BC vs. Florida State

I went to the BC game last night against Florida State and here are my thoughts and observations.

The Eagles ended losing the game 28-17 but it definitely could have been much closer - in fact it was a game Boston College easily could have won.

My buddy Jim got tickets to the game. His in-laws have season tickets but unfortunately his mom-inlaw isn't doing well, so they weren't able to go to the game. We went in their place. The tickets were on the 30-yard line - so we had a good view of the entire game.

Did I say entire game? Well that's not exactly true because we missed the opening kickoff and FSU's interception for a TD and we ended up leaving after the Seminole blocked the punt in the 4th quarter that really put the game out of reach (note we weren't being fair-weather fans - Jim's car was low on gas and we faced the very real risk of running out if we got stuck in a post game traffic jam).

Some people will tell you that a big turning point in the game came when BC QB Quinton Porter left the game with an ankle injury and Matthew Ryan came in. I disagree with this to a degree. Yes - I think BC wins the game if Porter doesn't get hurt (and it should be noted that he was hurt on a stupid play call) but Porter also dug BC into a 14-0 hole with his first quarter interceptions. If Ryan started it is unlikely that his jitters would have resulted in a likewise 14-0 deficit. More likely, Ryan's scrambling ability would have accentuated the dominate running game even more.

After the 14-0 deficit, the BC offensive and defensive lines took over the game and really dominated. This is what allowed BC to prevent FSU from scoring further and what allowed BC to score 17 unanswered points to take the lead.

In the middle of the third quarter, Bobby Bowden finally realized that his team could not run on BC's defense and started to pass full time. BC couldn't make the adjustment or just didn't have the speed to keep up. This was the real turning point in the game.

Let me make two observations about playing time. I was surprised how little highly regarded defensive lineman Mathias Kiwanuka actually played. It had to be only 50% of the defensive snaps. I don't know why this was but it seems like a huge mistake. Kiwanuka was a huge disruptive force and his ability to bull rush to get to the QB could really have been used more once FSU decided to pass fulltime. I didn't understand his absence. I didn't understand it at all. Secondly, Will Blackmon played too much. Blackmon plays both sides of the ball. On defense he's a corner and on offense he's a wide receiver. He dropped some balls on offense that either would have continued the drive or would have really changed the game. You have to wonder if a fresh receiver catches those passes?

Two final observations.

First - BC is a great place to watch a game but they have those aluminum benches that just have the seat numbers. That leads to people taking up too much space or getting too little. Don't get me wrong - I'm a good sized guy and I got my space. It's just that its annoying to always have to be conscious of protecting that space. BC should take some of that ACC cash and put in individual seats.

Secondly, unless you are being sarcastic, anyone who in a serious tone says "how 'bout them (insert team name here)" should get tazered. There was a guy who kept on saying "how 'bout them Eagles" every time BC made a big play. I swear God took an IQ point away from the guy every time said it.

Bonus observation - yes I have the mentality of a 10-year old but I did chuckle every time FSU's number 81 made a catch and his name was announced. His name is De'Cody Fagg and I swear that the announcer either paused some times between the first and second names or placed the emphasis on the second name. I'd hate to have that last name. I fact if I did - I'd probably change my name to Lipshitz.