We continue our " 'Nole Your Enemy" Series with Boston College.  We started with South Florida (Offense, Defense) and continued with BYU's Offense and Defense.  

On October 3rd, the 'Noles will travel to Chetnutt Hill to face the Boston College Eagles.  Last year, BC got the best of the 'Noles in Tallahassee, 27-17.  The year before that, FSU beat BC at their place and eliminated the Eagles from National Title Contention (remember that they had Matt Ryan in 2007).  The year before that, BC beat FSU in Tallahassee (the day game where Weatherford threw the horrible pick-6 right before the half).  

But how good was last year's BC offense and how good will they be this year?

On offense, Boston College was not great, but they weren't as bad as you might think. 

The Fremeau Efficiency Index calls them the 43rd rated offense, while Bill Connelley's S&P+ measure says they were the 46th.  That's very close.  Remember that these measures adjust for opponent, so BC doesn't get a lot of credit for torching cupcakes, and they don't get offensive credit when their defense scores.  They also don't credit teams for scoring in garbage time.    Let's have a look:

FSU had the best offense in the conference, arguably, though this meausre has Georgia Tech a bit better.  Boston College's was sort of middle of the road.

Here's Bill Connelley's measure (100 is considered average, so over 100 is good, under 100 is not):

FSU had the best offense in the conference by this measure.  Boston College's was sort of middle of the road.

Here's a look at their passing game:

Hmm, it seems that BC's passing game was pretty average.  

Here's their run game:

So Boston College's rushing game was pretty average as well.

I'll save you the charts, but their performance in conference games was about the same.  That doesn't really matter though, because the above metrics adjust for opponent (playing a cupcake won't help the above numbers because of the opponent adjustment).  Still you can check out that link if you want.  

The Eagles lost up and coming star coach Jeff Jagodzinski, who was fired after flirting with the NFL.  That's a smart move for Boston College, because Jags is a very hot commodity and would have left soon anyways.  He got a lot out of his players and his team outperformed the expectations of everyone.  The Eagles also lost highly respected Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach, Steve Logan.  Both are not with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  

Replacing Jagodzinski is longtime defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani.  More on him later.  Replacing Logan is Gary Tranquil, who was born in 1940.  At one time, he was a decent offensive coach, but he's been out of the college game for 4 years.  Where Logan was excellent and really took advantage of his player's talents and opposing defenses, Tranquil is not highly thought of.  He runs a pro-style offense, does not spread teams out, and does not utilize his quarterback in the run game at all.  His schemes are simple and from a purely schematic standpoint, Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews should own him.  They are also abandoning their zone blocking scheme.  Tranquil's offense is literally what Mickey Andrew's defense is designed to stop.  See for yourself:

What I am trying to say is that Tranquil is a huge downgrade from Logan, but against FSU, it's an even bigger downgrade.  Last year, BC used the threat of the QB run to hurt FSU's defense, including a 16 play (all rushing)- 67 yard drive, consuming 8:55 of the clock and icing the game (ended in a field goal).  They literally ran the same play over and over again.  FSU's defense was so poorly taught under lame duck coaches Mickey Andrews and Chuck Amato, that they let BC run some variation of the same play for at least 10 of those snaps.  In any case, what we're hearing out of BC's camp is that the Eagles will run a pro-style attack featuring two backs.  That will be juuuuust fine with the 'Noles.  

Quarterback

Under center, The Eagles lost Chris Crane, who was inconsistent but not terrible.  They also lost Dominique Davis, who failed out of school and has since transferred.  Davis wasn't very good anyways, so that's not a big deal.  In keeping with the elderly theme will be Dave Shinskie, a 25 year-old Pocket passer who played minor league baseball.  He hasn't played football in 6 years.  More on him here.  I project him to be a decent passer, because he was a decent prospect coming out of high school.  He's not a run threat, however, and that's really what the 'Noles care about.  Seeing that he's a freshman, but older than this author, his maturity might mean that he won't be a huge downgrade.  Of course, he also hasn't worked with these wideouts all off-season and  been in the system at all.  

Our friends at BC Interruption helped us out a bit here and Brian had this to add:

There is some serious talk about true freshman Michael Marscovetra starting. He has had as good of a summer as any other candidate and has good arm strength. I think the deciding factor will be Shinskie's maturity though and his effect in the huddle. Notable how far Justin Tuggle has slid down the depth chart, but as you point out, Tranquill/Spaz favor the pro-style pocket passer to the Tuggle/Davis, running-QB mold that Jags/Logan recruited. Just hope that Tuggle can be used in another way (message board chatter has been throw him in at LB just like his dad?).

I really don't know much about Marscovetra.  

Offensive Line

Boston College has a great offensive line.  We talk a lot about how good FSU's O-Line can be, but I am here to tell you that BC's line is every bit as good.  This is one of the best offensive lines in the country.  They return all 5 starters.  This is an excellent group.  People make a big deal about his "big" these guys are, but they really aren't huge.  

