LAST STUDENTS STANDING

We don't need to talk about the game. Given the fact that a three point loss to Toledo, at home, while letting up over 90 points is guaranteed to keep us out of the tournament, you can go ahead and ignore basketball for the season.

We do need to talk about the Student Flight, the negative repercussion of the Gold Pass system.

With three minutes to go in the first half:

With less than two minutes to go in the second half:

So, how do you fix the system to punish drop-ins? I mean, sure, I guess it's better than complete no shows...but all this traipsing through Conte just for Syracuse tickets?

GOLD SET ON THIS KID

Freshmen goalie? It takes a pretty solid set to walk in, without the starting job, and hold yourself to the standard of four trophy winning goalies. Thatcher Demko doesn't care...to the point that he's got a target painted clearly for his goal. The great story of this kid is over at the Heights.

CONGRESS PASSES SPAZ AS ENEMY #1

I love three things in this world.

College football.
Tailgating.
Being an alum of Boston College.

If the shut down costs me this Homecoming weekend, I will have a beautifully angering time rexamining my life's priorities.

PETA PUN COUNT

Like moths to a flame, this PETA-against-Eagle thing is just too much for reporters to handle in the pun department. That said, I would like to score the following posts based on their creativity or Boggle-skills on non-repeats.

Sam Gardner, Fox Sports
Buzz: PETA ruffled over BC eagle
Pun Count: 7
Biggest Crime: The literal spelling of "ill-eagle", like all of a sudden now he's aware of these horrible puns.

Galen Moore, Boston Business Journal
PETA vs. Boston College in flap over eagle mascot
Pun Count: 2
Biggest Crime: Small sample size, so we're going with the headline usage of "flap"

Metro Desk, Boston Globe
PETA in flap over BC’s eagle mascot
Pun Count: 4
Biggest Crime: Calling attendance at Alumni Stadium "Cruel and Unusual". Spaz is gone, guys.

Overall
"Flap" and "Ruffling" were used far too often, gang. Get it together.

[INSERT BC USC NEWS]

See y'all in Southern California!

(Pic via Romenesko)

WEEK OF WHISPERS

USC lost at home to Washington State, gaining less yards on offense total than Andre Williams put up against Wake Forest. 

We may have something awesome on our hands this weekend, friends. And even having a *chance* is a victory that I'm willing to take as the excitement builds for a cross-country aventure.

THAT'S WHY YOU ALWAYS TAKE THE POINTS

The BC-Wake game last night was the exact type of snoozer I like. Defensive, clock chugging and the offensive line making ball control the game. I missed not hating my team and, you know what, if you get 200 yards running mainly up the middle? Eat it, Addazio haters, it works.

But it worked for really one important reason: Jim Grobe over coached the end of the first half. BC was in a miraculous position because Wake wasted the opening kick-off when BC broke up the pitch and Amidon went house on a beautiful screen play. When the Deacons blocked the punt as the clock was getting narrower and narrower in the second quarter, it seemed that the lead may get cut and BC wouldn't be comfortable in the new half, momentum swinging with it.

...but then Grobe calls his last time out of the first after second down on the one yard line, with 17 seconds to go before halftime. Too much time to kick the field goal on third, it was pointed out that the Deacons were lining up to pass and make a play for the end zone twice in the next two plays. Tanner Price misses Jared Crump, BC stuffs Wake on fourth down and not only maintains the 10 point lead, but started on the ball in the second.

When it's a two score game and you don't get the ball, you go to keep it close. Any momentum chip could have been huge there but Grobe made an error that really solidified the direction of the game. It gave BC's defense additional confidence, and a unit that needed some came out with even more fire in the second half. How about this for a stat: Wake Forest total offense in the third quarter was 12 plays, 20 yards, 7 minutes and change on the clock, two punts. 

Let's keep praising the defense, but remember that Grobe's mistake will be bigger than we remember. He's no Lane Kiffin, either.

HEIGHTS PREVIEW: SHOWING UP FOR FOOTBALL AGAIN

Earlier this week in our Lows preview, we kind of gave a glimpse of where we think things would net out. The question isn't just the wins and losses in the Lows preview, it's about the future of what happens in the worst case scenario. Maybe that chalks this entire season up to Moral Losses and Victories, but that's actually ok given that emotion is better than apathy.

Fact is, for the final record in the Heights Preview before you, we're still looking at the games the same way. There are the wins, the potential, the surprises and the yes-if-I've-been-drinking-heavily:

Those four potential wins, could each of them end up in the positive? Absolutely. I have no doubt that the seniors on offense could win one of those games on their own, and other role players stepping up in various ways are why I consider those four games lean-wins.

