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ACC schedule quick take: Boston College

Conference: Home --- Duke, Florida State, N.C. State, Wake Forest; Road --- Clemson, Maryland, Miami, Virginia Tech

Nonconference: Home --- Massachusetts, Northwestern; Road --- Central Florida, Notre Dame

Bye: Week 7

Don’t play: Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia

Must-see: Florida State visits on a Thursday night in early November in a game that could have some Atlantic Division ramifications. At the least, it has a chance to be the biggest spotlight game of coach Frank Spaziani's tenure to date. Upshot: Because the World Series will end in October this year, the Red Sox won't be a distraction. Of course, the Celtics will just be getting started, so BC could get overshadowed anyway. Such is life in a pro town.

A favorable setup: Duke + Massachusetts + Wake Forest + All at home = Probable three-game winning streak. Or so the Eagles should hope.

And not so much: Finishing with Notre Dame and Miami is no one's idea of fun. On the bright side, at least Boston College won't hop in a time machine and face the 1988 versions of the Fighting Irish and Hurricanes.

The full schedule:

Sept. 3: Northwestern
Sept. 10: at Central Florida
Sept. 17: Duke
Sept. 24: Massachusetts

Oct. 1: Wake Forest
Oct. 8: at Clemson
Oct. 22: at Virginia Tech
Oct. 29: at Maryland

Nov. 3: Florida State, ESPN, 8
Nov. 12: N.C. State
Nov. 19: at Notre Dame
Nov. 26: at Miami

Maryland plus-minus: Boston College

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. --- Pe'Shon Howard was plus-5 in a four-point loss to Boston College.

Rather oddly, Terrell Stoglin was minus-6.

One of those made sense, given how the two played. One of them didn't.

As for guys who didn't play particularly well, you can interpret the chart after the jump.

Maryland stats wrap: Boston College

Five statistically interesting items on Maryland ...

1. Davin Meggett is within four touches (runs + catches) of Da'Rel Scott for the season. The Maryland backfield is almost a perfect timeshare.

2. Ronnie Tyler was targeted on third and fourth down three times against Boston College. He had three catches, all for first downs.

3. Maryland's third-down success (10-for-19) stemmed from two things. One, the Terps were 3-for-3 rushing on third-and short (three yards or less); they were 5-for-10 coming in. Two, Maryland was 4-for-7 passing on third-and-medium (4-6 yards); they were 1-for-8 coming in.

4. Quarterback Danny O'Brien's passer rating improves by down. He's the least efficient on first down, but is 26-for-48 for 354 yards, four TDs and one interception on third down.

5. Boston College is the second straight road venue that doesn't identify who a penalty is called on. If anyone can help ID the missing culprits in Maryland's facemask, false start and roughing the passer penalties noted beyond the jump, it would be appreciated.

Now, onto the data ...

TOUCHES (RUNS + CATCHES)

Player	BC	Season
Da'Rel Scott	10	76
Davin Meggett	16	72
Torrey Smith	10	32
Adrian Cannon	4	21
D.J. Adams	DNP	13
Ronnie Tyler	5	12
Matt Furstenburg	---	9
Quintin McCree	2	7
Kerry Boykins	3	5
Kevin Dorsey	2	5
Dave Stinebaugh	INJ	4
Mike Salvatico	DNP	3
Taylor Watson	---	3
Will Yeatman	---	3
Gary Douglas	INJ	2
Tony Logan	---	2
LaQuan Williams	---	2
Danny O'Brien	---	1

Reviewing the Boston College game day predictions

So, was I as lousy a prognisticator this week as I was at the start of the season when I ticketed Maryland for a 5-7 season (as was mentioned to me yesterday)? Let's find out.

1. Max Garcia will start at left tackle for Maryland. 

INCORRECT. Maryland moved Paul Pinegar to right tackle and inserted Bennett Fulper at center while playing with five linemen against Boston College. But chances are, Garcia gets to play at some point. Can any offensive line make it through five games without even a sprained ankle?

2. Neither team will run for 100 yards. 

CORRECT. Maryland had 40 yards rushing and Boston College had 96 yards on the ground, but the prediction could easily have been wrong. The Eagles' 21-yard loss on a lousy snap counted against the rushing total.

