Bye Week Breakdown: Boston College Special Teams

Return game & return coverage

Simply put, Boston College does not return punts, nor do they return kickoffs.

The Eagles are 104th in the country in punt return yards, with an average of 3.71 per return. BC just beats out Maryland for dead last (3.83 per return for the Terps) and have lost to one of the few teams below them on the list, UCF.

Kickoff returns are only marginally better. BC ranks 98th in FBS in this area, pulling out an average of only 19.59 yards per return. If you want something to hang your proverbial hat on, BC isn’t even second-worst in the ACC here: Clemson and Maryland are worse.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Boston College has no punt returns or kickoff returns for a touchdown, and did not have any last year, either. As a matter of fact, the Eagles have not taken one to the house on Special Teams since Opening Day 2009 when Rich Gunnell returned a punt for a score against Northeastern in a 54-0 win. The bottom line is that the Eagles have not had a touchdown on Special Teams in over two years, and it’s unlikely to change any time soon.

Statistically, their punt coverage team is stellar if you look at the ranking (T-9th in FBS), but it is based off of only four returns for a total of eight yards. One of the best ST plays of the first half of the season was Spenser Rositano’s punt block against Duke. The kickoff coverage game is far less flashy, however, allowing 23.64 yards per return. The main knock on them is the 100-yard touchdown return they allowed during the UMass game.

Neither side of this equation is going to wow you, so take it for what it is.

Overall analysis

Hit or miss, good and bad. The return game isn’t going to accomplish much, nor is the return coverage. The punter and kicker will, however. So far in 2011, they have not been doing much of anything to attract our attention, short of Nate Freese missing a few field goals, nor are they likely to for the remainder of the year.