Regardless of opponent, BC has a win to savor
By Julian Benbow Globe Staff September 12, 2016
Wins even against a team that has been a lightning rod in the argument about the worst team in college football — are still wins.
So after a 26-7 win over UMass Saturday that snapped a nine-game losing streak, the Boston College fight song sounded like a long-awaited sigh of relief coming out of the Eagles locker room.
The Eagles had almost forgotten what victory felt like, so they soaked up every drop of the one they were able to finally get.
They may have put their overall losing streak to rest, but the one that haunts them most is still alive. The eight straight Atlantic Coast Conference games they lost to end the 2015 season stretched into nine when BC dropped its season opener to Georgia Tech in Dublin two weeks ago.
They’ll take that streak with them to Blacksburg, Va., this Saturday when they face Virginia Tech, and coach Steve Addazio knows his team will face a different test at Lane Stadium.
“Everybody understands exactly who we played and everybody understands exactly who we’re going to play, OK?” Addazio said. “There’s no delusion there.”
The Eagles haven’t lost to UMass since 1978, but beating them for the ninth straight time still gave a shot of confidence to a team that Addazio said must get accustomed to winning again.
“When you work as hard as you work, you work to win,” Addazio said. “And the gratification comes from winning. That’s the thrill of the whole thing, is to put it all together and win as a team.
“So I’m a big believer that we win, we celebrate the win because that’s what you worked for, that’s what you strived for, and you get accustomed and you want to feel that again.
“You’re not like, ‘OK, we’re all set now.’ My God, we all know that’s not the case. But it’s just nice to feel that feeling, to get some reward for your work.”
The atmosphere at Lane Stadium is notoriously intense. The Eagles are 4-6 all-time there. The last time there, in 2014, they came away with a 33-31 win, but they found themselves fighting back a Hokies team that rallied for 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“I think with a group like ours, everything’s in perspective,” Addazio said. “I mean, it’s just enjoying that win and getting ready to roll. We know how tough this is going to be.
“We’re going to play the toughest opponent that we’ve played to date down in Blacksburg — without a doubt. And they’re well aware of that. They’re well aware of the venue and what that’s going to add to it as well.”
A slide too soon
One small but significant offseason rule change was the difference between a 9-yard run for a first down for Patrick Towles and an 8-yard run that left him short of it.
As part of defining a player who chooses to slide at the end of a run as “defenseless,” the player can’t be hit and the play will be blown dead. But that also means that the ball will be spotted where the player starts his slide, not where it ends.
It was meant to save players, typically quarterbacks, from taking hard hits — usually to the helmet — at the end of slides.
But it will also mean that players such as Towles will have to be more cognizant about where they start their slide, particularly when they’re trying to get a first down.
When the BC quarterback scrambled on a third-and-9 play in the third quarter against UMass, it was natural for him to slide once he had the first down in his sights.
The problem was that he slid a yard too soon, when he otherwise would easily have had a first down. And the Eagles had to punt.
“There were a couple times where I had a lapse where I forgot the new slide rule,” said Towles, who is 6 feet 5 inches and 253 pounds.
“I’m going to get a lot of flak because I am a little heavy and I did slide, which I shouldn’t have done. But that will cease to happen.”
Addazio assumed the rule would take some time to adjust to, and he expects Towles to be aware going forward.
“You start sliding, you think you’re in for that first down, you’re not,” said the coach. “You’re still that far away. So I think you’ve got to really pay attention.
“He knew right away when he got up. He knew. It’s just one of those things. He’s a really accountable guy. He’ll fix that.”
Best foot forward
Kicker Colton Lichtenberg is healthy after sitting out against UMass with a right quad strain, but Mike Knoll will continue to handle field goals. Knoll was a special teams Swiss army knife Saturday. He went 2 for 2 on field goals, connecting from 40 and 30 yards, went 1 for 2 on extra-point attempts, and booted six kickoffs and nine punts. Lichtenberg had his first field goal attempt of the season blocked by Georgia Tech and missed a 35-yarder. “Mike Knoll did a great job for us,” Addazio said. “We’re ready to roll there. He’s going to practice all week long, so he’ll take most of the reps. The way things go, you’ve got to have the next guy ready to roll because you never know what’s going to happen in the heat of the game, especially with Mike doing all phases.” . . . The Eagles came away with some minor injuries. Linebacker Connor Strachan played through a shoulder injury, which Addazio said would have to be monitored this week, and linebacker Mike Strizak came out of the game “dinged up.” But Addazio said everyone should be at full strength during practice this week. “Everybody seems to be doing pretty good, to tell you the truth,” he said. “I think we should hopefully be at full strength.”
Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com.
By Julian Benbow Globe Staff September 12, 2016
Wins even against a team that has been a lightning rod in the argument about the worst team in college football — are still wins.
So after a 26-7 win over UMass Saturday that snapped a nine-game losing streak, the Boston College fight song sounded like a long-awaited sigh of relief coming out of the Eagles locker room.
The Eagles had almost forgotten what victory felt like, so they soaked up every drop of the one they were able to finally get.
They may have put their overall losing streak to rest, but the one that haunts them most is still alive. The eight straight Atlantic Coast Conference games they lost to end the 2015 season stretched into nine when BC dropped its season opener to Georgia Tech in Dublin two weeks ago.
They’ll take that streak with them to Blacksburg, Va., this Saturday when they face Virginia Tech, and coach Steve Addazio knows his team will face a different test at Lane Stadium.
“Everybody understands exactly who we played and everybody understands exactly who we’re going to play, OK?” Addazio said. “There’s no delusion there.”
The Eagles haven’t lost to UMass since 1978, but beating them for the ninth straight time still gave a shot of confidence to a team that Addazio said must get accustomed to winning again.
“When you work as hard as you work, you work to win,” Addazio said. “And the gratification comes from winning. That’s the thrill of the whole thing, is to put it all together and win as a team.
“So I’m a big believer that we win, we celebrate the win because that’s what you worked for, that’s what you strived for, and you get accustomed and you want to feel that again.
“You’re not like, ‘OK, we’re all set now.’ My God, we all know that’s not the case. But it’s just nice to feel that feeling, to get some reward for your work.”
The atmosphere at Lane Stadium is notoriously intense. The Eagles are 4-6 all-time there. The last time there, in 2014, they came away with a 33-31 win, but they found themselves fighting back a Hokies team that rallied for 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“I think with a group like ours, everything’s in perspective,” Addazio said. “I mean, it’s just enjoying that win and getting ready to roll. We know how tough this is going to be.
“We’re going to play the toughest opponent that we’ve played to date down in Blacksburg — without a doubt. And they’re well aware of that. They’re well aware of the venue and what that’s going to add to it as well.”
A slide too soon
One small but significant offseason rule change was the difference between a 9-yard run for a first down for Patrick Towles and an 8-yard run that left him short of it.
As part of defining a player who chooses to slide at the end of a run as “defenseless,” the player can’t be hit and the play will be blown dead. But that also means that the ball will be spotted where the player starts his slide, not where it ends.
It was meant to save players, typically quarterbacks, from taking hard hits — usually to the helmet — at the end of slides.
But it will also mean that players such as Towles will have to be more cognizant about where they start their slide, particularly when they’re trying to get a first down.
When the BC quarterback scrambled on a third-and-9 play in the third quarter against UMass, it was natural for him to slide once he had the first down in his sights.
The problem was that he slid a yard too soon, when he otherwise would easily have had a first down. And the Eagles had to punt.
“There were a couple times where I had a lapse where I forgot the new slide rule,” said Towles, who is 6 feet 5 inches and 253 pounds.
“I’m going to get a lot of flak because I am a little heavy and I did slide, which I shouldn’t have done. But that will cease to happen.”
Addazio assumed the rule would take some time to adjust to, and he expects Towles to be aware going forward.
“You start sliding, you think you’re in for that first down, you’re not,” said the coach. “You’re still that far away. So I think you’ve got to really pay attention.
“He knew right away when he got up. He knew. It’s just one of those things. He’s a really accountable guy. He’ll fix that.”
Best foot forward
Kicker Colton Lichtenberg is healthy after sitting out against UMass with a right quad strain, but Mike Knoll will continue to handle field goals. Knoll was a special teams Swiss army knife Saturday. He went 2 for 2 on field goals, connecting from 40 and 30 yards, went 1 for 2 on extra-point attempts, and booted six kickoffs and nine punts. Lichtenberg had his first field goal attempt of the season blocked by Georgia Tech and missed a 35-yarder. “Mike Knoll did a great job for us,” Addazio said. “We’re ready to roll there. He’s going to practice all week long, so he’ll take most of the reps. The way things go, you’ve got to have the next guy ready to roll because you never know what’s going to happen in the heat of the game, especially with Mike doing all phases.” . . . The Eagles came away with some minor injuries. Linebacker Connor Strachan played through a shoulder injury, which Addazio said would have to be monitored this week, and linebacker Mike Strizak came out of the game “dinged up.” But Addazio said everyone should be at full strength during practice this week. “Everybody seems to be doing pretty good, to tell you the truth,” he said. “I think we should hopefully be at full strength.”
Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com.