3. Whoever wins turnover margin will win the game.

CORRECT. Maryland had two interceptions and recovered a fumble. Boston College couldn't produce any takeaways. The Terps scored two touchdowns off turnovers, providing enough of a cushion to withstand the Eagles' fourth-quarter rally.

4. There will be punts --- at minimum another dozen.

INCORRECT. Just 10 punts yesterday, so it didn't even approach the 14 punts in the Maryland-Clemson game a week earlier.

5. Maryland will win ... but it's a game no one will really want to remember.

CORRECT. Well, maybe Maryland will savor ending its road losing streak. And Antwine Perez accounted for three turnovers, which was a pretty remarkable day for the senior safety. But more than anything, the Terps survived. Games like that you don't ask questions about.

Boston College: 3-for-5
Season: 20.5-for-35

Five game-day predictions: Maryland-Boston College

Saturday brings a quietly crucial game in the ACC.

Maryland's path to six victories gets quite a bit less flexible if it doesn't poach a win in Chestnut Hill. Florida State and Miami could be especially unpleasant matchups, and N.C. State will be a handful as well. Maryland will probably go into games against Virginia and Wake Forest as a favorite, but stumble there ... well, that wouldn't bode well.

Meanwhile, Boston College has lost four straight, still has to deal with Clemson and hasn't shown an inclination to do much of anything on offense. The Eagles, too, would see their margin of error for the remainder of the season erode substantially with a loss.

With that in mind, how about five game-day predictions (well, "within 24 hours of game time predictions) to consider entering the 1 p.m. kickoff.

1. Max Garcia will start at left tackle for Maryland. It's the logical move. R.J. Dill can flip back to the right side, and Garcia (a true freshman coaches believe has a substantial upside) can get to work now. If Maryland is going to use Garcia, it may as well try an immersion class. That could be painful initially, but it might be the Terps' best approach --- even as this year progresses.

2. Neither team will run for 100 yards. Boston College cracked three digits on the ground in just two of its first six games, and the Eagles are yielding only 90.3 yards rushing a game. As is often the case, Chestnut Hill is not a place where it is wise to engage in a protracted land struggle. Maybe BC's Montel Harris busts a long run or two; more likely, this game will be decided by the production and precision (or lack thereof) of the young quarterbacks both teams will start.

3. Whoever wins turnover margin will win the game. That assumes it's not a push (at which time this prediction is, as well). But the teams ranking No. 11 and No. 12 in the ACC in total offense are both opportunistic, and miscues and returns will yield a majority of the solid scoring opportunities of the day.

4. There will be punts --- at minimum another dozen. In case you didn't see enough punting in Maryland's loss to Clemson, brace yourself for more. Both teams are averaging at least seven punts in conference play, so Travis Baltz and Ryan Quigley should get plenty of face time on the game's video stream.

5. Maryland will win ... but it's a game no one will really want to remember. This has all the makings of a game where it will be difficult to segregate strong defensive play from offensive ineptitude. The pick has more to do with a complete lack of faith in Boston College's offense than anything else.

Turnovers could turn the tide for the Eagles, but it's just tough to imagine their offense rallying from a multi-possession deficit on its own. In fact, the largest deficit Boston College has erased (regardless of final outcome) is eight points, and it needed an interception return against Florida State to help pull that off.

Maryland is playing well enough against the run of late to limit Harris' damage for the most part , and that will be the crucial element in the Terps grinding out a low-scoring game. First to 20 wins --- if anyone actually manages to do that.

No surprises on Maryland injury report

This week's Maryland injury report is identical to last week's.

Four guys are out, five guys are done for the year.

The rundown:

OUT (vs. Boston College)

TB Gary Douglas (ankle)
CB Avery Graham (groin)
S Desmond Kearse (ankle)
TE Dave Stinebaugh (MCL/knee)

Douglas is the No. 4 tailback and played in only two of Maryland's first six games. ... Graham is an important part of Maryland's special teams and will be missed. ... Kearse will sit out his third consecutive game. ... Stinebaugh suffered his MCL injury Oct. 2 against Duke and was expected to miss four-to-six weeks. He might not be back until the middle of next month based on that diagnosis.

