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BC football needs to get back on track. Could a win over Cal on Saturday do the job?
Boston College football coach Bill O’Brien entered his weekly press conference Tuesday morning visibly frustrated and in no mood to discuss his team’s shortcomings.
When asked to detail BC’s points of emphasis during the bye week, O’Brien curtly rattled off a laundry list without hesitation or remorse.
“Tackling. Ball security. Placekicking. Punting. Blocking. Catching the football,” he said. “Making good coverage reads. Being in good communication on defense. A good operation on offense.”
A season that began with promise has quickly soured. BC could be 3-0, but instead finds itself 1-2 and in danger of watching everything unravel.
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Next up is California, Saturday at 3:30 p.m., at Alumni Stadium. The Eagles are 7-1 at home under O’Brien, compared with 1-7 on the road or at a neutral site.
This is an ideal opportunity for BC to return to form before a tough game at Pittsburgh Oct. 4. The Eagles know getting back to the basics, and avoiding beating themselves, will help vault them back into relevancy.
“We’re not far, but close is not good enough,” said wide receiver Lewis Bond. “We just have to keep taking strides to being the team we want to be.”
BC is up against a Cal team that started 3-0, including wins over Oregon State and Minnesota, before losing, 34-0, to San Diego State last week.
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O’Brien made it clear he doesn’t view this as a “fork in the road,” but it’s no secret BC needs to find a winning formula soon. The Eagles are viewing this as a fresh opportunity to put their struggles behind them.
“Yeah, we’re 1-2,” Bond said. “But we have a long season left.”
Priority No. 1 is tackling at a high level. California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has established himself as one of the better freshmen in the nation, and the Eagles know they have to prepare for a variety of looks against an unpredictable offense.
O’Brien said to expect a lot of motions and shifts — what BC refers to as “funky formations” — and credited the Golden Bears for spreading the ball around. He said eye discipline and knowing where to be lined up are important against Sagapolutele, a 6-foot-3-inch, 225-pound lefthander with elite accuracy.
“He’s an excellent quarterback, whether he’s a freshman or a seventh-year senior,” O’Brien said.
BC safety KP Price said he believes everyone on the roster is a willing tackler, and no one is afraid to tackle. The Eagles are tackling with the right intent, Price said, and the next step is to master the details.
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Far too many times against Michigan State and Stanford, BC appeared to have runners wrapped up before they wiggled free and turned a small gain into a sizable one.
“You can coach tackling, but at the end of the day it’s getting the ball carrier on the ground the right way,” Price said.
Defensive lineman Ty Clemons said the Eagles have to prioritize containing the Sagapolutele and getting him to the ground however they can. It’s not going to be perfect, but the Eagles know they can’t let the miscues pile up like in previous games.
“We definitely use it to see what mistakes we made, but we don’t dwell on it,” Clemons said. “Like Coach said, have amnesia. Next play.”
Offensively, while quarterback Dylan Lonergan is still second in the nation in passing yards per game (330.3), BC is still searching for balance and consistency in the run game.
Turbo Richard has shown flashes, but he’s fumbled at the goal line in each of the last two games. Both zapped BC’s momentum, and the Stanford one shifted the trajectory significantly.
O’Brien said he’s had “positive” conversations with Richard and called him a “good back.”
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“He takes care of the ball,” O’Brien said. “He’s got to do a little bit better job of that in certain situations, like near the goal line, quite obviously. I think he’s learned from it, and I’m sure he’s working hard to take care of it.”
While ball security is imperative, it’s only part of the equation. BC is 130th out of 134 teams nationally in rushing yards per game (73.3). Lonergan’s prowess shifts the identity of the offense compared with previous years, but that doesn’t mean the Eagles can abandon their roots. Bond said fortifying the run game takes the entire offense, not just the line.
It won’t be easy against a Cal defense that has allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game (94.8) in the Atlantic Coast Conference and features Cade Uluave, called by O’Brien one of the five best linebackers he’s seen in his time at BC.
“Got to be more consistent in the run game,” O’Brien said. “Sometimes it’s good, sometimes not so good. It’s got to be more consistent.”
BC’s players are grateful for another opportunity to revitalize a season that has started inauspiciously.
“We’re all just eager to play,” Price said. “Eager to get on that football field. Eager to show the Boston fan base, ourselves, what we can do and what we will do. We’re ready.”
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