Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

My morning routine has been changed since I got Phil Steele's College Football 2021 Preview magazine. Now instead of reading from a book during my first cup of coffee I'm reading Phil Steele... The top 3 in odds to win Time Magazine's Person of the Year are: Doctors, Nurses, and First Responders (-$145); the World Health Organization (+$250); and Joe Biden (+$350). My sleeper is Anthony Fauci at +$700 since this is the magazine that once chose Hitler for this award and they probably need a controversial pick to remind people that Time Magazine is still actually in business... Reminder of how useless pre-season polls can be - in 2012 the USC Trojans were ranked as the #1 team in the country but by season's end they were unranked and out of the Top 25... The prices for used cars in this country have gone through the roof. It can't just be a lack of computer chips for new cars that's causing the price surge either... I admit that I'm looking forward to Boston College football this fall. The Eagles will have one of the top offenses in the country with potential All-Americans in the offensive line, at tight end, and most importantly at QB with Phil Jurkovec. The future looks bright too as ESPN has BC's recruiting class ranked 16th in the country ahead of even powerhouses like USC and Florida... Where the Great Wall of China ends...  

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Did the last battle of the American Revolutionary War really happen in India?

- This article helps explain why I'm excited for the upcoming Boston College football season. Planning on going to the UMass game and maybe one at Chestnut Hill too.

- Heh Heh

- VDH: Class - the Word We Dare Not Speak 

Linky Links

Stuff I fund interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Curt Schilling for the Hall of Fame? I say yes based mostly on his 3,000 plus K's and his post season performance.

- Nice profile of BC's Andre Williams. I have to think Williams sudden Heisman chances will help get the Eagles into a higher profile Bowl game.

- Speaking of good profiles - here's one on ESPN's John Clayton one of the hardest working men in football.

- Cool - excellent photo of the Seattle skyline above the fog.

- Good point - why should it be called an RJ45 port?

BC's Gary Tranquill

Very interesting look at Boston College Offensive Coordinator Gary Tranquill.

Tranquill has been an assistant, and the list of those who hired him speaks to his value and reputation. Among others, Tranquill worked for Woody Hayes at Ohio State, Don Nehlen at West Virginia, Welsh at Virginia and Navy, Bill Belichick with the Cleveland Browns, Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech and Nick Saban at Michigan State.

Another interesting note:

[BC head coach Frank] Spaziani, 62, assembled a young staff, with the exception of Tranquill. None of the Eagles' eight other assistants was born when Tranquill began coaching.

The Longest Game

The Texas Longhorns and the BC Eagles played the longest game in college history yesterday with a game that Texas won 3-2 in 25 innings. Think about that - 25 innings!

I felt sad reading the article though because nobody will remember BC's role in this game. This is not their Tin Cup moment - that moment belongs to the Longhorns. Think about it. The longest professional game in history occurred at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, RI with the Pawtucket Red Sox winning a 33 inning marathon. I couldn't tell you who lost the game without looking it up though. (And yes - I looked it up and it was the Rochester Red Wings.) Years from now people will be looking it up to see who the Longhorns beat in the 25-inning game.

Boston College Loses to Florida State

Last night the Boston College Eagles came up short in their bid for an undefeated season by losing to Florida State 27-17. It was 20-17 with a little over a minute to go and everyone watching expected to see Matt Ryan lead the Eagles to a victory. Instead Ryan threw an interception which was returned for the final TD of the game.

Now that Matt Ryan and BC have been knocked off their pedestals - the doubters will be free to kick them when BC is down. Here's the mistake - BC isn't down. They are 8-1 (4-1 in the ACC) and are still in line to get a major bowl birth and in great shape to win the ACC.

The weather in Chestnut Hills last night was bad. The weather was so bad that many of my friends raced to place bets on the game going under the total of 38.5 points with the thinking that nobody would be able to score in those conditions. I bring this up to to emphasize how bad the weather was and to point out that I hang out with some degenerate gamblers. I'm sure Matt Ryan and BC would never use the weather as an excuse as to why they lost and I make no excuses for my friends.

I will admit to having a 180 degree change in my thinking about BC deserving their high ranking and now my thinking is damn right they deserve their high ranking. Last night they lost to a good Florida State team (though a team I grant is prone to Jeckle and Hyde performances). This is the same Florida State team that beat the Alabama team who almost beat LSU last night. Sure BC lost last night and had to pull out the Virginia Tech game in the last 2 minutes but the LSU team everyone want to jump over BC in the rankings is always playing from behind it seems.

The past 4 games for LSU have been Pepto-Bismal affairs. Easily LSU could have lost any of the 4 games (similar to the stumbles the pundit favorite Florida Gators have taken). I ask the simple question - on a neutral field who would win versus the Florida State Seminoles and the Kentucky Wildcats? I think that would be a pretty even game and yet just watch as the "experts" use BC's loss as proof they they don't belong with the big boys while at the same time dismissing LSU's loss to Kentucky as an aberration.

Let me also ask who would win on a neutral field between the 6-3 Florida State and the 6-3 California Golden Bears. Cal was the one team to beat Oregon - another team the "experts" will leap frog over BC in the polls. Really wouldn't a Florida State / Cal game be about even? Why then is the Oregon loss looked at as an aberration while BC's loss will be proof that they are over their head?

