Villanova at Boston College: BC Defense vs. Nova Offense

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For the last several years, Boston College’s offense had been the more maligned of the two sides of the football. Constant shakeups and consistent poor performances made that unit a negative feature of past Eagles teams, and until a year or so ago, the defense was seen as the “better” unit.

Unfortunately, last season, both offense and defense were in the same ditch.

This Saturday, the Don Brown recovery begins against the Villanova Wildcats in Week 1 of the 2013 football season, but it may be a long road there. The good news is that even without defensive back Al Louis-Jean in this first game, the opponent is still on a subordinate level.

Villanova at Boston College: BC Defense vs. Nova Offense Statistical Comparison

What sticks out there like a sore eagle’s talon are the six sacks, the fewest last season by any FBS team. Of course, the Eagles ran the perpetual prevent defense, which looked better in past years with (a) some aggressiveness interspersed and (b) Luke Kuechly masking virtually all deficiencies. They have not in the recent past been a high-sack team by any stretch, but even as recently as 2010, they didn’t need to be, because Boston College had one of the best defenses in the country. Two seasons later, it was statistically one of the worst.

Now, most of the Boston College folk are under the (correct) impression that this Brown-coached defense will put a much higher premium on the sack. Villanova allowed 26 of them last year, most of them against weaker FBS defensive lines, but there is an interesting point to note: though not coached by Brown, Villanova did play Steve Addazio’s Temple last year in a “good for Philadelphia” game. The Owls sacked quarterback John Robertson four times.

Otherwise, every area on the maroon side of the stat sheet is one that requires improvement, while the Wildcats performed decently against their own level of competition.