Giving it away

For the first time in a long time we are officially eliminated from the Atlantic Division race. A weird game in that we were out of it early, made it interesting and then fell apart again. Congrats to the defense though more making things happen and playing hard.

I'll have second viewing thoughts and grades up late Sunday.

In-game comments post: North Carolina

It is the home finale and a must win. Let's hope the guys go out on top.

I will not be online during the game. Leave your thoughts and comments below.

I guess this means more beach time

A few years ago BC went down and won the Paradise Jam. It was an unexpected run and announced that they were a team to be reckoned with. I thought this year's Jam would be another spring board. Instead we lost to St. Joes Friday. The big news is that Sanders went down early with an ankle injury. The team hung with Hawks but couldn't take a lead in the second half.

The good news is that the team rebounded well and the PGs were careful with the ball. We also made our free throws.

The area of concern is the porous defense. St. Joes got too many easy baskets and too many open looks from 3.

Instead of facing Purdue, BC will now deal with South Dakota St. in the consultation game.

I hoped for a better result but we've bounced back from plenty of early season stinkers in the past. Let's hope Sanders is not out long and the defense gets better quickly.

How to watch tonight's basketball game and other links

For those of you trying to watch BC's opener in the Paradise Jam, try this link.

We now have an official hot dog.

HD held a quick Q&A with Marcellus Bowman.

Game Watches: North Carolina

The game is on ESPN 2, but that doesn't mean you cannot watch it among BC fans. Check out your local chapter's watch. There are only a few games left!


Atlanta Game Watch
STATS
300 Marietta Street NW
Atlanta, GA

Chicago Game Watch
Trinity Bar
2721 N. Halsted (Diversey & Halsted)
on the border of Lincoln Park and Lakeview

Dallas Game Watch
Christie’s Sports Bar
2811 McKinney Avenue
Suite 22
Dallas, TX


Los Angeles Game Watch
Sonny McLean's
2615 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica

New York City Game Watches

Still
192 3rd Ave @ 17th
Manhattan


Pat Obrien's
88st and 2ave

Phoenix Game Watch
Gallagher's Sports Grill
7575 N. 16th Street, Phoenix

San Diego Game Watch
RT's Longboard Grill
1466 Garnet Avenue
Pacific Beach, CA

San Francisco Game Watch
Shanghai Kellys
2064 Polk St
San Francisco

Sarasota Game Watch
Gecko's Grill & Pub
5585 Palmer Crossing Cir.(Clark Road & Honore Ave.)
Sarasota, FL

Washington, D.C. Game Watch
Porter's Dining Saloon
1207 19th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

BC-North Carolina preview

I hate entering this game with our destiny still dependent upon Clemson losing. Fortunately the noon start means the guys will take the field with an open mind and no idea what will happen between Virginia and Clemson later in the day. UNC cannot win their division, but they are on a definite upswing. This should be another tough game.

Narrative talking point that you’ll tire of by the end of the game. “Alumni Stadium is a very tough place to play. BC is undefeated at home…” As you’ve probably read and heard already, BC has a chance to go undefeated at home for only the second time since 1985 (the 2006 team also went undefeated at home). I don’t want to diminish our fans or stadium, but I don’t think Alumni has suddenly become some sort of house of horrors for visitors. This streak is more about the tough team, the schedule and a little luck. Let’s hope that one day the tight quarters and the weather are complimented by a raucous bunch of fans who get their early and make noise throughout. Right now though the home field advantage is really due to the guys on the field.

Three simple keys
1. No missed assignments up front. Carolina doesn’t do many exotic things with their defensive line. It is more about using their talent and speed to blow up what we are trying to do. In my opinion the game will come down to how our offensive line handles their front four.
2. Get the third and fourth options involved in the passing game. I’ve been harping on this for weeks, but it takes on even more importance this week. UNC will be locking in on Shinskie and looking to pick off everything. If we are going to win it will be because he is passing to Megwa, Flutie, Harris and McCluskey, not Larmond/Gunnell and Jarvis.
3. Stop the run after the catch. Last year the Heels had our secondary spinning sideways with runs after the catch. Nicks is gone but they still have playmakers on offense. Our DBs need to wrap up anyone near them.

