Gallows Pole

I could not even make a post for the last game. Everything was so hectic that weekend leading up to the loss to the Terps I could barely catch my breath before I looked at the TV and saw we were down by 7 less than 3 miutes into the game. I knew it was going to be a long night. The team is on its heels right now and needs to get back to basics- running and tackling. If we can get back to fundamentals and stop with the outbreak of the 'dropsies' we might be able to pull this one out. Clemson will definitely have the speed edge, again, but hopefully some of the hurt guys are back- where are you Mr Dunbar???- and the penalties will not be an issue.

Death Valey is tough to play but maybe the boys just need the edge of being the underdog to correctly motivate them. It is starting to look like they have the hoops team issue of playing down to the oppositions level.

Florida State this weekend

Game has been moved to 8 PM so we can cash a big ESPN check. Hopefully it will be nice and cold so that we get a nice home field advantage. I am sure the place will be rocking because now every game becomes "That Game" where the entire season rests on the outcome. If the table is run- hello New Orleans and some serious beignets and jumbalaya. Any losses slide you further down to the Continental Bowl and its ilk. It will be harder to stay under the radar with the Sox winning it all so now the only competition will be the Patriots until we see what the Celtics are really made of.
Hopefully there will be no injuries this week and the O-line, Cherilus- ahem, can work on the penalties.

More to come.................

New BCS

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=732233

Boston College is ranked first by four of the six computers and for the second week in a row has an average computer ranking of first. Ohio State is No. 1 in the other two computers and is tied for second with Arizona State in the average computer ranking.

Matty Ice starts the 2 minute drill

Victory at VTech!!!!!

Battle in Blacksburg!!!!

UNREAL! Only thing I can think of. I am still in shock from this game. BC could not have had more things going wrong on the offensive side of the ball- heavy rain, dropped passes, bad o-line blocking,etc. I will not even start on the ACC refs blowing another call- they are horrible and for any team to win in this conference they are going to have to do it on their own because the refs will not make the same calls consistently. Penalties were another big black eye but the defense showed its mettle in this one. Too bad they could not come up with a pick for a score because for 56 minutes it looked like the only way they could win was a defensive TD. As I was watching the game I was talking to a buddy about the odds of BC recovering an onsides kick against VT. I do not hink there is a name for a number that high. Sure enough- Lady Luck popped up and we were given one more shot to win. The first TD to follow was marred by the little yellow laundry on the left of the screen just before Ryan threw the ball so you knew two things: 1- there was going o be an easy catch for a TD and 2, it would not count. Ryan held the troops together and with a great scramble shut up those fans at VTech quick. Those fans deserve a lot of credit for sitting through this one in that weather. I am not sure why the 2 backs were constantly getting out of the backfield without trying to protect Matty Ice a little more especially on the second to last series where they had the 4th and 33 going in the shadow of theor own goal. Hopefully another little rest period will get the troops ready for the game vs. Florida State. I am still waiting to see when the game will be on since ESPN excercised their right to change times and has not announced kickoff yet. I am willing to bet it will be the 4 or 8 PM game so hopefully if it is that late we will have some normal cold weather up here.
Great job to the boys for playing all 60 minutes and keeping their eyes on the prize!

ND summary

Great trip out to Chicago. The Berghoff is open again! Trip through North Jersey East, (Gary, Indiana) then the cornfields to South Bend. Plenty of trash talking on the Internet from the ND faithful especially the student body. Campus was very nice, got to see the Grotto and the basilica, and the bands march across campus into the stadium. Very nice people with plenty of "Hi. Welcome to Notre Dame". The game itself- UGH. First major issue- the TV timeouts. After whoring out the soul for a TV contract they let NBC dictate the entire non-flow of the game. They must really need the money out there because all they did was show commercials. Maybe they just wanted people to forget that ND actually had to PLAY the game. Second issue- ACC Refs. Oh my. After the freakshow they caused poor Bobby Bowden on Thursday night you would think they would be on their A-Game- but this was not the case. Bad calls, non- make up calls, etc. There was no flow at all in this game directly resulting from these two root causes. Both defenses were pretty solid. ND continues to struggle on the ground but BC let them hang around too long. The stats tell a different story than the actual game. BC looks dominant on paper but the penalties came at the worst times and there were way too many 15 yarders. Holding is done on every play and only the really flagrant ones should be called. But if you do start calling it you need to go both ways. Cherilus was guilty many times as has been his curse for years but there were plenty of ND scrambles where BC guys were getting their shirts pulled and there were absolutely no calls (Until the TD saving one in the 4th quarter which got plenty of mock cheers). BC was running great in the first 1/4 then got away from it until the 4th for some reason. They did not want to pass over the middle with all the screens they were running to avoid the blitz from ND. Ryan had a few great reads where he was hitting the 3rd an 4th options when given the time. Hopefully we can clean up the penalties and the kicking game because there is no way we can just give away points to VaTech on special teams. We have 10 days to get ready for the Thursday night tilt and there will be a lot on the line depending on how other teams play as well. The ACC title is right there and the Orange Bowl with it. The checkbook will stay closed for travel unless it is a good bowl game (Or Clemson tickets pop up).

