In hopes of being taken remotely seriously in covering this roller-coaster ride known as Clemson football, I try to study up on the other teams as much as I can.
This means watching the other teams play, when possible, and usually it's not a difficult exercise.
But on some rare occasions, it feels like work.
Watching Maryland 24, Boston College 21 was certainly one of those occasions.
Tried to watch a replay of this game the other night, and ...
Well, you know how you have that really boring book positioned close to the bed for the nights you can't seem to sleep? Here's some advice for the insomniacs out there: Go to ESPN3 and bookmark this game. Whenever you can't sleep, turn on this bad boy and you'll be dozing in no time.
It's bad enough that the atmosphere at Alumni Stadium rivaled a high school football game -- a JV high school football game. When a fan in the upper deck questioned the play-calling, everyone in the stadium could hear it.
It's bad enough that the two coaches, Ralph Friedgen and Frank Spaziani, have all the pizazz of tofu. They must've said two words the whole game (how do these guys recruit?).
But the worst part -- and the good part for Clemson -- is that Boston College is bad. Really bad.
This isn't to say the Tigers should just go ahead and chalk up the victory. The Eagles can stop the run, and they do have a semblance of a running game. Clemson is coming off an emotional victory over Georgia Tech and walking into an emotionless environment (think Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium). Much crazier things have happened in college football.
But watching this team's utter lack of a downfield passing game, watching the secondary's inability to cover Maryland's receivers, it occurs that Boston College has finally become what a lot of people mistakenly thought it was in previous years.
When Boston College joined the ACC, a lot of folks stereotyped the Eagles as a big, lumbering program that would have difficulty keeping up with the speed and athleticism boasted by Clemson, Florida State, Miami, etc.
Everyone soon saw that the Eagles had their share of talent. They went 3-0 against Clemson from 2005 to 2007, and 3-2 against Florida State from 2005 to 2008.
From 2006 to 2010, Boston College had 11 players selected in the NFL Draft.
Clemson, by comparison, had 19 over the same stretch. Florida State had 20. Miami had 22.
But the Eagles had some top-shelf players; four of those draft picks came in the first round:
DE Mathias Kiwanuka in 2006
QB Matt Ryan in 2008
OT Gosder Cherilus in 2008
DT B.J. Raji in 2009
Clemson, by comparison, had three first-rounders over that span (C.J. Spiller, Gaines Adams, Tye Hill).
Looking at the Eagles now, you're starting to see the effects of poor recruiting. Tom O'Brien left after the 2006 season, and his replacement (Jeff Jagodzinski) guided the Eagles to two division titles but didn't exactly light up the recruiting trail.
O'Brien and offensive coordinator Dana Bible preferred a physical, ball-control approach that placed a premium on big, powerful offensive linemen. Jagodzinski and offensive coordinator Steve Logan wanted to spread things out and attack. Now Spaziani's philosophy is much closer to O'Brien's.
When you take the recruiting repercussions that come from such dramatic philosophical shifts over a small window of time, and then add the various forms of attrition that have struck the Eagles, you get a team that's just not very good.
Quarterback Dominique Davis ended up transferring from Boston College after encountering academic problems, and now he's doing well at East Carolina.
The Eagles lost their top returning receiver, Colin Larmond Jr., before the season even began.
And now the defense has lost its best defensive lineman (Alex Albright) while the status is uncertain for two other injured starters (safety Wes Davis and cornerback DeLeon Gause).
From 2005 to 2009, Boston College compiled a 47-19 overall record. That ranked second in the ACC behind Virginia Tech. Over the same stretch, the Eagles were 26-14 in ACC games. That ranked third behind the Hokies (31-9) and Georgia Tech (28-12).
It's hard to see this program, as presently constituted, avoiding a dramatic and prolonged slide.
On to some Wednesday linkage...
Heather Dinich weighs in on B.C.'s big headache and points out that just 20 of the 44 players signed in 2007 and 2008 remain with the program. Ouch.
Spaziani is the program’s third head coach in four years. The coaches have changed, and the recruiting philosophies have changed. With Spaziani at the helm, though, they’ve changed for the better. Possibly the worst thing that could have happened to him last year was to win eight games. Not enough people realize what an accomplishment that was, considering all of the obstacles Spaziani was faced with. It was a Coach of the Year-worthy performance.
This year, there’s simply no more miracles. Boston College has one of the worst offenses in the country. It’s not going to change in the next five weeks.
Especially when it took a few years to reach this point.
This longtime observer of Jimbo Fisher thinks he'll restore the Seminoles' glory in short order.
The good people who run the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game are full of great ideas. Not long ago, they had another one. They wanted to match Alabama and Florida State in the Georgia Dome in 2012.
It was a natural. Nick Saban vs. Jimbo Fisher. Mentor vs. protege.
Fisher liked the concept but objected to the timing. His 2012 schedule already included non-conference games against Florida, West Virginia and South Florida.
Why add Alabama and attempt career suicide?
Besides, based on what Saban's done and Fisher's doing, there's a good chance they'll meet sometime soon at the opposite end of the schedule.
In a BCS Championship Game to be determined.
Can William & Mary pull off the upset against North Carolina? Their quarterback should be familiar to Tar Heels fans: Mike Paulus.
Looks like the sky is falling in Georgia Tech land after the Yellow Jackets' pasting at the hands of Clemson.
Here's what Anthony Allen had to say to the fans.
And man, did Texas look bad Saturday.
The worst Texas football game these eyes have seen since perhaps the 1984 Freedom Bowl slaying by another team from the state of Iowa could be summed up like this:
Iowa State, a 28-21 winner, was the better team Saturday. Clearly.
Somewhere, Gene Chizik was smiling when his former players won in Austin.
And speaking of Chizik, here's a little trip down memory lane.
LW
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