Gambling Notes
-- Butch Davis is undefeated against BC
-- BC is 6-2 at home in the month of November since entering the ACC
-- BC is 6-0 against the spread at home this season
The current line is BC-3.5

Factoid
BC has played North Carolina twice in NFL stadiums but never in Alumni.

What I hope to see…
McLaughlin have a big day. He’s one of the rare two time captains in BC history. This is his last home game and he’s played half a season and not at 100%. I would love to see him go out on a high note with some big plays.

BC is in trouble if…
Shinskie decides to give a few more “what the hell” chucks into triple coverage. If Virginia was able to turn those into scores, North Carolina surely will.

Bottom Line
I’ll be honest, I don’t have a great feeling about this game. North Carolina is a bad matchup for us defensively and I don’t know if we will score enough points to win. I think it will be sort of a plodding, close game that turns on one big play. I am holding out hope for a win, but don’t expect a pretty performance.
Bottom Line: BC 20, North Carolina 17

New look for The Heights and other links

In honor their 90th anniversary The Heights has updated their web site. Definitely check it out and I recommend reading the Heights' sports section on a regular basis. Over the past few years it has been the launching point for some very good BC writers.

In other news to be proud of, BC continues to be the leader in graduating its student athletes. Football should be especially proud since it is only one of six programs with a rate above 90%.

Disney is honoring Herzlich with its Disney Spirit Award. Well deserved. I wonder if they have optioned his movie rights already!

Although we've had a special connection with the Cincinnati area, even the folks back in Ohio realize how special Luke Kuechly is.

Since we bypassed hoops recruits last year, these are the names you need to know for next season.

Like Kuechly, I don't know where we would be without Montel Harris.

The Seniors are looking to close out their final home game with a win.

Guest Blogger: Tarheel Monthly

In the past we had Turner from Heelsblog guest blog here. Turner is now with Tarheel Monthly but still has the scoop on one of the hotter teams in the conference. Last year UNC smashed us in Chapel Hill. Will we get the same sort of team this weekend? To find out, I asked him some questions below.

1. The Virginia loss and some of the early offensive struggles, led to many writing off the Tar Heels and their season. What happened then and how are things different now?


THM: I have no idea what happened against Virginia. It was one of the most inept displays of offense I have ever seen. Carolina rushed for a grand total of 39 yards. As someone who enjoys watching football (even if I removed myself from pulling for one team or the other), I hated that game. There wasn't a touchdown scored until there were less than six minutes left.

What happened after that was the Georgia Southern game, which you can't really take anything from, and the Florida State game. The defense believed going into that game, 'If the offense just scores xx points, we'll be fine." Well, the offense did its job, putting the team up 17-6 going into halftime, but the defense simply collapsed. After that game, the defense realized it had to make plays and not just rest on 'We're pretty good.' Since then, they've really taken charge and asserted themselves (seven INTs in the past three games).

On offense (somewhat because of Shaun Draughn's injury, but even before that), Butch Davis has started to rely on Ryan Houston as more of an every-down weapon rather than simply as a short-yardage back. He's done a good job of moving the ball and moving the block. The return of Zack Pianalto has been huge in boosting T.J. Yates confidence. He knows he has a check-down with sure hands.

2. The defense has been dominant. They shut down the run and pick off a lot of passes. Is there an area where they are vulnerable?



THM: The defense is ranked No. 8 in the country, and they're on a hot streak as of late. The run defense has been remarkable the past three weeks. I'm sure some of that is due to silly play-calling by other teams, but VT's Ryan Williams is legit. Not sure Miami used Graig Cooper like they should have, but that's not Butch Davis' fault. Two suggestions to opposing offenses: 1) Double-team Robert Quinn. Otherwise, he's going to blow up your left tackle. He's one of those players who's just fun to watch. 2) Throw away from Kendric Burney (three picks last week). Strong safety Da'Norris Searcy got hurt last week and I'm not sure of his status, so Melvin Williams may start.

