Boston College 2011-12 in Review, Part I: Football

What gave Boston College a boost in the following week was being paid a visit by the Massachusetts Minutemen, an FCS team in transition to the big boy division. UMass got creamed by the Eagles to the tune of a 45-17 loss, and finally, BC got in the win column in 2011. Confidence began to flow again for some, though just about everybody expected the Eagles to get their first win here, and not all was lost as Montel Harris returned from injury. We know how that turned out, eh?

The following week, Boston College hosted Wake Forest and lost, 27-19, to fall to 1-4. Not only that, but they lost Harris to re-injury; as we now know, that would be the last time we’d ever see him in a BC uniform. Losing to Duke and Wake Forest at home in the same season took a toll on the fans, and the natives started getting restless.

Successive weeks were no better; BC lost to Clemson (36-14) and Virginia Tech (30-14). The only reason the Hokies didn’t score 37 (and cover the spread, for what it’s worth) is because Frank Beamer had his boys take a knee practically on the goal line as the game was about to end, in a classy gesture. This is in contrast to BC’s coach named Frank, who on more than one occasion took a knee going into the half with time on the clock and timeouts in his pocket, in a play-not-to-lose gesture. The other contrast is that Virginia Tech’s Frank ended up winning a lot of games.

Now at 1-6, it took us until a snowy, miserable game in Maryland to see any life from the Eagles at all. BC earned their second win of the season in College Park, 28-17. It was a very lopsided performance, more than the score indicates, and especially with regards to rushing yards as opposed to passing yards. Boston College ran for 372 yards while passing for just 32; Maryland rushed for almost 200 yards themselves. For a change, the Eagles actually had a gameplan for the bad weather and stuck to it with successful results, but to be fair, Maryland’s defense was also Charmin-soft and couldn’t stop your grandmother in a Hoveround that afternoon.

Then, on the night of November 3, the Eagles hosted the Florida State Seminoles on a Thursday night game and put forth one of the most pathetic spectacles I have seen by a team representing my alma mater in eight years of being a fan. The game, a 38-7 blowout loss, was completely bereft of redeeming qualities and managed to embarrass Boston College on national television (“Boston College” actually trended on Twitter that night, for all the wrong reasons). When you’re running draw plays on 2nd & long AND 3rd & long and punting in enemy territory down 30+, you’ve given every indication to the brave souls who watched this gridiron abortion that you’re not trying. I stand by every harshly critical remark I made in the aftermath of that catastrophe, and continue to do so today.