OUT FOR THE SEASON

QB C.J. Brown (collarbone)
T Justin Gilbert (ACL)
LB Ben Pooler (ACL)
TE Lansford Watson (ACL)
DE Marcus Whitfield (ACL)

All of these guys have missed at least three games in a row already.

In fact, Maryland is up to 46 man-games lost by scholarship players to injury this season (*-projected starter):

Ben Pooler 6, Lansford Watson 6, C.J. Brown 4, Devonte Campbell* 4, Marcus Whitfield 4, Gary Douglas 3, Justin Gilbert* 3, De'Onte Arnett 2, Nick Ferrara* 2, Desmond Kearse 2, Emani Lee-Odai 2, Jamarr Robinson* 2, Taylor Watson 2, Will Yeatman 2, Darin Drakeford 1, Dave Stinebaugh 1

Out of town Q&A: Boston College

Boston College is 2-4, winless in three ACC games  and in dire need of a victory.

Maryland happens to be coming to Chestnut Hill on Saturday afternoon, and Boston Herald beat writer Steve Conroy was kind enough to spend some time lending his insight on the Eagles as game day approaches.

Let's get to the five questions ...

1. Frank Spaziani has cited offensive line shuffling as a major reason for the Eagles' struggles. Is that the primary culprit for the four-game skid, or just a secondary issue?

SC: If its not the No. 1 problem, it's been 1A. This team's identity has been to pound the ball and they just haven't been able to do it. They couldn't run the ball against Kent St. Florida State was a step in the right direction, but they haven't yet been able too control a game with the run.

2. Given the revolving door under center, does Boston College have a viable option at quarterback --- at least for this year, anyway?

SC: Freshman Chase Rettig is going to have a long leash the rest of the season. He's considered the QB of the future and has shown some signs that he can be a real player. The staff wanted to keep the redshirt on him this year, but the reality was neither [Dave] Shinskie nor [Mike] Marscovetra was playing well enough to lead the team victories.

3. It seems like the Eagles' defense, while perhaps not featuring the imposing defensive tackles of a couple years ago, is still plenty good. How capable is that group of keeping things interesting on a weekly basis --- and does BC almost need them to score points on a consistent basis if it is going to turn things around?

SC: I don't know if the defense has to score, but it certainly has to limit the points for the Eagles to have a shot most weeks. BC's not going to win a lot of shootouts.

4. The most defining storyline for BC last year was Mark Herzlich's cancer diagnosis and determination to return for his senior season. How has Herzlich fared on the field during his comeback?

SC: Herzlich has played pretty well -- and stupendously for a person who went through what he has. He's not the same dominant player he was two years ago, but he's improved steadily with each week. The last two weeks he's been playing with a broken hand, which has slowed him just a bit.

5. Boston College is in the throes of its longest losing streak in more than a decade. How much of that falls on Spaziani in his second year, and how much of it is tied to the transition of having three coaches in a four-season span at one point?

SC: The turnover in coaches has a lot to do with it. BC has lost 18 kids from their 2007 and 20008 recruiting classes, including three quarterbacks recruited in the Jagodzinski era. Jagoodzinski also brought in a different blocking approach, zone blocking versus the traditional power game that BC had used under O'Brien and what Spaziani is now trying to reinstitute. There has to be some culpability on the coach's part, but there have been some serious extenuating circumstances.

Thanks again to Steve Conroy for taking time out of his schedule to discuss Boston College football.

Close not good enough for BC's Spaziani entering meeting with Terps

If Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen is feeling a little frustrated today, he could probably be in worse straits.

He could be his counterpart at Boston College, Frank Spaziani, who is in the midst of the Eagles' first four-game skid since 1998 as Maryland prepares to visit New England on Saturday.

Some of the losses --- a shutout against Virginia Tech, a blowout loss to N.C. State --- were ugly. Saturday's 24-19 setback at Florida State was encouraging.

But the Eagles are still 2-4 (0-3 in the ACC) and might leave themselves no margin for error even with a friendly second half schedule.

"Well, we certainly don't have the wins and losses we would have liked in the first half," Spaziani said in his Sunday teleconference. "I think the team is moving forward. I think there’s a lot of positive signs, but they need to pay off in Ws. Positives and moving forward is good. But we need to get some Ws."

The issues the Eagles face are obvious. While their defense isn't as frightening as it was a couple years ago, the absence of two NFL-caliber defensive tackles has a bit to do with that.