3. You are in Year 3 of the Butch Davis era. How would you assess his performance so far? This is probably the best collection of coaches the state of North Carolina has had in place at one time in decades. Do you think the other programs will limit the upside of what Davis can do in Chapel Hill?



THM: I think Butch Davis has done a terrific job of managing expectations and building the program. He's taken a patchwork roster, found the right spots for guys and really built a cohesive team. Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant were high school quarterbacks, and Deunta Williams came in as a wide receiver. Now they are part of one of the nation's best defenses. Davis' tenure has really followed the old Bobby Bowden, 'lose big, lose small, win small, win big' formula. He went 4-8 in 2007, but six of those losses were by a touchdown or less. I think an 8-4 regular season with a one-point bowl loss in 2008 might have exceeded expectations. Because of that, an 0-3 ACC start this season was certainly a disappointment, but I think this team is learning how to win. Losing is no longer contagious, and it really can be if a coach is in over his head. I thought this team could be better but have a worse record in 2009 because of it schedule, but they've surprised me. They've definitely lost at least one they shouldn't have, but you could make an argument that they've won one or two they weren't supposed to.

As for your second question, at first I thought you were talking about the programs at UNC (basketball, baseball and football), and I was all set to talk about the recruiting advantages those teams give each other. Oh well. I guess you're asking about Tom O'Brien, David Cutcliffe, Davis, Jim Grobe at Wake and Skip Holtz at ECU. I think whatever it takes to establish the legitimacy of college football in the state of North Carolina, it's a good thing. These programs have always recruited against each other, and they'll continue to do so even as the caliber of player increases. I think Davis has established pipelines in Florida and through his NFL connections, so I don't worry too much about another program limiting UNC's upside. I really, really like David Cutcliffe (probably because he hasn't beaten UNC), and I honestly believe that a good Duke program is good for North Carolina. That rivalry means very little if the teams aren't decent. Tom O'Brien can continue to shoot himself in the foot with his "best in the state" lines, but he's 2-0 at State against UNC, so I can't talk too much. But really I believe that increasing the quality of play around the state can only help each school. If one program gets left in the dust, it's their own fault.

4. What is your prediction for Saturday?


THM: No idea. I'm sorry, but I really haven't seen much of BC this season, mostly because y'all (there's that word) are in the other division and aren't a traditional rival. I do know that the Eagles have surprised this season. (How are you liking Gary Tranquill?) Montel Harris will be huge in this game, either stopping him for the Heels or getting him going for BC.

It would be really easy for me to say I think Carolina's on a roll (I do) and they should win, but I would think that against just about any opponent they could face this weekend. But there is another team across the field; it's not as simple as just completing a task. So just based on the last three weeks, I'll say North Carolina 24, BC 20. But really I have no idea.

Ho hum: we beat St. Francis

Another tune up went well as BC beat St. Francis tonight. I didn't see it, but I am encouraged by a few things...

Tyler Roche is locked in from 3. We made most of our free throws. We didn't let them hang around.

What I am bothered by is our poor shooting from 3 by everyone else. We will need to make those, especially against inferior teams.

Anyone who actually saw the game is welcome to leave his or her thought.

Blogpoll ballot

I bumped up every conceivable ACC but BC. Why? Have you seen the results of the The Coulter/Kos Award this year? I don't want to be responsible for cursing BC. As for the non superstitious votes, I am starting to waiver on Florida. Fortunately on the SEC side, things will be settled on the field.

