutes continuity (30.7%) amid a coaching transition, the Eagles are returning their leading scorer (Makai Ashton-Langford), second-leading scorer (DeMarr Langford Jr.), leading rebounder (TJ Bickerstaff), a rising star point guard (Jaeden Zackery) and a center that was an All-ACC All-Tournament selection (Quinten Post).

Additionally, Grant and his staff reeled in two transfers: Cincinnati three-and-D guard Mason Madsen as well as Division II standout CJ Penha Jr. from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Most notably, though, the Eagles inked four freshmen in a 2022 recruiting class that ranked 30th nationally, according to Rivals.com. It's a group headlined by four stars Aligbe and DJ Hand.

Grant's first class was BC's first in the Rivals.com recruiting database era (2002-present) to include at least two four stars.

Here's a look at BC's non-conference and ACC slates in 2022-23.