LT Anthony Castonzo (6-7, 287, Jr.)
RT Rich Lapham (6-8, 322, Jr.)
LG Thomas Claiborne (6-3, 323, Jr.)
RG Emmett Cleary (6-7, 270, R-Fr.)
C Matt Tennant (6-4, 294, Sr.)

Castonzo is a likely NFL 1st day pick (2nd rounder, maybe 1st, probably 2011 draft).  He is an excellent pass blocker and is pretty quick.  FSU's defensive end will have a tough time doing much against him.  Lapham is obviously huge at right tackle.  He is a very good run blocker but has bad feet and is a liability in pass protection.  Not an NFL player.  At Left Guard, Claiborne is an ex-defensive tackle who was excellent last year.  He was 3rd team ALL-ACC last year and should be even better this year.  Claiborne is an NFL player provided he keeps his weight in check.  At Left Guard, Cleary is the newcomer to the group.  He could be good eventually and was a tackle coming out of high school, but he's quite raw and will need to work on his back and knee bend to be any good.  At Center, Tennant should be first team ACC.  He's better than FSU's Ryan McMahon, though obviously less known.  Don't get mad, FSU fans, I'm just giving it to you straight.  BC has at least three NFL linemen who are probably 1st day (top 4 round) selections on their line.  They return 4 starters and the line has 4 upperclassmen.  This is an excellent offensive line and will make BC's skill position players look much better than they are.  This isn't the most heralded unit in the country, but unless you judge offensive lines on things other than performance, talent, or experience, they should be. FSU will have one heckuva time against this unit.  

Running Back

The Eagles look much better at running back.  Montel Harris is their big back at 5' 10" 200.  He had one heckuva game last year against the 'Noles as a freshman.  He's not a home run threat, and this author thinks he's more of a product of BC's offensive line, but he does what is asked of him and grinds out tough yards.  Last year he gained 900 yards on 179 carries (5 YPC), and caught 20 balls for 160 yards.  The other back is Josh Haden, a scatback who gained 479 yards on 120 carries (4 YPC).  He's 5'8" 182lbs, but should catch a few more balls this year.  Blocking for these two is Senior James McClusky.  He's 6'2" 250lbs and a mauler.  He did hurt his Achilles in spring, however, and the Eagles desperately need him to be healthy this year as they utilize a 2-back attack.  I fully expect Harris to get 200 carries this year, and also expect his average to drop a bit as other teams key on him more.  

Wide Receiver/ Tight Ends

The Eagles aren't hurting much here either, but they aren't exactly loaded.  They have to replace their best wideout and their best tight end, in Brandon Robinson and Ryan Purvis, respectively.  Robinson caught 42 balls for 646 yards.  Purvis snagged 24 for 176 yards.  The Eagles do return Rich Gunnell, who was basically Robinson's equal in production, though far less explosive.  Florida State's Patrick Robinson can easily handle him one on one without help (Robinson is CBS' #1 Draft Eligible Corner), and he'll be asked to as the 'Noles focus on stopping the run.    They also have Justin Jarvis, who is 6'5" and was decently productive this year.  Can Jarvis handle the increased role?  That remains to be seen, but the Eagles are counting on him.  The remaining guys are relatively unheralded wild cards.  Junior Ifeanyi Momah is 6'6" 230 and caught 11 for 149 and 3TD's last season.  He's their Greg Carr, except bulkier and about as fast as your average tight end.  RsFr Clyde Lee had a decent spring I am told and could play some in the slot (though I suspect BC will not use many 3-wide sets).  Finally, can Senior Clarence Megwa (6'1" 190) come back from a thought to be career-ending leg injury?  If he can, BC will need him, because he started for them last year.  Update:  Megwa's leg is apparently healed, he's dealing with a hand injury and they expect him to be ready for the FSU game. 

At tight end, 6'3" 250lb Soph Lars Anderson has a chance to be a very good pass catcher.  Last year he snagged 9 balls for 85 yards.  They also have Jordan McMichael, who was a very nice recruit in 2006 (I think), but has done nothing to date to impress anyone.  

I don't think any of the draft eligible guys will get drafted.  They really don't seem all that special.  They aren't bad, but rather are just average college players.  

Boston College's offense should not be as good as they were last year by the time FSU rolls into town.  I believe that BC's offensive staff is now much worse than they were last year (think Jeff Bowden bad), and their quarterback hasn't played organized football in 6 years.  By the end of the season this offense might be as good as they were last year, but this preview concerns the FSU-BC game, so I don't care about what the Eagles do later in the year.  As noted above, their scheme plays right into FSU's hands.  FSU will be able to use the schemes that made Mickey Andrews famous, single cover Gunnell with Robinson, and dare BC to throw.  I expect this offense to lack explosiveness, and while FSU will probably be burned once or twice with play-action, FSU's full-commitment to stopping the running game should be well worth it.

Tomorrow:  Taking a look at BC's defense.  

For more on BC, see:

BC Interruption or Eagle in Atlanta

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