Could we compound on that and beat VT and UNC and go 9-3? If every bounce goes our way, it isn't ridiculous. Yes, we'd need a lot of luck multiple times over to make it happen. But, if we can win in Chapel Hill, I don't think this coach is the anti-motivator that we're used to that would put us at risk in College Park or Raleigh. Could we knock off VT at home late in the season? We know that they are at injury risk, and if the team puts it together with momentum, maybe, just maybe, the season ends and all of those Ws go the right way. We're bowling, and because we're BC, we won't be bowling in style - but, heck son, you got a present and it isn't coal.

But here's the real top of the Heights for the 2013 BC football season: the overall joy of BC football returning and surpassing anything we've grown used to. Yes, file this in "it doesn't matter" and click close on the tab and walk away and say we're not blogging about sports. 

If you're still with me, let's talk about that other stuff and why it matters for the success of the season. Crazy jerseys are going to probably happen, because Under Armour still has a business. Live Eagles are bad ass and induce capital letters in writing about them. The legacy of the school now joining into the Eagle Walk is effin' brilliant. Hospitality tents may take business away from Cleveland Circle bars while putting more people on campus to have that last beer before they wander in to see said Eagle. Homecoming is an actual coming home for alumni (holy crap, what a concept). 

This is the stuff Bates asked us if we wanted, and it couldn't matter more. Just like the gamble of Addazio, his recruits, and more, these ideas need to work or else we're really in trouble. If they are embraced, it will mean the ultimate Moral Victory - that Saturdays at Chestnut Hill are special.

Yeah, wins will, too. Sure. No one wants to celebrate a loss, as the wise Van Wilder said. But the best case scenario this year isn't just 9-3. It's 9-3 and a list of people who want season tickets for the 2014 season...which just so happens to be the single greatest home schedule that I think BC could ask for that doesn't include Notre Dame (reminder, in 2014, BC will be hosting USC, old Big East rivals Pitt and Syracuse, Clemson, likely 2013 BCS team Louisville, local 1AA URI and has a nearby tilt at Gilette with UMass).

If these gameday improvements work to get people enjoying campus...

If we generally have a good time rooting for this team again because they are showing they care...

If bloggers like us aren't existential about empty bleachers as the NC State game ends...

Those things will signal success, because only then will we know that we've achieved an amazing turnaround that will never be reflected in the fact that we'll double or triple our win total from last year. 

UNI WATCH SENDS US BACK TO THE BIG EAST

Just the screen shot for you here before the post gets updated.

I thought there were changes with the TV numbers, but looks like they are just about the same. Can't tell any sizing from the two pictures, but you can see the ACC patch in the new jersey .

Last year:

This year:

LOWS PREVIEW: WHAT IF IT DOESN'T GET BETTER

As we've done the last few years, we get ready to rock with two previews on the year - a Heights and a Lows preview. We're going to start with the latter because it's easier and then we get to have happy thoughts later in the week.

Outside of Chestnut Hill, this is probably the standard mindset, though. We weren't good last year. We gained some experience but still are very thin, especially when you go down the two deep. There are obvious changes in style coming, and when you think about defensive schemes, what we didn't do last year (get any pressure on any QB whatsoever) wasn't just coaching.

Thinking about the schedule, here's how it breaks down, in my mind:

Things do start easy, at least until the west coast gets involved. Even in worst case scenarios, this team isn't likely to lose to Villanova, but I could see the short turnaround (even early in the year after a light opponent) tripping up the team. That's why I keep WF in the Potential category and not in a likely scenario.

There are some predictions that involve the USC game as a win in the ultimate scenario. I just don't see how. Teams that can score worry me, especially if it's over the top and we can't get pressure on a QB. I don't think that Nova or Wake will offer a real test to see if our DLine has improved enough to get that pressure on. September ends with a beat down by Florida State, we're either 2-2 or 1-3, and October looks grim. Yes, Army comes back, but we know that the one win won't help much as we think about UNC, Clemson and an early November game with VT.

When the schedule opens back up to less challenging opponents for the last four weeks of the season, it just may take all four wins - three road games to boot - to make a bowl. In the worst case scenario, we win in Las Cruces and maybe make things close in Syracuse or Maryland. 3-9 is the bottom, and the only thing we can hang our hat on is that we did one win better than the year before and Addazio is facing a huge depth gap with the departure of the seniors from key offense positions.

Then I'm really depressed because we're talking about a still not-so-promising 2014. Which shouldn't be a year that exists anyway, let alone one I have to worry about again when it comes to BC Football.