Finally!

Here we go.........

Crunch Time

Matty Heisman

Touchdown Jesus

Betting trends

BETTING TRENDS
BOSTON COLLEGE
Boston College is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Boston College is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Boston College is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston College's last 5 games on the road
Boston College is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Notre Dame
Boston College is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Notre Dame

NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games
Notre Dame is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Notre Dame's last 7 games
Notre Dame is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Notre Dame is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Notre Dame's last 7 games at home
Notre Dame is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston College
Notre Dame is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Boston College

Stats for season BC-ND

ND Injuries

NOTRE DAME
PLAYER
POS
DESCRIPTION
Demetrius Jones
QB
Out For Season (transferred)
David Grimes
WR
Questionable Week 7 (leg)

BC Injuries

Injuries:
BOSTON COLLEGE
PLAYER
POS
DESCRIPTION
B.J. Raji
DT
Out For Season (academics)
Brian Toal
LB
Out For Season (shoulder)
Wes Davis
S
Questionable Week 7 (head)
James McCluskey
FB
Questionable Week 7 (leg)
Damik Scafe
DT
Questinable Week 7 (hamstring)
Brady Smith
DT
Questionable Week 7 (knee)

From Bodoglines.com

- The Boston College Eagles and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will both be gunning for a victory on Saturday when they meet at Notre Dame Stadium.
Oddsmakers currently have the Eagles listed as 14½-point favorites versus the Fighting Irish, while the game's total has not yet been posted.
Boston College forced six turnovers in Week 6's 55-24 win over Bowling Green, covering the 19-point home spread. The 76 points scored were OVER the posted total of 59.
Matt Ryan was 24-for-32 for 312 yards and four touchdowns, and Justin Jarvis added 102 yards and a score on four catches for the Eagles.
The Fighting Irish scored 17 points in the third quarter last time out, as they upset the UCLA Bruins 20-6. The 26 points were well UNDER the posted total of 48.
Jimmy Clausen threw for 84 yards and completed 17-of-27 pass attempts with one touchdown.
Current streak:Boston College has won 6 straight games.
Team records:Boston College: 6-0 SU, 4-1 ATS Notre Dame: 1-5 SU, 2-4 ATS
Boston College most recently:When playing in October are 8-2When playing on grass are 6-4After outgaining opponent are 8-2When playing outside the conference are 10-0Notre Dame most recently:When playing in October are 8-2When playing on grass are 5-5After being outgained are 5-5When playing outside the conference are 3-7
A few trends to consider:Boston College is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games Boston College is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Notre DameThe total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston College's last 5 games on the roadBoston College is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games on the roadThe total has gone UNDER in 6 of Notre Dame's last 7 games Notre Dame is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games at homeThe total has gone UNDER in 5 of Notre Dame's last 7 games at homeNotre Dame is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Boston College
Next up:Boston College at Virginia Tech, Thursday, October 25Notre Dame home to Southern Cal, Saturday, October 20

Ryan on SI.com

Previews

ESPN.com http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/preview?gameId=272860087


Rivals.com
Boston College (6-0) at Notre Dame (1-5), 3:30 p.m., NBC
The buzz: BC is off to its best start since 1942. Coincidentally, the Irish were good that season, too. The line: BC by 13.5. The pick: BC 28-13


Damian Strohmeyer/SI.com
Flight Of The Eagles
Ah, to be a Boston sports fan right now. The Patriots are rolling, the Red Sox look World Series-bound, the Celtics have a star-studded lineup -- and Boston College is off to its best start (6-0) in 65 years. The Eagles have their highest ranking ever (fourth) and boast arguably the best quarterback in the country in Matt Ryan. So why aren't people buying into BC? Granted, the Eagles' biggest win was against Georgia Tech, but first-year coach Jeff Jagodzinski, who was previously Brett Favre's offensive coordinator with the Packers, has proven a perfect fit for Ryan (1,857 yards, 15 touchdowns) and the Eagles defense has been stifling in allowing 49.7 rushing yards a game (third nationally). The second half of the season heats up with four road games (Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Maryland) and Florida State and Miami at home. Say what you want about the ACC, but don't sleep on this very real contender to reach the national-title game.

Weather for Saturday in South Bend

Sunny
High61°F
Precip10%
Wind: WNW 14 mph
Max. Humidity: 61%
UV Index: 4 Moderate
Sunrise: 7:55 AM ET
Avg. High: 63°F
Record High: 86°F (1975)
Mostly Clear
Overnight Low40°F
Precip10%
Wind: NW 1 mph
Max. Humidity: 71%



Sunset: 7:07 PM ET
Avg. Low: 43°F
Record Low: 26°F (1909)

Gettin ready for ND

Only a few days at work separate me from my first trip to South Bend. I was relieved that ND finally won over UCLA this weekend- but then crushed when I saw the line open at 14!!!! Not the kind of motivation you want for the Irish bulletin board. With all the upsets this year I do not want to show up on that list. The D had a lot of picks but gave up a ton of yards. I guess we got so used to the Patriots 'bend don't break' style that it does not worry us as much anymore to see numbers like that as long as we win. I will be real happy with a nice sunny day in the low 60's- getting cold and dark by the 4th quarter. Real East Coast football weather. No major injuries I saw during the game and Larkin came back strong. Kicking game is still a big worry unless it is the greatest game of possum ever. Way too many bad kicks and return yards still week after week. The long field goal calmed some nerves but the D was real soft over the middle all day long. Hopefully the news stays all calm and good for the week so Friday night will be relaxing to watch the Sox play to get ready for the trip to Indiana on Saturday morning.

Here is the D

Getting ready for tomorrow

Should be a little humid in the mid 70's for kickoff tomorrow at noon. Game is on ESPN U this week at least considering the UMAss game was only on the radio. The line is still hovering at 20 which has me a little worried because it seems on the high side. BGU is a pretty solid team that put up a good show against Michigan State at MSU losing only by 11. Their QB is putting up numbers very close to Ryan's - Tyler Sheehan is at 66.8% completion rate, 1330 yards, 10 TD's and 4 picks. Ryan is cruising along at 61% 1500 yards, 11 TD's and 5 picks. MAC teams usually have a pretty good chip on their shoulders and have plenty of kids who could play in the bigger conferences. I think the difference is going to be on defense in this one. BGU is giving up 200 yards per game rushing and BC needs to take full advantage of that to keep BGU off the field where a lucky play here or a pass interference call there will keep them in the ball game. If BC can take care of business rushing the ball this should be wrapped up by the end of the third quarter. If There are a lot of big pays and they let BGU hang around they need to worry about letting the kicking game decide the outcome.

This Saturday at Noon

From BODOG lines

Bowling Green Falcons vs. Boston College Eagles
- The Bowling Green Falcons and the Boston College Eagles will both be trying to pick up a win on Saturday when they battle at Alumni Stadium.
Odds aren't yet posted for this game, so check back later for the opening line and total.
The Falcons went up 17-0 at halftime last time out and cruised from there to a 41-21 victory over the visiting Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. The oddsmakers stayed away from that contest – no line or total was posted for the matchup.
The Eagles slipped past the visiting Massachusetts Minutemen 24-14 at home last time out, despite getting outscored 14-7 in the third quarter. Matt Ryan went 24-for-42 for 204 yards in that win, with one TD strike.

Event tonight for Ron Morrell

October 1st - The Ron Morrell Dinner/Smoker: Biagio Ristorante & Bar, Waltham, MA
Waltham, MA -- The Ron Morrell Dinner/Smoker charity event, to benefit Matignon High School, will take place on Monday, October 1, 2007 at Biagio Ristorante & Bar in Waltham, MA. Advanced payment of $125 per person is required and includes a Cigar Agency gift bag, a cocktail party, dinner buffet and coffee and desert. A raffle will also be held, including cigars, gift certificates, an autographed David Ortiz baseball and more!

