2010 Boston College Eagles Football Preview

2009 Results: 8-5, Lost Emerald Bowl vs. USC

Head Coach: Frank Spaziani (2nd year @ BC, 9-5 Overall)

Home Venue: Alumni Stadium (44,500), Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

No team in the country does more with less than Boston College. Located far away from prime high school recruiting territory, the Eagles have managed to find plenty of hidden talent. Combine that with consistently great coaching and you get a team that has been one of the most successful teams in the ACC since expansion. After transitioning flawlessly to new coach Frank Spaziani last year with a winning record in conference play, there is no doubt that the Eagles will be primed for another run in the Atlantic Division. Can this veteran team get back to the ACC Championship Game after winning the division in 2007 and 2008?

OFFENSE

For all of their success in 2009, the Eagles were actually pretty disappointing on offense. Their 25 points per game was 10 th in the conference in scoring and the limited production that they did receive was concentrated in two great players, only one of whom returns this season. He is junior tailback Montel Harris (1,457 yards, 14 TDs), who was a 2nd Team All-ACC player last fall. However, the fact that he accounted for 82% of the Eagles’ rushing yards in 2009 is extremely concerning, as there is no proven backup. If Harris stays healthy then this will be a good ground game but BC has to find another runner to help him because I don’t know if he can continue to be Iron Man.

I also like Boston College’s offensive line, which returns four starters from last year. Three seniors feature prominently in that group, the best of whom is left tackle Anthony Constanzo, who was a 1st Team All-ACC selection last year and has started every single game in his college career. I think that his group will open plenty of holes for the running game while providing great protection in the passing game.

Speaking of which, 26 year old sophomore Dave Shinskie (2,049 yards, 15 TDs, 14 INT) earned the starting job halfway through 2009 and the best way to describe him is a ‘game manager’. That said, it was also his first season playing football after half of a decade playing minor league baseball and he will undoubtedly be more effective in 2010. If he holds onto the starting job, that is. There are a number of underclassmen who will be pushing him in camp.

The problem is that there is a very weak receiving corps returning. Junior Chris Larmond (29 catches, 596 yards, 5 TDs) was a major big play threat last year but the only other returning Eagle that had double digit catches in 2009 is sophomore TE Chris Pantale (25 catches, 223 yarsd, 1 TD). Needless to say, this is a thin group of pass catchers who will miss departed leader Rich Gunnell.

Overall, not a lot looks different about this offense. Harris is expected to once more shoulder the massive burden running the football and he’ll still be running behind a very good O-Line. However, the passing game is still a concern and the notable lack of a dependable possession receiver (Gunnell had double the catches of any other Boston College receiver last season) is a major concern. I think that Harris’ health will be the biggest factor in BC’s success this year: The Eagles desperately need another viable runner to pair with him because if he goes down there is literally no one to pick up the slack. Expect Boston College to run the ball with great effectiveness this season but I don’t see this rather one dimensional unit breaking into the top half of the conference in total scoring this year.

DEFENSE

One thing that you can always count on from the Eagles is a great defense. Last year, Boston College finished 3rd in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing only 19.8 points per game. This was largely due to the conference’s #2 run defense, which held opponents to only three yards per carry! With a defensive-minded head coach, can the Eagles continue their great run in 2010?

Maintaining their great showing against the run is the top priority if they want to remain among the best in the ACC this season. Up front, there will be three senior starters and all three played extensively last fall. Defensive ends Brad Newman (45 tackles) and Alex Albright (32 tackles, 1 sack) are strong rush defenders, though neither is great at getting to the quarterback. Meanwhile, defensive tackle Damik Scafe (35 tackles, 2 sacks) is the biggest defender on the team and he should be very strong in the middle supporting the run this fall. I think that the line is going to be one of the league’s better units.

At linebacker, there will be no better story in college football than the return of senior Mark Herzlich, who missed the entire 2009 campaign while fighting cancer. However, he was a force on the sidelines as a leader and if he is truly back to full go then it will be a huge boost to the defense. After all, he has 30 career starts and was one of the best in the country in 2008. In his absence, true freshman Luke Kuechly (158 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT) was a 1st Team Freshman All-American while finishing 2nd in the entire country in tackles! If Herzlich is truly healthy, this will be an elite set of linebackers and Boston College’s run defense will be rock solid.

The only part of this defense that concerns me is the secondary, where BC was only 10th in the league against the pass last year. However, the Eagles did get their hands on 15 interceptions and their pass yardage issues were more of a result of opposing teams attacking through the air to avoid trying to move the ball against their great run defense. With seniors DeLeon Gause (49 tackles) and Wes Davis (46 tackles, 3 INT) back to lead this group, I think that Boston College will field an effective aerial defense this season.

Overall, it will be business as usual for the Eagles in 2010 as this looks like a very good defense. Their front seven will be very tough against the run and their linebackers could be among the nation’s best. The only concern that I have is that this Boston College team had virtually no pass rush last season and if that doesn’t change then I think that they will susceptible to getting beat through the air. That said, this should still be a great defense that is among the best in the ACC.

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SCHEDULE

The non-conference schedule is a reasonable path for the Eagles. While they open at home with weaklings Weber State and Kent State, they also host Notre Dame early in the year and close at Syracuse, giving them two BCS conference opponents on the docket. Their ACC schedule draw is also similarly mixed, as they host Virginia Tech but also draw lowly Duke and Virginia from the Coastal Division. With ten BCS conference opponents and seven home games, this will be a tough but fair schedule.

OUTLOOK

This Boston College team is so similar to many of the teams that came before them. They will be strong in the trenches on both sides of the football and they will control almost every game they play through their running game. While the northeastern weather plays a part in building the BC philosophy of ball control and great defense, the Eagles are always very well coached and adhere to fundamentals like few teams in the country.

That said, I don’t think that Boston College is going to push for the Atlantic Division title this season, though they will definitely extend their postseason streak. First of all, they don’t have a passing game that is any threat against good defenses and I don’t have a lot of faith that the Eagles will be able to come back by throwing the football this year. Second, their surprising lack of a pass rush could easily catch up to them with a retooling secondary. That will be especially hazardous against loaded Florida State, which will have the conference’s top passing game. Finally, the aforementioned Seminoles are simply a much more talented team and I don’t see the Eagles beating them in Tallahassee this season. Boston College is my choice to finish 3rd in the Atlantic Division in 2010.

PREDICTED RESULT: 8-4 (4-4 ACC)