The greater problems are on offense, where Boston College has pieced together triple-digit national rankings in rushing offense (103rd), scoring offense (104th), sacks allowed (109th), total offense (110th) and pass efficiency (113th). The Eagles rank last in the league in all of those categories.

Guiding things is Chase Rettig, a freshman who is 14-for-34 for 167 yards and a touchdown in his young career. He was 9-for-24 for 95 yards against Florida State.

"[He's a] freshman who did some encouraging things," Spaziani said. "He did some nice things and he did some things that freshmen do. We have to navigate our way through that and be sophisticated to give ourselves a chance to win."

The best hope for Boston College might not be Rettig's eventual maturity or a defense that is still forcing turnovers or even the presence of a quality back (Montel Harris) playing behind a patchwork offensive line.

Instead, it's the schedule. The Eagles still get to play Duke, Maryland, Syracuse, Virginia and Wake Forest --- winnable games all. Their toughest second-half test is arguably Oct. 30 against Clemson, though the Tigers must come to Chestnut Hill.

Boston College hasn't dropped three straight at Alumni Stadium since a four-game skid in 1998. That becomes a possibility if the frustrated Terrapins (4-2, 1-1 ACC) can play better than they did in a 31-7 loss at Clemson --- or in trips to the ACC's isolated northern outpost in 2006 and 2008.

Of course, Boston College played reasonably well at Florida State and lost. Both facets weigh on Spaziani's mind.

"There were positive things," Spaziani said. "We made some blocks and were able to get Montel to the line and he made some guys miss and made some runs. Then there were some not-so-good situations. It was progress. We need to build on that. Players need to understand even though we made progress there, it wasn’t good enough. We need to move forward."

Terps' Hartsfield offers unique perspective on Herzlich's interception

One of the weekend's craziest plays was authored by Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, who managed to intercept a Russell Wilson pass with one hand wrapped up in a club in the Eagles' loss at N.C. State on Saturday.

To get a look, go to the 45-second mark of this video.

But there was one person at Carter-Finley Stadium who could particularly appreciate Herzlich's deft play.

That was Maryland linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield, who was back in Raleigh to visit his family on the Terrapins' bye week. While other teammates got away from football, Hartsfield took advantage of the opportunity to hang out with friends while also getting an early look at two of Maryland's divisional foes (though given the time to get back for a rare weekend at home, chances are he was mostly --- and understandably --- hanging out with friends).

Hartsfield played under similar conditions in the second half of last season, and the "what" --- finding a way to hold on for a pick --- initially stood out to him even more than who actually pulled it off.

"That was crazy because I didn't realize it was him until after I looked at it," Hartsfield said. "That was a pretty good play. It's hard to catch with a cast on. I know it."

Which naturally begs the question: How much did Hartsfield try to polish his receiving skills while effectively functioning as a one-handed linebacker last fall?

"It's possible, but it doesn't happen all the time," Hartsfield said with a smile.

Eve of the season ACC primer: Boston College

(The fourth of 12 ACC team previews)

Every year, Boston College is generally considered an afterthought in the ACC --- good for a fight, but not necessarily for a spot in the conference title race.

Every year, the Eagles win eight games (or at least for 10 of the last 11 seasons, anyway) and stay in at least the division title hunt deep into November.

Consider that Boston College and Virginia Tech are the only teams in the conference to post winning records in league play five years running. Ultimately, the Eagles will be there in the end.

Sure, in the preseason they might be taking the role of Betty to Florida State's Veronica. But just because Boston College looks and often plays like a Big Ten team, it doesn't mean they will not surpass the usually tame expectations.

This is one case where fans are decidedly ahead of media types. While it can still be argued Boston College is an unusual fit in the ACC (and it is), the steady Eagles have made the conference better in football. And that was a big part of why they were invited (well, that and all those TV sets in Boston).

As usual, BC isn't picked to win the division (they were tabbed to finish third); that just means the Eagles will be first or second before everything is through.

When we last saw them ... : Boston College was the last ACC team picked for a bowl game and wound up in San Francisco facing the remnants of the Southern California dynasty of the Aughts. Even though the Trojans were more like a tropical depression than the Category 5-like juggernaut of the middle of the decade, Boston College headed home with a 24-13 loss.