Ronnie was a great guy who sat directly behind me for years at the BC games. He was a great person to know and this is an event is his memory. He is missed at the monthly card games in Waltham and is fondly remembered at Watch City Cigars.

Top 10

Not since the Flutie days have we been this high! Perfect storm brought lots of top 10 losses with a tough win over UMass and we broke from 12 to 7 in the rankings! Bowling Green should be a good game- noon this Saturday. I am sure there will be no letdown after the fight UMass put up. They were in this game even with 17 penalties. The team has really come together and looks good in all 3 parts of the game. Even special teams has come around. I am looking forward to see how they come out of the gate Saturday because I do not want this to be a classic trap game with ND next up at South Bend in 2 weeks. I want to go into ND undefeated and playing well because that will really raise the stakes for that nationally televised game. ND will be trying to avenge its current losing streak to us and probably there own season losing streak as well with a night game at UCLA this week.

Waiting for the long gray line..........

The GTech game was great to watch on TV. My tow biggest concerns outside of the ACC refs so far (watching them is like watching an NHL game with bad calls followed by worse make up calls)
1- When BC was backed up on their 1 yard line and elected to throw 3 tims trying to bust one long or draw the foul. This worked later when the game was in hand but at that point in time you just needed to eat some clock and get out of the jam hopefully conceding only the field goal.

2- The fans throwing bottles at Matty Heisman. This is off the chart no class. There were three warnings to the fans for throwing things but obviously at that point it has already gone too far. What was security doing. This is a nationally televised game and they let that stuff go on. To anyone down there- you would not see that in Athens under the same circumsatances.

Hopefully this weekend will be a good game. Army always is trouble because the kids have real heart and are very well conditioned. It is hard to root for a blowout knowing that these kids are really playing for love of the game and will be in a desert somewhere inthe next few years. They are always a good group to see on the road and hopefully a lot of them make the 3 hour ride down for the game.

Getting ready for tomorrow night. The remote will get a break with the Sox-Yanks on 3:55. Hopefully this comes down to a balanced BC attack and Ryan being able to deal with the blitzes. The defense is stretched a little this with Larkin going down but I think the depth chart is still pretty solid. It will be interesting to see how the receivers do since they had a few drops last week. Kicking game is still a BIG worry especially the kickoffs. Atlanta weather for game time:

Clear: Full Moon
Overnight Low60°F
Precip 10%
Wind:N 7 mphMax.
Humidity:66%

Should take the heat and humidity out of the equation. Last time down there was like being in an oven and even with the win i felt horrible since the place ran out of Coke and water. Can not imagine how bad it was for the players.

BJ Raji was practicing this week so to me that looks like he is coming back for another year or trying to stay in draft shape- tough to call at this point.

Need to keep the turnovers coming. DB's need to keep on top of things and as long as the DE's contain we should be able to pull this one off.

score!

Ready for another score

New Schemes

I formation

Waiting for the play

Confidence growing

Bench after first pick

Captains for the toss

NC STatement!

The day started out with the news that BJ Raji was gone for the season. This was a little odd to me considering he was participating in practices during the week. I wonder what he will do considering he has a year of eligibility left. The weather was hot muggy and sunny. Plenty of sunburns after this one. The kicking game needs a lot of work considering they activated Bennett and he was no more successful at avoiding penalties with bad kicks than our folk hero 'Sid Vicious.' It seems like they re afraid to just kick the ball into play in the middle and they are trying a bit to hard to be cute and try to coffin corner kickoffs. Hopefully the Monday night practice will address this because next week in Atlanta the margin for error will be much smaller than the last two games.
The ride into the parking garage was interesting listening to the Miami and Wake forest games on Sirius. I was a little surprised that Wake was hanging in so well against Nebraska even though it was a home game but I was in shock at the beatdown Oklahoma was laying on Miami.
The ticket scalping demand was zero outside Alumni even with a large NCST fan contingent.
All in all it was a great day, especially for the defense- they took it to a new level and could have had at least one more pick than they did. It was almost like they had a NCST playbook they waited on so many routes to get picks. Dunbar and Silva were all over the field making plays. I was glad to see the running game back a little stronger than last week even though it meant a drop in Ryan's stats but the win is far more important than anything else.
Hopefully the trip to Atlanta will be a little cooler but with the same end result!

