BC looks out for No. 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Boston College won back-toback ACC Atlantic Division football championships in 2007-08, so it’s not totally farfetched for the current Eagles to talk about contending for another title this season.
Coach Steve Addazio’s team does have plenty of returning talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
It’s just that with Clemson coming off its second national championship in three years, with an even larger contingent of talented players on its roster, winning the battle of the Atlantic has become much more of a challenge than it was a decade ago.
But as difficult a task as overcoming the Tigers presents, it’s one the Eagles are eager to pursue.
“Obviously Clemson is one of those elite teams. They’ve got guys at every position that are up there with the top players in the country and they have a great coach,” BC star running back A.J. Dillon said. “You’ve got to play your ‘A’ game at all times. It’s a tough test, but anyone in college football can beat anyone in college football.”
The Eagles might have proved that theory at Death Valley last November if not for two significant injuries.
One of them was to Dillon’s left ankle. Although it didn’t keep him from playing, the injury helped limit him to just 39 yards on 16 carries. The other, more significant injury was to quarterback Anthony Brown, who was knocked out of the game in the first quarter after a hard hit from the Tigers’ Christian Wilkins.
Even with that, BC still trailed by only six at halftime and was within striking distance until the fourth quarter, when a long punt return finally put the finishing touches on a 27-7 Clemson victory.
“It’s not that big of a margin,” graduate defensive tackle Tanner Karafa said.
Added Addazio: “Take a year ago. We were 7-2, ranked 17th in the country playing Clemson with (ESPN College) GameDay there. That was in the ninth game of the season and we were in position to win a conference championship. We lost our quarterback on the eighth play of the game. So I don’t think we’re that far off.”
That might be true. But there still is a margin BC and other Atlantic hopefuls have to narrow in order to stand a legitimate chance of catching and overtaking the Tigers for a spot in the ACC Championship Game here in December.
In order to bridge that gap, Addazio said his team must stay healthy, be consistent, minimize mistakes and be better on third down both offensively and defensively. In addition to those things the Eagles can control, the seventh-year coach said it also will be helpful to have a little luck.
“There’s no reason we can’t compete for a conference championship, realizing that we’re playing not just against a great team in our league, but a dominant elite team in America,” Addazio said. “That was on display in the national title game (against Alabama). They beat the dog out of America’s Team. That’s how good they are and they’re not going away anytime soon, because they’re recruiting at such a high level.”
The problem is, figuring out a way to beat Clemson is only half of the Atlantic equation.
Upsetting the defending national champs at Alumni Stadium on Oct. 26 would have much less meaning if BC doesn’t also take care of business against its other divisional rivals. It’s something the Eagles have had trouble doing, going 4-4 in the conference each of the past two years while getting stuck on seven victories overall since 2016.
“I feel like last year we left a lot of meat on the bone,” Karafa said. “We could easily have had eight because our bowl game got cancelled and I felt like we lost a couple of games we shouldn’t have lost.”
With an opening night date against perennial Coastal Division contender Virginia Tech, the Eagles won’t have the luxury of easing into their schedule this season.
“We have a tough schedule, but I’m excited for the challenges,” Dillon said. “The rest of the team is, too.”