All Eyes on QB and the Big Finish

Brian: Pictures say a thousand words, eh? Well, scrimmage #2 is in the books and all eyes are on the Eagles' anemic offense but most importantly, the quarterback competition. During Wednesday's scrimmage, Shinskie and Marscovetra winded up taking a majority of the snaps. Was there improvement? Well, I guess slight improvement? Here are the respective lines of our freshman quarterback candidates:

• David Shinskie (Fr.) - 9 for 16, 127 yards, 1 INT
• Michael Marscovetra (Fr.) - 6 for 11, 43 yards, 1 INT

The Eagles offense didn't find the end zone until the last play of the scrimmage, when Marscovetra handed off to Jeff Smith for a three yard TD run. For those keeping track at home, here are the combined QB stats from scrimmages 1 and 2.

• David Shinskie (Fr.) - 12 for 24, 149 yards, 2 INT
• Michael Marscovetra (Fr.) - 11 for 17, 58 yards, 2 INT
• Codi Boek (Jr.) - 4 for 6, 15 yards
• Justin Tuggle (RS Fr.) - 2 for 6, 9 yards, 1 INT

Yikes! So two questions Jeff. Who do you think will emerge from the QB competition between Shinskie and Marscovetra? And what should Spaziani and the Eagles do with Justin Tuggle, who has been relegated to 3rd in Spaz's QB pecking order.

Jeff: First, Tuggle is a redshirt freshman who, if he is the number 3 man, should hold a clipboard and like it. The only question of "what do you do with this guy?" relates to Marscovetra who is the only person being considered to redshirt. The potential redshirting of Marscovetra might also be reason why he saw so many snaps in the scrimmage. In a way, right now, Spaz and the staff need to learn more about Marscovetra than any other quarterback on the team.

Brian: Are you getting concerned that without a quantum leap forward, what we've heard from the two summer scrimmages is what we are going to get come September 5?

Jeff: You have to be concerned since Spaz's quotes and sound bytes make it sound like he is disappointed with the QB play so far. He had expectations when he offered these two freshman scholarships and he's been around the Heights long enough that his expectations should be realistic. Spaz being disappointed is not a good sign for the Eagles. However, Shinskie is averaging 12.4 yards per completion over the first two scrimmages, and that seems decent to me purely from a statistical standpoint. You have to consider that the first-team defense he was up against is much stronger than the second-team defense. So at this point, I feel that Shinskie is clearly the heavy favorite to emerge as starter.


Big Finish

Brian: Here is a pretty fair assessment of Boston College's offense from the FSU blog Tomahawk Nation. Montel Harris - product of BC's great offensive line or damn fine running back?

Jeff: BC has not had any damn fine running backs since I've been following them. They've all somewhat been products of good lines.


Jeff: Blaudschun reports that Coach Spaz is in favor of scrimmaging other local teams as part of the summer workouts. Agree?

Brian: It's a good thought but the injury bug has already hit ACC teams fairly hard this summer. I'd imagine injuries would be even more prevalent if you scrimmaged a Harvard, New Hampshire, UMass or Rhode Island, no?


Brian: Steve Conroy of the Herald talks about the opportunity that this year's true freshmen have to step up. Name one freshman you expect to make a name for themselves this season.

Jeff: Dave Shinskie will continue to be the BC freshman getting more ESPN air time than any other freshman.


Jeff: Maine goaltender prospect Brian Billet commits to BC. Good news?

Brian: As the only goalie signed for the class of 2014 and reportedly one of the best goalie prospects in the country, yes. Definitely. Especially since he lives in Maine and plays for the EJHL's New Hampshire Monarchs.


Brian: SI's Stewart Mandel thinks this is the season (or next season!) that the ACC finally lands two teams in those coveted BCS bowl slots. Agree?

Jeff: Yes. Unlike previous years, there are a couple of teams that have just enough preseason hype that a 10-2 type record could get them in without winning the ACC Championship Game. Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Miami Fla. ...


Jeff: Greg Paulus was named the starting QB at Syracuse. Good thing or bad thing for when BC plays Syracuse starting next season?

Brian: Good thing. You want Syracuse to turn in a respectable performance this season so BC isn't criticized for weak scheduling next season, and apparently Paulus is the Orange's best option this season. Also good that Paulus won't be around next season and Syracuse will turn to yet another green QB.


Brian: The Sun Bowl unanimously chose to take the 5th best ACC team for the years 2010-13 over the Big East offer (the conference's 3rd best team or Notre Dame). Is this a blow to the Big East?

Jeff: Well, in all reality, Notre Dame would not fall to the Sun Bowl often so it was a great business decision by them to take an NC State or Clemson type team with a good fan base. The Sun Bowl will also get the occasional FSU or Virginia Tech appearance over having Rutgers or Pitt play annually with hopes of Notre Dame falling into their slot. But, this is yet another indication that it's laughable how some think BC should have stayed in the Big East.


Jeff: Last one, BCMike's new blog BCDraft drafted the best tailgating drinks and the #1 overall draft pick went to Bloody Mary's. WTH?