Still waiting on any BJ Raji updates.
From today's Globe:
No word on Raji's availability
By Mark Blaudschun, Globe Staff September 7, 2007
Although there is no official word on the status of defensive tackle B.J. Raji, who was declared academically ineligible last week, Boston College officials appear optimistic as Raji returned to practice yesterday.

Raji's status could be decided as early as today if the NCAA rules on an appeal made by BC. Raji had fallen three credits short of the academic progress required by the NCAA. If Raji is declared eligible, he could play against North Carolina State tomorrow.
Raji is unavailable for comment on his status until the appeal process is resolved. While Raji can practice, NCAA rules state that players on academic suspension cannot travel with the team or stay at the hotel the team uses the night before each home game.
Coach Jeff Jagodzinski said he hopes to have a full complement of players for tomorrow's game. Running back Jeff Smith's status was the most doubtful as BC evaluates tests regarding the concussion Smith suffered during training camp.
Home cookingBC enters tomorrow's game with a 12-game home winning streak. The Eagles' last loss at home was to Florida State, 28-17, Sept. 17, 2005

Kickoffs will be different with Bennett getting the nod this week:
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/football/view.bg?articleid=1029658

I am not sure what they were trting to do last week but from where I was sitting it looked like they were trying to keep the balls squibbed into the corner and then got more and more frustrated with each one out of bounds. Unless there was a real threat back there to make returns I am not sure why they kept this strategy up especially when it kept failing.

Game should be a schorcher with temps in the high 80's with plenty of humidity so conditioning will be a big factor. Hopefully the rotating backfield will keep fresh legs handy so that Ryan can do his thing passing. I was surprised to see that on the ESPN.COM Heisman watch, he had better stats than Brohm and Booty and basically the same as Brennan but still no mention.

Early Lines on Game

Sep. 8
NC State
at Boston College

Favorite Point spread Casino
BC -14 Caesars/Hilton
BC -14 MGM/Mirage
BC -14 Stations

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ACC Players of the week

Ryan, Tribble Named ACC Players of the Week
Ryan threw five TD passes vs. Wake Forest; Tribble grabs three interceptions
Sept. 4, 2007
Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, who threw five touchdown passes in BC's 38-28 win over Wake Forest this past Saturday, and cornerback DeJuan Tribble, who tied a career high with three interceptions, have received Player of the Week honors from the ACC.
Ryan was named offensive back of the week. A senior from Exton, Pa., Ryan led the Eagles to a hard-fought 38-28 win over the 2006 ACC Champion Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. He completed 32-of-52 passes for a career-best 408 yards and five touchdowns, becoming the first Boston College quarterback to throw five or more touchdown passes since Doug Flutie in 1984. With his performance, Ryan also passed the 5,000 yard passing mark for his career. He is one of only five Boston College signal callers to achieve the feat.
Tribble was named defensive back of the week. Tribble, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, picked off three Wake Forest passes, including one in the end zone that denied the Deacons a score. Tribble's three interceptions give him 14 for his career and tied his career high, set last year at Miami. He also added seven tackles, including one for a loss an returned the three interceptions a total of 42 yards.
Other ACC awards went to Georgia Tech's Andrew Gardner (offensive lineman), Clemson's Philip Merling (defensive lineman), Georgia Tech's Travis Bell (specialist) and North Carolina's T.J. Yates (rookie).

Black Crowes at ICONS

Great day to pass- 400+ yards

Offense is clicking

Rode the Wake

Great overall game after a horrific start. Nothing worse than fumbling the opening kickoff (which at least they accepted- never did that much in the TOB era) then throwing a pick that gets returned for a TD as the first play from scrimmage. 14 seconds in- down 7 points. UGH. Not much better when letting Wake roll downfield to go up 14-0 early in the first quarter. The natives were getting anxious until the first sign of hope appeared. The ticker flashed the Appaliachian State score over Michigan. Coach Jags then got the troops in line and started the comeback. It was great to see them go for the two bombs down the left side challenging the DB and going for the points befre the half. Never saw action like that with 'Mr no headphones-no personality- No way was this group going any further- TOB'.

Defense slowly started to strangle the life out of Wake's offense and really clamped down once they broke the 40. Big 4th quarter stand by the D to stop the Deacons on a 4th and short. The game was what the fans wanted- plenty of O timely D and a big W on the schedule.