BC football aims to beef up the offense
Herald Staff Saturday, July 23, 2016
Credit: AP photo
Boston College head coach Steve Addazio speaks during a news conference at the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, July 22, 2016.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s a commonly accepted fact that offense puts fans in the seats, while defense wins championships.
The Boston College football team was the exception to that rule last year.
Coach Steve Addazio’s Eagles gave up the fewest points in the ACC at just 15.2 per game, led the league in rushing defense, passing defense and total defense. And yet somehow, they still managed to go through the 2015 season without winning a conference game on the way to a 3-9 record.
It’s a contradiction Addazio attributed to one painful fact.
“We weren’t any good on offense,” the fourth-year coach said yesterday as the Atlantic Division took center stage at the ACC’s Football Kickoff media event.
“We were playing with young freshmen on the offensive line, a fourth-team walk-on quarterback and both our running backs were hurt. It was as simple as that. Any other year with our defense and we would have had a helluva year.”
Those linemen now have a year of experience, primary ballcarriers Myles Willis and Jon Hilliman both are healthy again and in addition to the return of starting quarterback Darius Wade, Addazio has brought in graduate transfer Patrick Towles to provide insurance under center.
It’s an equation the Eagles hope will add up to a quick and dramatic bounceback from a season in which everyone, especially those on the offensive side of the ball, would just as soon forget.
“It was just a snakebitten year,” Willis said. “Even as bad as the injuries were, we ended up losing five games by three points or less. That’s really hard.
“That’s one thing why I really respect the defense. There was never any finger-pointing. There was always hope. That’s a testament to Boston College as a university and a program, and we’re going to be a better team because of it.”
The Eagles also figure to be better because of the return of Wade, who suffered a broken ankle against Florida State in the third game of the season, and the addition of Towles, who threw for 5,099 yards and 24 touchdowns in his two years as a starter at Kentucky.
Towles is the second graduate-transfer quarterback from an SEC school to join the Eagles in the past three years. The first, Tyler Murphy, came from Florida to set an ACC record for rushing yards by a quarterback while leading BC to seven wins and a Pinstripe Bowl bid in 2014.
Neither Towles nor Wade — neither has been named the starter yet — have to set any records for the Eagles’ offense to be better than in 2015. But that’s not saying much, considering BC was shut out twice and averaged only 275.6 yards and 17.6 points per game, by far the worst in the ACC.
“I can’t look you in the eye and say we’re going to be an elite offense,” Addazio said. “But we’re going to be much better than we were a year ago. That’s not saying much. But if we play defense, which we will, and we’re better on offense, which we will be, and our kicker is better, which he will be, that gives us a chance where we should have been.”
Herald Staff Saturday, July 23, 2016
Credit: AP photo
Boston College head coach Steve Addazio speaks during a news conference at the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, July 22, 2016.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s a commonly accepted fact that offense puts fans in the seats, while defense wins championships.
The Boston College football team was the exception to that rule last year.
Coach Steve Addazio’s Eagles gave up the fewest points in the ACC at just 15.2 per game, led the league in rushing defense, passing defense and total defense. And yet somehow, they still managed to go through the 2015 season without winning a conference game on the way to a 3-9 record.
It’s a contradiction Addazio attributed to one painful fact.
“We weren’t any good on offense,” the fourth-year coach said yesterday as the Atlantic Division took center stage at the ACC’s Football Kickoff media event.
“We were playing with young freshmen on the offensive line, a fourth-team walk-on quarterback and both our running backs were hurt. It was as simple as that. Any other year with our defense and we would have had a helluva year.”
Those linemen now have a year of experience, primary ballcarriers Myles Willis and Jon Hilliman both are healthy again and in addition to the return of starting quarterback Darius Wade, Addazio has brought in graduate transfer Patrick Towles to provide insurance under center.
It’s an equation the Eagles hope will add up to a quick and dramatic bounceback from a season in which everyone, especially those on the offensive side of the ball, would just as soon forget.
“It was just a snakebitten year,” Willis said. “Even as bad as the injuries were, we ended up losing five games by three points or less. That’s really hard.
“That’s one thing why I really respect the defense. There was never any finger-pointing. There was always hope. That’s a testament to Boston College as a university and a program, and we’re going to be a better team because of it.”
The Eagles also figure to be better because of the return of Wade, who suffered a broken ankle against Florida State in the third game of the season, and the addition of Towles, who threw for 5,099 yards and 24 touchdowns in his two years as a starter at Kentucky.
Towles is the second graduate-transfer quarterback from an SEC school to join the Eagles in the past three years. The first, Tyler Murphy, came from Florida to set an ACC record for rushing yards by a quarterback while leading BC to seven wins and a Pinstripe Bowl bid in 2014.
Neither Towles nor Wade — neither has been named the starter yet — have to set any records for the Eagles’ offense to be better than in 2015. But that’s not saying much, considering BC was shut out twice and averaged only 275.6 yards and 17.6 points per game, by far the worst in the ACC.
“I can’t look you in the eye and say we’re going to be an elite offense,” Addazio said. “But we’re going to be much better than we were a year ago. That’s not saying much. But if we play defense, which we will, and we’re better on offense, which we will be, and our kicker is better, which he will be, that gives us a chance where we should have been.”
