If ever there was a must-win game in August, it was Boston College’s 35-28 conquest of Virginia Tech on Saturday in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles were 4½-point underdogs on their home turf, and they needed a win to re-establish credibility in the ACC and re-assert their position as the pre-eminent college football power in New England. Moreover, it laid the groundwork for a 4-0 start with the next three games against Richmond, Kansas and Rutgers.
There were plenty of Hokie Nation fans among the 35,000 at Alumni Stadium. Elijah Farley flew up from his home in North Carolina to watch his nephew Caleb Foley, the starting right cornerback.
“We’re having a good time up here, friendly people, the city is clean,” said Farley, hopeful that Tech would reprise its season-opening win against Florida State last year in Tallahassee. “My nephew had three interceptions, that was a spectacular game,” he exclaimed.
Alumni Stadium is next to the Conte Forum where the basketball and hockey teams play. It is located in Chestnut Hill, a wealthy village close to Boston. It was a clear day and I could see the Prudential Building from the last row of the visitors side of the field.
Usually, I can avoid people by sitting in the last row, but not this time. Shortly after the kickoff, a diminutive fan wearing a BC hat and shades sat next to me. “How ya doing?” he asked. “I love these seats, ya can see the whole thing. What happened in the first series? I missed it.”
He clapped loudly and pounded the iron wall behind us. People turned to look, and I pretended to be reading the Boston Globe as if to say, “He’s not with me.”
Every game we learn something, and Saturday’s revelation was that “Fight Boston!” is the nation’s oldest fight song. There was plenty of peripheral noise from firecrackers, hip hop music and the PA announcer reading ad copy that fans ignored because they were grabbing for t-shirts fired from the school’s new Gatling gun.
Quarterback Anthony Brown thrives when he has protection. He passed for two touchdowns, ran for a third and didn’t throw a pick. Freshman Zay Flowers of Fort Lauderdale had 116 total yards and a touchdown, and sophomore tight end Hunter Long of Exeter by way of Deerfield Academy had four catches, including three straight during a second quarter drive.
The Eagles play Clemson, Notre Dame and Syracuse on the road in a few weeks, but it’s early and this is their time in the sun. Fans and players should enjoy it while it lasts.
UMASS FALLS AT RUTGERS: After Cam Roberson’s 39-yard touchdown run gave UMass a 14-0 lead against Rutgers on Friday night, first year coach Walt Bell looked like the second coming of Sean McVay, but not everyone was hoodwinked by the two touchdown lead. “UMass is setting us up for a big letdown,” texted a longtime UMass fan and financial contributor.
It was indeed a classic Mark Whipple start to a game, a quick double-digit lead followed by a dispiriting finish, and the 48-21 Rutgers win dropped the UMass program’s record to 18-57 in the FBS.
Against Rutgers in the first quarter, UMass senior quarterback Randall West looked like he belonged on the field. He was composed in good times and bad, and he rumbled out of the pocket like “Big” Ben Roethlisberger.
Bell’s jitterbug offense was in synch, but Big Ten analyst Shaun O’Hara cautioned, “Trying to get the ball snapped after eight seconds, that’s very hard to do.”
Consequently, said the former New York Giants center, “If you’re going to have an uptempo offense, your defense has gotta be ready to play a lot of snaps.”
After the initial adrenaline rush, the UMass defense collapsed. Defensive coordinator Azaar Abdul-Rahim’s starters couldn’t stop Texas Tech transfer McLane Carter from completing 21 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns. Isiah Pacheco rushed for 156 yards and four TDs, and Raheem Blackshear and Bo Melton combined for 15 catches and 253 yards.
The UMass linebacking corps got flattened like cornstalks in a hurricane. Chinedu Ogbanna, who started every game last season and made 72 tackles, looked like he’d spent the offseason training for a hotdog eating contest. Outside linebacker Tyis Lebeau had eschewed offseason surgery and spent most of the game rotating his shoulders on the sideline. His backup James Bowe was ineffective, and Jarvis Miller showed why Penn State let him transfer to play out his final season of eligibility. Miller had one tackle and three assists.
By the end of the game Bell looked more like Ron Meyer than McVay. His offense had been stymied and the defense was as porous as last season. But what’d you expect from a program that couldn’t field enough players for a spring game?
Somewhere laughter’s coming from a conference room in Southern Illinois where Salukis coaches are watching the UMass game film. Southern Illinois is a I-AA team that was 2-9 last season, but they beat Southern Missouri State last weekend and won’t roll over in Amherst on Saturday.
It was frustrating not to be able to tune into the UMass radio broadcast. The game was pre-empted by the Red Sox on 105.5-FM, and those who went to the UMass website were directed to the UMass Sports Network and the message: “This is premium content.”
Really? Try winning a few games before charging money to listen.
Meanwhile, tracking down the names of the radio crew was like trying to uncover redacted portions of the Muehler Report. The only person who picked up the phone at WMAS was Katie, who said that yes, 105.5 FM was going to be doing the games. Asked to name the announcer and analysts she put me on hold, then came back on the line and said, “There’s nothing set in stone yet.”
The station’s programming director Jim Raimo didn’t return my call, and UMass football publicist Cody Lahl ignored my emails. So what else is new?
UMASS NOTES: The official attendance for Friday night’s game at SHI Stadium was 40,505 fans. … Since its “upgrade” to the FBS, Eastern Michigan and Florida International are the only two teams that UMass has beaten twice. The Minutemen play at FIU in Miami on Oct. 5, where the Panthers have outscored the Minutemen 126-69 the last two years. … Tickets for all games are $25 plus fees and $10 to park at the stadium. Try the secondary market for tickets and park at Stop & Shop. It’s a nice walk.