BC-Georgia Tech Recap and Analysis
by Quinn Kelly
It has been 343 days since the Boston College faithful has had the pleasure of a football victory…and there will be a day 344.
I was so ready to write an entirely different ending to that sentence with 3 minutes left in the Eagles game with Georgia Tech this morning. But, it wasn’t to be. In a phrase that has begun to be coined around campus, the Eagles lost “in the most BC way.” In a game that really had the makings to be a huge start to our season, the Eagles blew multiple opportunities and will have a long, disappointing flight home.
The offense took the field to start the 2016 season, led by their new quarterback Patrick Towles. It was a drive that scared slightly in that it looked as though the Eagles had no intentions of modifying their offense from last year’s run heavy/exclusively attack. The offense moved the ball, converting a pair of third downs, by solely running the ball. Seven straight runs opened the game before Towles dropped back to pass for the first time. And in his first ever pass attempt as an Eagle, Towles threw an interception. It would be one of two he would have on the day, and neither was entirely on him. A pass over the middle sailed a bit on Towles, and with a little too much heat on it and a slick grip due to the rain that fell all game long, the ball squirted right through the hands of his target and into those of Corey Griffin, who would return it to the Tech 41. Looked like a bad omen for Towles and the Eagles.
The nation’s top defense of yesteryear took the field for the first time and seemed as though they weren’t quite ready to go. A short field to defend was made shorter as the Eagles jumped offsides on the first play, allowing Georgia Tech to run their first offensive play just four yards away from BC territory. After Tech QB Justin Thomas picked up the Yellow Jackets first first down, the defense put them in a 3rd and 15 situation. Thomas, cool and calm, was able to Ricky Jeune 14 yards downfield to set up a very short 4th down that Tech would convert on. This was a serious problem for the defense all day. The allowed conversions, or in this case, near conversions, on a number of 3rd and longs today. In fact, it wouldn’t even be the last time on this drive, as BC would follow it up by giving up 36 yards on a pass to Qua Searcy on 3rd and 12. Feeling the momentum of two big conversions, the Yellow Jackets got on the ball at the 4 yard line and punched it in for six two plays later. A good PAT followed and the Eagles found themselves in a 7-0 hole.
That is where the score would remain until the second half. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for lack of opportunity on the Eagles’ part. After the teams swapped three and outs, the Eagles took the ball at their own 31 and drove 43 yards on 10 plays to set up a 43 yard field goal attempt. Colton Lichtenberg trotted out for his first try of the season, battling unstable plant surface due to the rain. The wet field, however, is not to blame for the first failed field goal kick of the game. It goes down as, and was, a blocked kick that sent away the Eagles empty handed. But, quite frankly, there’s not a chance in hell that Lichtenberg’s kick from the right hash was going in. Given the fact that it was blocked by a lineman who was three players to the left of the nosetackle, I’d venture to guess Lichtenberg had missed it left by about 15 yards anyways. Given our troubles over the past couple years in the kicking game, you immediately felt like that was going to be a difference-making mistake in a tight game. And it was.
The Eagles would also miss an opportunity that the defense, and punter Mike Knoll, gave them two drives later. After Knoll pinned GT down at their own 1, the defense held and forced a three and out. A good punt return by Myles Willis set the Eagles up at Tech’s 33, primed to at least get 3 points back. A couple plays later, Towles would drop back looking to convert a 3rd and 6 from the 18 yard line. Antonio Simmons, though, would break through the line and knock the ball out of Towles’ hands and into his teammate Kyle Cerge-Henderson’s, ending the Eagles drive and the half.
The second half was an entirely different story. The Eagles came out hungry, sparked by a 73-yard touchdown rush by Jon Hilliman on the first offensive play of the half. BC dominated most of the second half, further asserting themselves with their best drive of the day, a 9 play, 63 yard drive that straddled the 3rd and 4th quarter and was capped off with a 6-yard touchdown scamper for Towles. Between the two touchdown drives, though, was a drive that ended with a decision that would end up having a huge negative effect on the game for the Eagles. After driving down to the Tech 18, the Eagles were faced with a 4th and 1. Rather than stick with the offense, as it appeared Addazio would do originally, the Eagles called a timeout and returned from the break with the kicking unit on the field. Lichtenberg would have his second go from the right hashmark, this time only 35 yards out. But, once again, he pulled it way left and fans were left to wonder “what if.” Nevertheless, with 11:46 left in the game, the Eagles had a touchdown lead on Tech, and appeared to have all the momentum.
Georgia Tech came out for their next drive, feeling the clock melting away. The defense stood tall after giving up a long 3rd down conversion and forced another at midfield. Tech managed to convert again, this time thanks to a bit of a phantom PI call on Kamrin Moore. It gets lost in the game somewhat, but if not for that call, the drive ends and the Yellow Jackets don’t pick up the field goal that put them in a position to win on their next drive.
The Eagles would get the ball back, still up four, and with the opportunity to pick up a first down or two and end the game. They went started their drive with back to back Hilliman runs up the middle that netted them 1 yard. I hoped that they would come out on 3rd and 9 and take to the air, relying on the arm of Towles that had been building confidence all game long. It would have been a sign of confidence that would’ve , for me, signaled a turn of the page from last year’s MO of consistently playing it safe and getting burned. And should they have converted, it would have really taken all the wind out of GT’s sails and effectively ended the game. We won’t know, however, what the call was, as a botched snap left Towles with no other option but to grab the ball and quickly dive forward to end the play. I would have been disappointed was the call a rush, but I wouldn’t have minded it so much given how our defense was playing. I will be eternally more confident in our defense on the field closing games than our offense trying to drive to win them.
The next drive stung about as bad as it could have. The Eagles just had so many opportunities to lock up the W that slipped away. This started with the very first play when it appeared as though a collective of Eagles defenders had Justin Thomas dead to rights 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage before he popped free and threw the ball away to save the loss of yards and the time. Georgia Tech would, on the same drive, convert on a 4th and 19. When do you ever see such a thing from this defense? It truly was a problem all day though and that was just the one that stuck out the most given its crippling effect. Credit to Justin Thomas, as he was incredible in leading that drive and taking the game for the Yellow Jackets. He kept numerous plays alive and allowed for Dedrick Mills to rush for the game winning score with 35 seconds left in the game.
A disgusting final drive by the Eagles punctuated a loss that I can’t imagine being matched in agony again this year.
Final Thoughts:
As bad as this one hurts, this was a good game for the Eagles. For the brave few that got up for this game, you witnessed a team that is poised to win some ball games this year. Towles looked incredibly sharp in the second half and the defense looked pretty damn good outside of one bad drive. The thing that really kills me about this game is that so few people were even up to get a feel for how well the team played this morning. More than likely, people got up to catch the very end, and most disappointing part of this game, or didn’t get up for any of it and got the “man, we blew it again cuz we’re BC” recap from one of their more “enlightened” friends. People need to know that there were a lot of positives to build on.
In reality, this game was lost on 4 plays. The first missed field goal, the fumble/interception by Towles at the end of the first half, the combo of the no-go on 4th down and missed field goal, and the PI on Kamrin Moore. The blame can be spread around and doesn’t rest solely on the ineptitude of our kicker or a bad coaching decision by Addazio. So take that for what it’s worth. It was in some ways, a group collapse that, if regarded in the right way, can be a great building point for this team going forward.
Chin up folks, we get to go kick the crap out of UMass next weekend. Til then…
Final: Georgia Tech 17-14