Games I watched
-- BC-Virginia 100% (twice)
-- Florida-South Carolina 20%
-- Notre Dame-Pitt 50%
-- NC State-Clemson 50%
-- Auburn-UGA 20%

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Alabama
3	Texas
4	Cincinnati
5	Georgia Tech
6	TCU
7	Boise State
8	Pittsburgh
9	Oklahoma State	1
10	Oregon	3
11	Virginia Tech	4
12	Ohio State	4
13	Brigham Young	4
14	Clemson	5
15	Stanford	5
16	Penn State	5
17	LSU	5
18	West Virginia	5
19	Oregon State
20	Wisconsin
21	Temple	3
22	Navy
23	North Carolina
24	Nebraska
25	Rutgers
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Houston (#9), Utah (#11), Miami (Florida) (#12), Southern Cal (#14), Auburn (#18), Idaho (#25).

What to make of Shinskie's stats?

Last year when Jags kept excusing Chris Crane's play because he was a "rookie" I felt it was a cop out. This season I am more willing to accept the "rookie" tag as an excuse for Shinskie. Crane had four years in the program and two with Logan. Shinskie was in Spring Training in Florida this March while our team was installing Tranq's offense. There is a difference. My concern with Shinskie though is that we seen progression followed by regression. I was hoping for the learning curve to be on a steep uptick by now. But let's not use eye balls to decide where Shinskie is. Instead I will dig up a chart from last year. It is not totally apples to apples since Shinskie had cameo appearances outside of his seven starts that are in his stats below but does give a good benchmark of where he is relative to our past QBs.

QB	W-L	Attempts	Comp Pct	Yards	Passing TDs	INTs	Rushing TDs
Brian St. Pierre	6-1	180	55%	1,186	15	6	0
Quinton Porter	4-3	182	59%	1,293	14	5	1
Paul Peterson	6-1	194	61%	1,496	13	6	0
Matt Ryan	6-1	246	59%	1,621	9	7	5
Chris Crane	6-1	200	57%	1,249	6	10	9
Dave Shinskie	5-2	203	53%	1,495	12	9	1

Does this confirm what many of us are "seeing?" I would say that based on the stats you can say that Shinskie's not as accurate as he needs to be. He is aggressive though and willing and capably of going long.

This weekend Shinskie will face a very good defense with a ball hawking reputation. Let's hope he has another progression and is ready for the challenge. To win the division we can't have "rookie" mistakes.

Marylad kickoff announced and other links

The Maryland game will be a 3:30 start and carried on ESPN U. I will actually be there in person and look forward to meeting some of you. This means we will not play a primetime game this season. The last time we had an all day game schedule was 1997 (TOB's first year).

The experts have been making bowl projections all season. Now, as the schedule comes to an end, the predictions become a little more accurate. That said there doesn't seem to be a consensus on BC Yet. SI says Music City again. The ESPN guys are divided between Emerald and Champs. HD says Emerald. Since we don't control our own destiny, I will predict Emerald too.

The Hockey team lost to UVM on Sunday.

Suns bloggers are growing to love Dudley.

Second viewing thougths and grade report: Virginia

It wasn't a fun game to watch live and not particularly fun to watch back. Maybe it was the awful direction of the 360 broadcast. Maybe it was the dark picture. Maybe it was the lifeless crowd. But the game lacked energy and I wish our guys had done more to change the mood. Although we weren't crisp, there were a few encouraging signs.

Offense: C

Shinskie wasn't a total disaster, but it wasn't a good road game. He is still locking in and not working his progressions. This first INT was costly but not terrible...he was just a little late on the throw. The second was a pure chuck. He also got lucky that a few others weren't picked. He needs to learn when to run as he had chances to get some cheap yards on scrambles. The good news though is that when he has time he can throw some really nice balls (like Larmond's dropped TD).

The offensive line played very well. They gave Shinskie time for most of the game and opened up holes for Harris. Aside from Lapham's penalty, the right side played really well. Outside of a getting beat once, Castonzo played well. Richman played in the first half, but Cleary played during crunch time. Both looked good. I am encouraged since UVA uses a lot of different looks and the line needs to play well if we plan to beat UNC.

