Boston College Eagles
2011 Record: 4-8 overall, 3-5 ACC Atlantic
Head Coach: Frank Spaziani
Odds to Win ACC and ACC Atlantic: 50/1 ACC, 22/1 Atlantic
Odds to win 2013 BCS Championship: 250/1
Over Under Regular Season Wins: Under 5 1/2 -175 / Over +145
All odds courtesy of Bovada

The Boston College Eagles had a forgettable 4-8 campaign last year, the third under coach Frank Spaziani. He is running out of time if he wants to turn the program around, as BC administration and boosters are losing patience. However, he and the athletic director Gene DeFillipo have been close friends for many years so his job might be safer than we think.

After a 1-6 start, the Eagles began to play a lot better going 3-2 down the stretch. BC ended with upsets against Maryland, NC State, and Miami-FL, and a narrow 16-14 loss at Notre Dame. The only bad game in that stretch was a 38-7 drubbing at home by Florida St. If the Eagles can play like they did in those last 5 games, they could sneak into a bowl game. Last year was the first time 12 years Boston College didn’t go to a bowl game.

Offense

In the off-season Boston College hired Doug Martin to be the offensive coordinator. He is the fourth OC in the last 3 years at Boston College. Martin is known for his prowess in molding quarterbacks. Martin will install a spread style offense, but it isn’t a true spread, as they will still use some two tight end sets. Spaziani is known to be more conservative, so don’t expect too many crazy offensive schemes.

Quarterback Chase Rettig has potential and looks to improve under quarterback guru Martin. He completed 53.6% of his passes for 1,960 yards, with 12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He was sacked 24 times last season and had one rushing touchdown. Rettig is talented but his numbers don’t really show it. He has to take some of the blame, but even the most talented QB can only do so much if he has no running game or big play receivers.

The “good” news is the top four receivers return, and another year under their belts should help them improve. Colin Larmond had 34 catches, 528 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Bobby Swigert was the possession receiver with 44 catches, 470 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Tight end Chris Pantale could be in for a breakout season after he had 21 catches, 236 yards, and 3 touchdowns last year. Alex Amidon had 20 catches, 220 yards, and a touchdown. Return specialist Spiffy Evans could also get some time at receiver because of his speed and quickness. Tight end Brian Miller, a redshirt freshman, was a four star recruit out of high school.

The running game took a hit when BC’s all-time leading rusher Montel Harris was kicked off the team for repeated violation of team rules. He transferred to Temple. Harris missed all but two games last year with injury and had only 31 carries. Rolandan Finch had 157 carries, 705 yards, and 3 touchdowns. He had a problem with fumbles and was benched in the Florida St game for two costly fumbles. Andre Williams had 124 carries, 517 yards, and 4 touchdowns and will be the back-up. Tajh Kimble will also get some carries.

Four of the five offensive linemen return, led by tackle Emmett Cleary. The line should be a strength of this team, and should help protect Rettig and open up running lanes.

Defense

Boston College had a decent pass defense that ranked #28 in the country. That’s the good news. The run defense was #65 and could have been much worse. The defensive coordinator is Bill McGovern.

The defensive line was terrible last year. The BC line was #119 in sacks out of 120 teams. The line must replace Max Holloway who left early for the draft. Sophomore  Brian Mihalik  will replace Holloway. The good news is tackle Kaleb Ramsey was granted a fifth year of eligibility from the NCAA because of an injury waiver. The line will be small and there are no proven pass rushers. I think the line will be a little better, but still has a long way to go.

So if the line was so bad last year, how did the defense do as well as it did? Well, that was mainly thanks to two time All-American linebacker Luke Kuechly, who made an incredible 22% of all tackles BC made last year on defense. Unfortunately, Kuechly was drafted by the Carolina Panthers, and isn’t available. Sean Duggan has the unenviable task of replacing Kuechly. He is a good tackler but isn’t nearly the pass defender or playmaker that Kuechly was. Steven Daniels, Kevin Pierre-Louis, and Steele Divitto also comprise linebacking corps that still has a lot of talent even without Kuechly.

The secondary must replace cornerback Donnie Fletcher. However, they have some talent at the corners in sophomores Manny Asprilla and Al Louis-Jean. Both got some playing time last year as freshmen due to injuries. The safeties are also young and talented, in sophomores Spenser Rositano and Sean Sylvia. The secondary should be solid, but it might not matter if the front seven struggles.

Special Teams

Junior Nate Freese returns as the kicker. He was 10 for 16 on field goals last year. Freese will also handle kickoffs this year.

Senior Gerald Lovano will take over as punter from Ryan Quigley. Both Freese and Lovano could lose their jobs to redshirt freshman Alex Howell who has a strong leg and was both a punter and kicker in high school.

Spiffy Evans will return both kicks and punts. He returned only kicks last year and averaged 21 yards a return. The Eagles were 101st in punt returns and 93rd in kick returns last year nationally.

Schedule

BC opens with 3 of their first games at home against Miami, Maine, and Clemson, sandwiched around a road trip to Northwestern. The Eagles then go on a three game road trip to Army, Florida St, and Georgia Tech. BC then hosts Maryland before traveling to Wake Forest. The Eagles then host Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, before closing out the schedule at North Carolina St.

Outlook

This team has way too many questions. The offense should struggle to score again after averaging only 18 points a game last season. Kuechly kept the defense from being awful. Now he is gone.

The schedule does them no favors either. If you look at their schedule Maine, Army and perhaps Maryland are the only games that look like pretty secure wins. They also draw the top 4 teams in the ACC in Clemson, Miami, Florida St, and Virginia Tech, though three of those teams come to Chestnut Hill. The Eagles will have to pull off some upsets just to match their win total of 4 from last year. I don’t see it happening. I think BC goes 3-9 this season.

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