Roundtable: Is BC football already done?

We've just seen the Eagles get whooped for the second straight non-cupcake game; this time losing to bitter rival Notre Dame.  Boston College has lost both of those games by nearly 20 points a piece.  We've also seen elements of this BC team struggle mightily, to the point where many are losing hope in this season.  It's Week 6, but I put the question to the blogosphere: Are we done?

BC blogs

Joe (STG): "Done" might be a strong word with 8 games still to go, but I think there's a good chance we're going nowhere this year.  The offensive line has been so atrocious that it has virtually crippled the rest of the offense, and I don't think that's a quick fix, either.  Further, the pass D is soft and until Chase Rettig came onto the scene (and we've seen very little of him), I had no confidence at all in the QB position.  On the whole, this team looks flat, and the rest of the division seems improved.  BC could win 6 or 7 and sneak into a bowl game, but who cares; that wasn't the goal this year.  I think our dreams of winning the ACC Atlantic have just about gone by the boards, or are very close to doing so, save a miraculous turnaround in this team's play.  It could happen, but there's a LOT to fix.  Nowhere to go but up I guess.

Bill (Eagle in Atlanta): This season may already be done and the Frank Spaziani iteration of BC football may be done, but BC football is not done. BC has too many advantages and too many institutional resources to be bad forever. A new coach could turn things around quickly.

Wesley (BCDraft): No; I will agree, losing to our first two rivals is overwhelmingly disheartening, but we still have an opportunity to get to the ACCCG, just by winning the rest of our ACC games.

Our main problem is our offensive line right now, which has a lot of talent and experience, just cant seem to put it all together...if that gets amended, I feel like a lot of other things will come easier, secondly Rettig appears to be the real deal. Our defense is typically solid (not against ND passing though) but if we can get some things together we could do a lot better. The bowl season means so much to BC, on a few levels. The streak, the tons of extra practices for the team, etc, I feel we will make it to at least that.

Brian (BC Interruption): Is BC football already done? This year, no. This year's schedule is manageable enough that the Eagles can still win 8-9 games (regardless of who starts at QB) and get into a decent bowl game. Hell, if you are the glass half full-type, BC still controls their own destiny in the ACC Atlantic Division race and can make it back to the ACC Championship Game with some opportunistic wins in their next five games against ACC Atlantic competition.

Can this year shape up to be one of the biggest wasted opportunities in program history? Yes. The Eagles were afforded every opportunity to win the ACC in 2010. Any time you draw both Duke and Virginia on the ACC schedule, you have to capitalize. This year's schedule was incredibly favorable. See: Duke/UVA Coastal partners, four straight home games to start the season, bye week going into the Virginia Tech game, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame at home, a schedule that doesn't include a 2009 bowl team in the month of November, etc. etc. There was a tremendous amount of talent returning on the offensive line, at running back, and on defense, and combined with some great storylines (Herzlich's return from his battle with cancer, Castonzo's Rhode Scholarship candidacy, Johnathan Coleman's The Blind Side like story), BC had everything going for them this year.

The opportunity to win was 2010. To me, the future doesn't look as promising. Miami replaces Virginia on the Coastal schedule in '11, and BC has road trips to Blacksburg, Miami Gardens, Clemson and South Bend next year. The Eagles have just six home games in three of the next four seasons. Programs like Florida State, Miami and Notre Dame are again on the rise. Even Northwestern will prove to a tough season opener for the Eagles. BC will have significant losses to graduation, including Castonzo, Claiborne, Lapham, Herzlich, Morrissey, Wes Davis and Gause.

The chance to get back to the ACC Championship Game was this year. The Eagles will find it a much tougher road to win another ACC Atlantic title in 2011, 12, 13 and beyond.

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Brian (The CBB):  Done? I don't know about that but what is the actual goal of BC football? Is it to win the ACC or get to a mediocre bowl game?

If the goal is to make it to a mediocre bowl game then BC needs to pick up an upset win as they should beat UMD, UVA, and Syracuse to get to five wins. Can they beat Clemson, FSU, NC State, Clemson, or Wake Forest? I think the only winnable game there is the Wake Forest game but that is a road game so we don't know how the team to respond to heading on the road yet.  If the goal of BC football is to get to the ACC Championship game, then BC is clearly DONE!

The main problem with BC football this year is the transition between TOB and Jags combined with the Jags and Spaziani transitions have killed the recruiting for the Eagles in those seasons and the results show on the field now. The BC defense was supposed to be the heart and soul of the 2010 Eagles squad but has really failed to live up to expectations this season against a real offense.


Adam (@HZMLS/Mass Hysteria): Is BC done? After watching the previous two debacles live I have to say yes. There is something significantly flawed with this team, whether it be the lack of talent, or inept coaching staff. How can you go entire halves without moving the ball at all, and how can the coach not gamble or make any adjustments whatsoever? They look lost, uninterested and worst of all bored. Looking at the schedule ahead NC State, Clemson, and Florida State all look like definite losses. We are lucky we have Syracuse, Virginia, Duke and Maryland on the schedule or we would be looking at our first season without a bowl in years. Maybe if things go worse then even I expected GDF will be forced to pull the trigger and clean shop. (Crosses fingers)

Warren (@WarrenLent/Football Armada): After the first loss of the season, I always look to “next year”. In the case of Boston College, I am especially excited to look forward to next year after being obliterated against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. The thing is, though, I continuously realize that the future of this team is already here. BC is one of the youngest teams in the ACC and already has many underclassmen playing huge roles in the offense and the defense. I still have faith in this season because I have faith in Boston College as a program (maybe to a fault). I projected BC to go 10-2 this year and that could still happen, but realistically this team is at an 8 win max trajectory. With the schedule we were given, the season is far from over and the potential is still there. I still have a great amount of belief in this team.