At this point, it's a broken record: Everybody knows what Boston College's record has been in the must-win game that grants access to an illustrious BCS bowl.
At this point, it's a broken record: Everybody knows what Boston College's record has been in the must-win game that grants access to an illustrious BCS bowl. Since 2004, BC has come one game away from the Orange Bowl three times, and each of those opportunities has been wasted. The Eagles have not played in a meaningful bowl game since the infamous 1984 Cotton Bowl, and they have never been to a BCS bowl. To say there is a sense of urgency this year is like saying Tim Tebow is a good quarterback.
This batch of Eagles, though, is not intimidated by the past. They know what's at stake: a potential trip to the Orange Bowl, but before that, a rematch of last year's ACC championship game, which they lost to Virginia Tech, 30-17.
Another year, though, brings a new group of Eagles -- and this year's crew is ready. They are not nervous, and they refuse to fall into the same trap as those who came before them. They refuse to be caught salivating over a trip to Miami and fall flat during this weekend's pit stop in Tampa Bay. They are focused, and more importantly, they are confident. They know what needs to be done.
"(Last year), we didn't reach our goal," said linebacker Mark Herzlich. "We came up short, we didn't win the ACC championship game, and we didn't go to the Orange Bowl. All those negatives at the end of the season really got us driving to make a difference this year. If you don't make it to the Orange Bowl, you're another team in the ACC, and you did a good job, but you're not noticeable. This year, we want to be noticeable and get where we want to go."
The Eagles' confidence may seem unfounded, given that they have suffered through a plethora of season-ending injuries to five different starters, including senior quarterback Chris Crane, who broke his collarbone in a 24-21 win over Wake Forest on Nov. 22. The rest of the injury report includes linebacker Brian Toal, who broke his leg during the regular-season meeting between the Eagles and the Hokies, and wide receiver Clarence Megwa, who went down Nov. 1 against Clemson. But second-year head coach Jeff Jagodzinski has conditioned his team to overlook the injuries and keep its eyes on the prize: a win in the conference championship game.
"Everything that we do -- and the way that we do it -- is geared toward a championship, from doing things right in practice, doing things right on the field, doing things right off the field, just doing it the right way," Jagodzinski said. "The only ones who really believed in us are the kids sitting in (our) locker room, but that's all that does matter."
The bulk of the Eagles' success this year can be attributed to the defense, which leads the nation with 23 interceptions and ranks first in the conference in rushing defense, yielding an average of just 2.9 yards per carry. BC's front seven -- which includes All-ACC first-team linebacker Herzlich and defensive tackle B.J. Raji, plus second-team DT Ron Brace -- held Maryland's offense to a grand total of negative-six rushing yards last Saturday and sacked Chris Turner six times. The defense has posted three shutouts this season, due in large part to Herzlich, who has a team-leading six interceptions and 98 tackles (74 unassisted).
"He's a special player," Jagodzinski said. "He's stepped up, and I think our defense really feeds off of him and what he does out there."
One jarring weakness in the defense, though, is a somewhat young and untested secondary, which has a tendency to get burned for big-yardage plays at critical times. The unit was completely picked apart for 360 yards against Maryland on Saturday, but Jagodzinski's credo has been that if you force a team to throw the ball, you'll eventually come up with a pick. True-freshman cornerback Donnie Fletcher is still learning the ropes, and redshirt-freshman corner DeLeon Gause is still finding his rhythm after missing a chunk of games with an ankle injury. Senior safety Paul Anderson and junior Marcellus Bowman are capable of making a big impact with picks -- when they show up. Another problem spot for the Eagles defense has been running quarterbacks -- most notably, Georgia Tech's Josh Nesbitt -- because the defensive tackles are slow to contain them once they get outside the pocket. Against Tech in October, BC's defense allowed Tyrod Taylor to rack up 110 yards on the ground, but it allowed zero touchdowns.
The last time these two teams met, the Eagles overcame their Achilles' heel -- too many turnovers -- to pull off a 28-23 win at Alumni Stadium. Crane threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and he fumbled twice, but BC capitalized on three second-quarter touchdowns to win big, despite not scoring after halftime.
This weekend is bound to be a different story, with redshirt-freshman quarterback Dominique Davis filling in for the injured Crane. The Lakeland, Fla., native, who excels at movement passes out of the pocket, was thrust into the limelight two weeks ago in Winston-Salem, and he looked anything but ready: He fumbled twice and failed to hit his receivers for two-and-a-half quarters before leading an improbable 70-yard drive in the final minutes, culminating in a one-yard quarterback sneak with 1:12 left on the clock. He proved he has a little bit of Matt Ryan in him, and then he proved he could effectively manage a game in his first career start against Maryland last Saturday, finishing with 134 yards and two touchdowns, including a 45-yard bomb to wideout Rich Gunnell.
Without a bona fide gunslinger at quarterback, offensive coordinator Steve Logan's offense has developed into a well-balanced attack, with the biggest offensive threat coming in the 5'10", 192-pound form of true-freshman running back Montel Harris. Harris, who set BC's freshman rushing record at 798 yards on Saturday, has worked in tandem with fellow true-freshman Josh Haden to rack up 1,237 yards and six touchdowns this season.
On paper, this BC squad doesn't appear all that remarkable. It relies on inexperienced running backs, a quarterback making his second career start, and a defense that has been annihilated with injuries. Despite all of this, though, the Eagles have somehow found their way to Tampa -- and that wild card will be their biggest advantage this weekend. Want to take out their quarterback? No problem. Take their all-star linebacker and one big-play wideout, too -- and while you're at it, stick two true freshmen at running back and two first-year starters in the secondary. This team is unfazed by adversity; it will find a way to win, somehow, some way.
Last year, the Eagles were supposed to be in the conference championship game. This year, nobody believes they deserve to be -- and that's exactly why they will show up in Tampa.
They have proved the pundits wrong all season long; why stop now?
Jessica Isner is the sports editor at Boston College's student newspaper, The Heights.