It was the fifth time in the season's last six games the Eagles failed to crack 20 points. For the season, it happened seven times. Needless to say, it reflected an obvious truth: The Eagles' staunch defense wasn't just impressive. It was a necessity.

Still, Boston College's most recognizable face became even more well-known without even playing a snap.  Mark Herzlich's cancer treatments were the dominant storyline of the season, and it would be a challenge for most folks who don't follow the Eagles on a regular basis to provide too many details about the team's 2009 season before getting to the Herzlich storyline. Wins, losses and bowl trips are fuzzy details in comparison.

Biggest question: Scoring points. That seems like an odd thing to assert for a team with a strong offensive line (including a star in left tackle Anthony Castonzo) and a tailback (Montel Harris) already among the top 10 in rushing yards in school history. 

Yet somehow --- mainly because of an adequate-at-best passing game --- Boston College found itself in close games late in the season against the likes of Maryland and Virginia.

So what's different?

Well, the top wideout (Rich Gunnell) is gone. The No. 2 wideout (Colin Larmond Jr.) is done for the year. And the quarterback situation (Dave Shinskie, already more than halfway to his AARP card at age 26) is modestly but not overwhelmingly better.

That means there will be a lot of Harris, which will work fine if he gets to face N.C. State every game. But some teams can actually figure out how to contain the run, and those sorts of opponents will probably vex BC this season.

Biggest asset: Linebackers. Rather than dip into the Big Bag of Sportswriters and drop "gritty" and "inspirational" to describe Herzlich, how about a more accurate depiction. He was absurdly good as a junior in 2008, earning ACC defensive player of the year honors while brilliantly playing off the skills of two run-clogging defensive tackles.

How well he can play without B.J. Raji and Ron Brace --- never mind the comeback from cancer or the broken foot hobbling him during camp --- is probably the more interesting X-and-O question. Here's guessing someone as smart as Herzlich will do just fine when he does return to the lineup.

But the Eagles have more than Herzlich. There's also Luke Kuechly, who had 158 tackles a year ago while stepping in for Herzlich.

Typically, Boston College has enough strong, system-oriented players in the front seven to cobble together a stingy defense. It won't be any different this year.

Best case: Shinskie and some combination of receivers progress enough to make Boston College's offense multidimensional in league play, the defense does its usual stout job and the Eagles outlast Clemson and Florida State to reach the ACC title game for the third time in four seasons --- probably with a record around 9-3. A win sends them to the Orange Bowl. A setback means the Eagles better figure out the best way to get to El Paso, since the Sun Bowl is obligated to take the ACC championship game loser if available.

Worst case: The defense doesn't create enough turnovers and the passing game proves feeble if no reliable medium-to-deep targets emerge. Harris slogs along and produces a decent season, but his yards per carry decreases as teams focus on the obvious running calls the Eagles make. With the help of a favorable schedule both in conference and out, BC goes 7-5 (6-6 at worst) and gets an invitation to the Independence or EagleBank bowls.

Where we'll see them in three months: Probably in the eight-win neighborhood.

Boston College is a team with enough strengths and a consistent enough philosophy that it would require an extended series of unfortunate events for the bottom to fall out. If going 8-5 despite the circus heading into last year demonstrated anything, it's that Boston College enjoys a superb foundation.

At the same time, the Eagles just aren't built to engage in many high-scoring games, and they'll face four teams in a row in the first half of the season (Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, N.C. State, Florida State) that would ideally like to do exactly that.

The thing is, the second half of the schedule is immensely welcoming. Maryland, Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia and Syracuse (combined 2009 record: 19-41) await after Oct. 23, along with a visit from Clemson.

Boston College will be the stalking horse in the conference title chase. The schedule affords the opportunity to creep back into contention even if there are losses early against Virginia Tech and Florida State.

Would 5-3 in the division be enough for a trip to Charlotte? Perhaps. How about 6-2? Probably. The Eagles typically makes the most of their opportunities while staying true to who they are, and following that path will probably keep them relevant for much of the season.

Does anyone see it coming? Some folks do; certainly more than last year. Understandably, no one expects much style, since even Harris at his best is a workmanlike back. Not so understandably, Boston College's substance will be ignored by some. Do so at your own peril.