Harris had another strong game. It was pretty routine for him at this point -- found good holes and always seemed to fall forward. McCluskey got involved in the passing game and showed nice hands.

Certainly a mixed day for the WRs. Painful drops from Gunnell, Jarvis and Larmond...all of which could have been big plays. Fortunately the guys bounced back and also made some big plays.

Pantale is doing a good job of finding spots and then adding yards after the catch.

I don't know what to make of the play calling from Tranq. I loved all the play action as it did catch them off guard. I also liked the aggressiveness with the deep balls. I also liked throwing to the flats to Pantale and McCluskey. Yet we still only scored twice (in part becuase of Shinskie's mistakes). Also I felt we got too conservative at the goalline on the second TD. I also didn't like the play calling under 3 minutes. But overall, Tranq had a good plan for UVA...we just didn't execute at key moments.

Defense: B-

I know Scafe is far from 100%, but he played and looked good. He wasn't particularly disruptive in their backfield but was making tackles and occupying space. Newman played well. Rossi and Giles didn't make many plays (good or bad). With everyone banged up, I don't know why were are not rotating Dlinemen more. These guys are gassed and it is not like they are all playing so well that we can't give them a rest here or there.

Kuechly was very good and probably had his best game in a couple weeks. He did a good job tracking down guys who were on the other side of the field. McLaughlin was okay but missed a few tackles again. Morrissey was good including the big play to seal the game. Morrissey also looked better in pass coverage. LeGrande also played well.

Wes Davis had a strong game. Rollins made some big plays and also did a good job supporting the run and making tackles. Not much activity near Fletcher or Gause. Bowman had some tackles.

Like the offensive plan, I thought things were good until late. We didn't generate much pass rush but contained Sewell for most of the game. There wasn't a ton of blitzing (although it worked when we did). The only gripe was the prevent on the final drive. We let them move the ball too easily considering the time left in the game.

Special Teams: B

Kickoffs were fine.

Kick returns were uneventful, but I like the LeGrande/Gause combo.

Punts were fine. I thought the Bowman penalty was bull.

Gunnell fair caught most, but still showed some aggressiveness at times.

Overall: B-

A win is what is important but I didn't feel great when it ended. As I've already hit hard, we went conservative too early. Why not pass on the final 3rd down? I did like Spaz showing a little more emotion in this game than he has on some other games. I just wish he would show a little more killer instinct.

The reality of clock management

One of the areas that I will be critical of Spaz in my write up will be his ultra conservative game management. After moving the ball out of our own end successfully with run and pass, Spaz starting killing clock once we got to midfield. The problem with that idea was that there was still way too much time left on the clock. Sure he forced Groh to burn his timeouts, but timeouts are fairly disposable in college football. Because the clock stops with a first down, you can easily drive the field with two minutes and never need a time out. Take a look at just this one example of actual elapsed time during Virginia's final drive.

After a few first downs, UVA has the ball at midfield. There is 1:38 left. The clock is stopped because of the first down. Sewall is throwing.

He checks down (which BC is giving him) and completes a pass for seven yards. Notice it only took him two seconds to complete the pass.

Virginia is in two-minute mode so they line up quickly and are ready to run the next play. The clock reads 1:22.



So let's review. By design BC wanted to force something underneath to keep the clock moving. That worked. UVA completed the pass short of first down. Just what BC wanted. Yet they only ran off 16 seconds and are now in BC territory. Is that really a winning strategy?

Spaz has seen plenty of comeback in college football. Why is he still going so conservative now that he is calling the shots? On BC's final third down, we ran off ten seconds and forced Virginia to burn its last timeout. If we had thrown on 3rd down would the game have been that different? That ten seconds and 1 TO is not what won the game.

The results of close games tends to even out over time. So far Spaz is 3-1 in close games this year. If he keeps playing so conservatively another one is going to go the wrong way.