Five burning questions: Boston College Eagles
Five burning questions: Boston College Eagles In each of his two seasons at Boston College, Steve Addazio has gone to a bowl game. But he hasn't finished better than 4-4 in ACC play. Will that change in Year 3?
There's been major turnover on Chestnut Hill, with just nine starters back in all, meaning the Eagles are going to be leaning heavily on young players.
"Essentially we're going to change our roster over," Addazio said at this week's ACC Media Days. "We're in the middle of it right now. I think even though we're a completely different team this year than we were Year 1 and Year 2."
Over 60 of Boston College's 85 players are freshman and sophomores. Will that inexperience cost them as they try to make a move in the rugged Atlantic Division? It's an overarching theme as we plow through five burning questions for the Eagles in 2015.
1. Can the offense be as potent with so much change?
We promised turnover would be a big topic and it's hit the Eagles' offense, hard. Quarterback Tyler Murphy ran for 1,184 yards and threw for another 1,623 with 24 total touchdowns. But he's gone, as are all five starting offensive lineman and coordinator Ryan Day, who's with the Eagles of the NFL variety.
Todd Fitch is now in charge and he'll be looking to Darius Wade at QB. The 6-foot, 201-pound sophomore attempted just eight passes a year ago -- completing three of them -- and ran for 12 yards on two carries. Addazio is clear that Wade's development and whether he's ready has yet to be determined.
"The big question of course is the quarterback question," Addazio said. "Darius came out of the spring as the leader, has done a nice job. He's a young guy, got a lot of talent, throws the ball well, runs the ball well. Obviously he's preparing himself, as are the other quarterbacks, for training camp. But you never are really going to know that spot until you hit the bright lights
What should be interesting is that Wade is lauded as a more complete QB than the option-style Murphy and after ranking 122nd in passing last year (129.3 yards per game), it's a possibility of balance that could truly be game changing for Addazio and Co.
2. Is this the league's most underrated D?
The major area of strength for the Eagles is without question the front seven, which returns five starts from a unit that was second in FBS in rush defense, giving up 94.5 ypg.
"We throw a lot of scheme at people, we're a pressure defense," Addazio said. "That's what we want to be and that's what we are. I think the disruption that's created both in the run game and in the throw game has served us well."
They return a combined 29 1/2 tackles for loss and 13 sacks from the quartet of tackles Truman Gutapfel and Connor Wujciak and ends Kevin Kavalec and Malachai Moore and their top two tacklers in cornerback Justin Simmons (76 stops) and linebacker Steven Daniels (72).
But this group didn't put a single player on the All-ACC preseason team, with Wujciak coming the closest as he finished fourth in voting among tackles.
It shows how little respect this defense is getting, and considering the inexperience on offense, if the Eagles make another bowl game, this D probably won't be disrespected much longer.
3. Where will Eagles finish in Atlantic?
The collective ACC media projected a fifth-place finish in the division, with Boston College behind Clemson, Florida State, Louisville and NC State, and ahead of Syracuse and Wake Forest.
That's likely where the Eagles will wind up, considering they're not at the level of those top three teams in the Atlantic. The best that Boston College may hope for in movement may be in supplanting the Wolfpack.
QB Jacoby Brissett -- a Florida transfer -- was impressive in his first year in Raleigh and finished on a strong note. Not to mention, Dave Doeren has talent all over the place behind Brissett at running back and the defense has seven starters returning. But that's a game in Alumni Stadium and the eagles haven't lost to the Wolfpack in four home matchups since joining the ACC, and last lost to them at home overall in 1937.
4. The season will likely hinge on ...
Boston College has a manageable non-conference schedule of Maine, Howard and Northern Illinois (which returns QB Drew Hare and his 230.1 total yards of offense), and getting Wake Forest at home could be beneficial. But getting back to a bowl game may hinge on what come after that meeting with the Demon Deacons.
The Eagles face a daunting five-game stretch of back-to-back road games with Clemson and Louisville, Virginia Tech and NC State at home, and then a Nov. 21 date with Notre Dame in Fenway Park.
Chances are Boston College will be the underdog in four, if not all, of those games, though unless they can win at least two of them it's difficult to see them having enough for a third straight bowl appearance.
5. After limiting mistakes in '14, what lies ahead this time around?
Boston College was tied for seventh in the nation with the likes of Arizona State, Baylor, Georgia and Kansas State with just 13 turnovers lost last season.
There in may be the biggest challenge of duplicating last year's success, because with so many new faces or players who saw little playing time at key positions (i.e. QB), a learning curve is expected.
But that mindset that fueled last year's mistake-free play is still there.
"We're not going to out-athlete anybody," Addazio said. "That's not going to happen. Things like turnovers, penalties, we have to keep that low. Mental mistakes, we have to keep that low. Why? Because we can control that.
"I can't control right now how fast we are or how athletic. We're working on that, that's a recruiting process. But the other things are controllable."
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney
