Our writers talk about what they loved on Monday night
Curtis: WOW, what a win for Boston College! There’s a lot to get through on this one, but what really stood out to me on Monday night is just how much good coaching can affect the baseline of a team. BC was clearly really well-coached and well-prepared for that match-up. FSU was the one who looked discombobulated on offense, physically outmatched on defense, and prone to stupid penalties. If this is a sign of things to come, then we should expect BC to be competitive in every game they play this season.
Kieran: Yeah Curtis I completely agree with you, it was an impressive game. BC looked like the favorite in that game. It felt like they had the upper hand from the start, and they didn’t let their foot off the gas late in the game, like they’ve done so many times before. I was very impressed with how both the offensive and defensive lines played too. The Eagles out-rushed the Seminoles 263-21! That’s just an insane thing to do against a team with talent like FSU. Billy O’Brien might just be alright after all.
Niraj: Welcome to a new era. This win was everything. The past several iterations of BC football finds (and have found) ways to bungle this sort of game. Not now, not Bill O’Brien’s Boston College. He laid it all out earlier in the day exactly what we saw on full display — limit the penalties you can control, play physical, protect the ball. Incredible stuff. Looking ahead, so many other teams on our schedule showed massive weaknesses. Virginia Tech lost as a favorite, UNC lost their starting quarterback, and SMU in week 0 just barely avoided a major upset. I think we all expected BC to at least be competitive this season with some bounces just not going our way. Well, I think yesterday’s display gives us the edge in those future coin flip games.
Curtis: Absolutely. I’m so used to expecting 1 or 2 or 3 letdown games from BC that I assumed they’d be fighting down to the wire for bowl eligibility. But if this game is a sign of things to come, then I think we can expect to have the edge in a lot of the coinflip games this year and the 6 wins could come sooner than later. Definitely getting ahead of myself a bit there. But that just shows you how much BoB has changed the outlook of this team fundamentally.
Curran: Like all of you have said, what a win. What a way for Bill O’Brien to announce his arrival. An all-around impressive display, from coaching preparation, game planning, game management and everything else. Now, it must be said — as much as BC won this game, FSU did not do much to help themselves out. But there is no doubt that the Eagles just dominated FSU in their hometown. Suddenly the schedule looks a lot more manageable. I know this is nitpicking, but if there were any concerning signs from Game 1 I’d highlight both the receivers’ ability to get open and the secondary depth. Castellanos was not asked to do much in terms of throwing the ball, but it did seem like on the couple dropbacks he took his receivers struggled with creating separation. Secondly, in the brutal Florida heat multiple guys went down with cramps — most notably Amari Jackson. Keeping the secondary healthy will be key (we saw how dominant they can be in that first half). Like I said before though, that is nitpicking. O’Brien just put together a masterclass and I’m excited for what’s to come.
Kieran: On Castellanos, even though his stat line didn’t look great, I actually think he played pretty well. He moved in pocket well and obviously is going to be a threat running. Given that this is his first game of the season, I think we can expect good things from him again.
Curran: Completely agree. He played his role perfectly — kept the offense ahead of the chains, avoided turnovers, and even created out of structure when needed. It was a great performance. Let’s see if he can build on it.
Curtis: Every time that Tommy ran it seemed like he got 3 more yards than I was expecting. He’s clearly going to be a great scrambling threat in this offense all year long. I definitely agree about the secondary depth, and that’s something we’ve noted all offseason. This BC defense is not very deep, outside of maybe the DL. A quarterback like DJU may have struggled against BC but I could definitely predict a few games where a great QB rips them apart.