Brian: Sorry, BCMike, but true Eagles only drink Bud Light whilst tailgating. Or Busch Light, if you are strapped for cash.


Brian is on an international recruiting school trip next week so aside from a few season preview posts written this week, you will be in Jeff's hands. Who will play LeBatard ("BAM!") to Brian's MW next week?

Football season is almost here ... Go Eagles!

What if College Hoops Used the BCS?

Brian: This is, of course, right up my alley. The Big Lead asks the question, what if college hoops used the BCS to select who plays in college basketball's postseason. Using a BCS-like formula, the results:

• Orange Bowl: North Carolina vs. Louisville (ACC champ vs. Big East champ)
• Fiesta Bowl: Missouri vs. Michigan State (Big 12 postseason champ vs. Big 10 regular season champ)
• Rose Bowl: USC vs. Purdue (Pac 10 vs. Big 10)
• Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Mississippi State (Big 12 vs. SEC)
• BCS National Championship: Duke vs. Pittsburgh (ACC vs. Big East)

Of course, there are a couple of things missing from this projection. Namely:

• The carve out for an 18-14 Notre Dame team to somehow get an at-large BCS berth
• The anti-trust lawsuits from, among others, the state of Utah (Utah and Utah State), Memphis, Xavier and Butler
• An irate Tar Heel fan base who would cry foul, noting that UNC beat Duke twice in the regular season yet failed to win the conference tournament and wouldn't be playing for the title.

Jeff, you know I think the current college football bowl + BCS system is dumb. When applied to college hoops, this only further sheds light on the fact that this is no way to pick a national champion. Your counter point?

Jeff: I am not fueling your fire by agreeing with you here. The Big Lead is completely wrong in who would've played for the national championship first of all because it would've been North Carolina vs. Louisville since Louisville was the #1 seed in the tournament after winning the Big East regular season and conference tournaments. Then UNC would've gotten in just as Oklahoma did in 2005 despite not winning the BCS Championship game.

Brian: This scenario assumes that they would have gone with a computer ranking just like the BCS and not the conference champions (most likely, Yahoo's RPI rankings). It's certainly possible that Duke and Pittsburgh would have came out on top since the computers loved them. Then, of course, the year after this happened, the basketball BCS formula would be tweaked yet again to overemphasize conference tournament champions. Holding the system together with band-aids and bubblegum.

Jeff: Well, if North Carolina and Louisville did play in a national title game this year there is no way you could argue that the BCS got it wrong. As for the other games, you could argue all you want but conference champions are conference champions so I don't know what else you can do. The BCS is not a finely tuned machine but given all the constraints of student-athletes, schools, conferences, and the sport of football simply not being able to support a 64 team playoff, it gets the job done.

Brian: All those constraints for the sport of football seem to magically disappear when you move from Division I-A to Division I-AA. Crazy! And you don't need 64 teams. 64 is a little over 19% of the total number of Division I-A men's college basketball programs. 16 teams will do just fine.

Season-Ending Rooting Guide

One of the things Jeff and I disagree on is the need for a college football playoff. I am firmly in the college football playoff camp while Jeff thinks the BCS does its job in elevating the #1 and #2 best teams to play for the National Championship. Here are our college football rooting guides for the last two weeks of the regular season and the bowls.


Brian's Rooting Guide (Mass Destruction, BCS Chaos Edition)

Brian: I will always root for chaos (unless BC is involved). Here is my rooting guide for the rest of the season - chaos edition.


The worst possible thing I can think of for the BCS is to have a #1 vs. #2 match from the same conference (worth noting that if the conference champion isn't either #1 or #2, a third team from that conference would play in a BCS game). Now it would be easy to find a scenario where #1 vs. #2 happens to be from the Big XII (Oklahoma loses Bedlam, Texas Tech romps Missouri (again) in the Big XII Title Game, Florida loses to the Seminoles and squeaks by Bama in the SEC Championship, Texas Tech and Texas play for the National Championship), so I'm going to get even crazier ... and look towards a different conference:

Texas vs. Texas A&M: Texas A&M
Texas is caught looking, filibustering for votes to get the Longhorns into the Big XII Championship in what seems to be an inevitable three-way tie atop the Big XII South ... and Texas A&M pulls off a monumental upset on Thanksgiving (somehow, not really sure how), the likes of Stanford-USC and Appalachian State-Michigan. Maybe even bigger!

Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State wins, hell, in dramatic Harrell-to-Crabtree style for kicks. The Cowboys are a good team and the game is in Stillwater.

Texas Tech vs. Baylor: Texas Tech
Texas Tech beats Baylor easily, and as a result of Oklahoma loss, heads to the Big XII Championship as the Big XII South representative.

Florida vs. Florida State: Florida
The Gators demolish Bobby Bowden's Seminoles, garnering some first place votes in both polls and giving the Gators a boost to #2 in the BCS Standings (with the OU and Texas losses).

Alabama vs. Auburn: Alabama
The Tide rolls and blows out The Plainsmen. It's not even close. Sets up a #1 vs. #2 matchup in the SEC Championship.

