Third down-trodden
BC out to improve on both sides of ball
Boston College has a twoway problem on third down.
Coach Steve Addazio made third down — on both sides of the ball — a point of emphasis in practice as he prepared the Eagles (42, 1-1) to face Louisville (24, 0-3) in an ACC Atlantic Division clash tomorrow at Alumni Stadium.
“We worked on it in practice and we had some goods and not so goods but we got a lot of work done on both sides of the ball which is really cool,” said Addazio after Tuesday’s practice inside the Fish Field House.
“It was not a third down day for us but we integrated it into today so we could get a little look at it.”
BC has a third-down conversion rate of 35 percent on offense (30-of-85) and 39 percent on defense (37of-96) over six games but the numbers from losses to Purdue and No. 20 North Carolina State were dramatically worse.
BC was 3-of-12 on offense while allowing 8-of-17 on defense against Purdue. BC converted 1-of-10 on offense against N.C. State while the Wolfpack offense managed 10of-15.
Addazio further addressed BC’s third-down issues during the ACC coaches’ conference call on Wednesday.
“I just think that it’s third down … third down on both sides of the ball,” said Addazio. “We have got to do a better job on third down on offense. We were 0-for-7 in the first half of that (N.C. State) game and on defense were poor on third down. “I think on both sides, we get off the field, we stay on the field and I think it is a completely different ballgame. So, I would say in a nutshell it’s third down and we put an emphasis on that this week.”
BC’s biggest threat to create manageable distances on third down, sophomore tailback AJ Dillon, will likely miss his second straight game with a swollen left ankle. Dillon suffered the setback in the win over Temple on Sept. 29.
Dillon had a breakout day at Louisville in BC’s 45-42 victory, rushing for a freshman school record 272 yards and four touchdowns.
“You take any school in the country and take their best player off the field (and) see what that does to them,” said Addazio. “Especially if it is the quarterback or the running back which is at the epicenter of what they do.”
Tailback Ben Glines, who rushed for a combined 210 yards on 39 carries against Temple and N.C. State, will make his second start if Dillon is unable to play.
Third-down back Travis Levy and freshman power back David Bailey will provide different looks out of the backfield while split ends Jeff Smith, Kobay White and Michael Walker can attack the perimeter of the Cardinals defense on jet sweeps.