Just remember that these are the same "experts" who had the preseason polls so utterly wrong. Also remember not to count out BC and Matt Ryan. Look for BC to take Maryland to the woodshed next week and look for Ryan to have another 400-yard passing night to boot.

Monday Sports Hangover



The above picture is real and the article Bush is holding up was a real article. It seems unreal - like a photoshop job but its real (though I'd bet that the photo in the article is a photoshop job). Today being a sports fan in Boston seems unreal but it too is real. Last night the Red Sox won the World Series and the New England Patriots just completely blew away the Washington Redskins.

Did I mention that the Boston Red Sox won the World Series? For the second time in 4 years. Unreal. I went out to watch the game and everyone I was with seemed to feel the same way. It just wasn't the same as in 2004. Now its kind of expected. No more people saying things like "Now I can die in peace." Now we expect the Red Sox to make the playoffs and beat the teams they are supposed to beat - like the Colorado Rockies. We have become the 1996 Yankees.

The winning of the World Series against the Rockies was so expected that most of the buzz around New England today is actually about the New England Patriots who completely dismantled the Redskins. When the Pats decided to go for it on 4th down - not once but twice - everyone in that bar I was at gave the same laugh of "Huh oh". Many have been complaining that the Patriots are running up the score but they are not taking ANY prisoners this year. They are truly a special team. I truly believe that the defense is pissed off today that they didn't get the shut out. They are so special that even the morning after the Red Sox won the World Series (for the second time in 4 years) - they are sharing billing on sports talk show radio. For a regular season victory!

Last week I mused that it would be interesting to have a prop bet between the number of runs the Red Sox scored in the World Series against the number of points the Patriots would score on Sunday. The final score of that prop bet would have been 52-29 Patriots. Unreal.

How good are the Patriots? Consider that next week they play the undefeated reigning Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis and they are favored by 4.5 points!

The Patriots are scary good. They are potentially 1986 Celtics greatest team in history good.

I feel bad for the Boston College Eagles who are also putting together a potential once in a lifetime season. BC is #2 in the country and they have a QB who is now the front runner for the Heisman Trophy. Anywhere else in the country and everyone is going crazy for the team. Except here in New England where the Red Sox just won the World Series (for the second time in 4 years) and the Patriots are putting together a once in a lifetime season.

Matt Ryan

I'm a Boston College fan but the talk of putting Matt Ryan into the Heisman shortlist may be premature. Ryan is 8th in the country in passing with 985 yards after 3 games. Every player who has more passing yards than Ryan also has a better QB rating. For examples - Brian Brohm of Louisville has 1,142 yards and a rating of 193 while Colt Brennan of Hawaii has 1,262 yards and a rating of 165. Matt Ryan has a QB rating of 136.

Matt Ryan will have to lead BC to either an undefeated season or one loss season to get real consideration for the award.

Boston College Eagles

The BC Eagles ran their record to 3-0 with a win over 15th ranked Georgia Tech last night. Pre-season I said that if BC could get by Georgia Tech that they would go 7-0 to start the season. The Eagles next 4 games are against Army, UMass, Bowling Green and Notre Dame. Of the 4 - Bowling Green looks like the biggest challenge (but that's not saying much).

BC went into the week ranked 21st in the AP poll but they should move up to probably 16th this week since Arkansas, Louisville, Nebraska, UCLA and of course Georgia Tech all lost. It is entirely possible that by the time BC meets Virginia Tech on Thursday October 25th that the Eagles will not just be undefeated at 7-0 but also in the top 10 in the rankings.

When I made my prediction that BC would start the season 7-0 - I made the assumption that the highly regarded Virginia Tech team would put an end to their winning streak but now I'm not so sure. The Hokies were crushed by LSU and they barely got by Eastern Carolina. Yesterday it was 7-7 late into the 3rd quarter against lightly regarded Ohio before Virginia Tech was able to pull away with 21 unanswered points. If the game was tomorrow - the Hokies would be a slight favorite based only on the fact that the game will be in Blacksburg.

In fact, with the BC team gaining experience and confidence with each game - there is a slight chance that they could finish the season undefeated.

There - I said it.

After Va Tech - the Eagles play Florida State at home. Has anyone been overly impressed with the Seminoles this season? Next comes a game at Maryland who will have played both Wake Forrest and Georgia Tech by the time BC has to play the Terrapins. That insight should allow the BC coaching staff to have an effective game plan in place to beat Maryland on the road.

The next to the last game at Clemson will be the toughest test for Boston College. Under Tom O'Brien this would be the type of game that the Eagles would choke on. They would get right to the edge of greatness but then shrink right back into second tier status. This year feels different and Matt Ryan seems poised for a truly special season.

The last game of the year will be against Miami at home in Chestnut Hill.

It is almost a certainty that BC will be going to a bowl game in January but there is starting to look like there is a good chance the Eagles could put the BC in BCS.

That's not to say that BC will be national champions (unless they lay a BYU in 1984 like claim to the crown). I'm not delusional (yes you are - you retort). I'd fully expect BC to get steamrolled by USC, LSU, Florida and maybe Oklahoma in any bowl game. Against everyone else - I think I'd take my chances with the Eagles (plus the points).