USC vs. Notre Dame and @ UCLA: USC
Southern Cal wins out, but not in impressive, "USC vs. the rest of the Pac-10" style. They gain on Texas and Oklahoma in the BCS but fall below Texas Tech (the Big XII Champion), good for #4 in the BCS standings.

SEC Championship - Alabama vs. Florida: Florida
The Gators wins in OT by a field goal, 24-21, coming back from a 10 point, fourth quarter deficit. Doubt creeps into voters' minds as to who the best team really is. Florida is propelled to #1 in the final BCS standings, but with Alabama's respectable showing, holds onto the #2 spot over fellow 1-loss Southern Cal, 1-loss Texas Tech and undefeated Utah (who's in the clubhouse at 12-0).

Final BCS Standings:

1. Florida (12-1)
2. Alabama (12-1)
3. Texas Tech (12-1)
4. Southern Cal (11-1)
5. Utah (12-0)
6. Texas (10-2)
7. Oklahoma (10-2)

#1 Florida plays #2 Alabama in the BCS National Championship. It's an SEC Championship rematch(!), nearly a month to the day of the SEC Championship in Atlanta. Alabama wins the rematch. /heads explode

(HT: mgoblog)

And, for good measure, Oregon State wins the Civil War, heads to the Rose Bowl to play Penn State. A rematch of their 45-14 loss back in September. This time, it's even worse. 59-0 and the second half ratings for the Rose Bowl dip below Game 2 of the Phillies-Rays World Series.

Texas Tech and Texas represent the Big XII conference, locking Oklahoma out of the BCS after throttling Texas Tech a few weeks ago 65-21. Texas Tech goes to the Sugar Bowl and destroys the mid majors only hope Utah, while Texas gets blown out by BCS at-large Southern Cal in the Fiesta Bowl (Heisman Trophy winners don't get it done after they've won the trophy, after all).

• Rose Bowl: Penn State 59 - Oregon State 0
• Fiesta Bowl: Southern Cal 77 - Texas 0
• Sugar Bowl: Texas Tech 59 - Utah 3
• Orange Bowl: Boston College 21 - Cincinnati 7
• National Championship: Alabama 24 - Florida 21

Jeff's Rooting Guide (Pro BCS Tranquility Edition)

/queue whale sounds CD


Jeff: To clarify, I am not against a playoff, but I do think that the BCS gets ragged on more than it deserves. BCS is better than no BCS where the #1 and #2 would not play in a bowl unless they happened to come from the Big Ten and Pac 10 or some other conferences that play each other in bowl games.


Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State: Oklahoma
First, I need Oklahoma to beat Oklahoma State this weekend but not badly. Texas will head to Big XII Title game and beat Missouri.

Oregon vs. Oregon State: Oregon State
For my edition of the Rose Bowl to pan out, Oregon State needs to defeat Oregon this weekend in the Civil War.

West Virginia @ Pittsburgh, vs. South Florida: West Virginia
Two Mountaineer wins plus Syracuse following up their upset of Notre Dame with an upset over Cincinnati in the Bearcats Big East regular season finale sends West Virginia to the Orange Bowl.

Boston College vs. Maryland, @ ACC Championship Game vs a Tech: Boston College
Then I need BC to win Saturday vs. Maryland and win the ACC Championship Game.

SEC Championship - Alabama vs. Florida: Alabama
Finally, I need Alabama to beat Florida unlike what everyone else is predicting.

Here's what I want to see for the BCS Bowls ...

• Rose Bowl: Penn State 45 - Oregon State 7
• Fiesta Bowl: USC 85 - Utah 3
• Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Florida in a good game
• Orange Bowl: Boston College victory over West Virginia
• National Championship: Texas vs. Alabama in a good game

But here's what I'm rooting for this weekend ...

• Virginia vs. Virginia Tech: Virginia
• Georgia Tech vs. Georgia: Georgia Tech
• Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt: Wake Forest
• Florida State vs. Florida: Seminoles keeping it close against the Gators
• Clemson vs. South Carolina: Clemson
• (and of course) Boston College vs. Maryland: Boston College

Brian: I agree with your rooting guide this weekend, except for Virginia Tech. I'm rooting for the Hokies to win and for an ACC Championship Game rematch. I know, I know ... you have to beat the best (IMO Georgia Tech) to be the best, but the Hokies offense is downright terrible, and it would be sweet to win the ACC against the team that knocked off arguably the Eagles best team since 1984/1940?

• Virginia vs. Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech
• Georgia Tech vs. Georgia: Georgia Tech
• Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt: Wake Forest
• Florida State vs. Florida: Florida State
• Clemson vs. South Carolina: Clemson, and although it pains me to root for Clemson, this would be the ACC sending 9 teams to bowl games, better than any other BCS conference
• Boston College vs. Maryland: Boston College

Plus it doesn't hurt to root for Florida State to win against the Gators. Root for all ACC teams over SEC teams this year. Expose the SEC for what it is this year - a disappointment and overrated (this year)?