[long cigarette drag]
Game Recap in Three Sentences
The defense did everything they could to lose but the offense and Aidan Birr overcame.
Haynes King had another banner day through the air, powering the offense to over 600 total yards.
Key inexplicably called the timeout to set up the FG with 12 seconds left instead of, you know, one or two, and it nearly cost us big time.
Above The Line of the Week
- Wide receivers. Malik Rutherford had 121 yards and a TD on 5 catches, Eric Rivers had 119 yards on 7 catches, and Jordan Allen had the probably-game-saving 54 yard TD run.
- Homemade beer bread
- Key practically whispering “we won the game” in a shaky voice when asked “what did we just witness?”. This got by far the biggest laugh and smile out of me all afternoon/evening. The man acted like he had just done a 5 year tour in Vietnam.
Rant of the Week
Mr. Big Brain Faulkner, if you call one more trick play this season I will donate my entire financial portfolio to the fund that we’ll need to fire you. It’s happened in nearly every tight game we’ve played this season: the offense runs 6 really good plays in a row for 60 yards and then you decide “lmao, enough of that, let’s try the dumbest play anyone has ever dreamed up”. Our stock offense is basically tailor-made for converting two-point attempts and THAT was your call for the biggest play of the game? 8.3 yards per play against an atrocious defense and you decide it’s time to get cute? Do better man.
Rant Two of the Week
Is the defense haunted? Did one of the linebackers antagonize a local witch on Halloween and get hexed? Did a cornerback finally wash their lucky socks? There are no rational explanations for what has happened over the last couple games so surely there must be a supernatural one; how else can the same exact unit go from staunchly refusing to give up 30 points to basically allowing anyone with a pulse to score touchdown after touchdown? You’re gonna tell me that Boston College is an offensive powerhouse to be respected? They hadn’t scored more than 24 against anyone since an awful Michigan State team in week 2! I am absolutely begging someone to figure something out.
Bluesky Roundup
5 Star (7 Star, 5 Star) Developmental Program Haiku of the Week
Chilly Boston nights
Defense too cold to defend?
Escape artist team
Breaking Point
This team seems hell-bent on finding out just how far they can stretch the bounds of winning football games. It’s like a sick experiment at this point: how many new and infuriating ways can they find to almost lose? Look I know how depressing it is that the sun sets in Boston at 4:15 but surely there are better ways to cause yourself to feel something like, I dunno, finding joy in drubbing an awful team? Why is our preferred method of creating emotion always “hold your hand directly on the hot pan as long as you can” and never “score way more points than the opponent”?
Remember Syracuse? That was fun! Do that more! Maybe we’re just at the “win small” step in the process but hell, if you can’t win big against the worst team in the conference then what are you even doing? The only thing I can keep telling myself to maintain sanity is that this team finds a way to win with their worst stuff, and surely the day will come when we have our best stuff. God I hope we find it soon because we’ll sure as hell need it for the remainder of the season. Every game we play from here on out is going to be the biggest game in a decade; the team we saw against BC is woefully not up to that lofty task.
Look Ahead
Up next is the most important game of the season, Pitt (11/22, 7:00pm). A win puts us in the ACC Championship game and keeps our Playoff hopes alive. A loss means multiple teams can jump us and likely end our postseason hopes. We’ve had this one circled for a while now: Pitt is a good team that has largely taken care of business this year (including very easily handling BC and NC State) outside of a couple close losses and ND this past week. We will not win this game if the defense does not play much better, and we will not win this game if we cannot convert TDs in the red zone. We’ve played two absurdly sloppy games in a row against bad teams and that will absolutely not fly against a good one. This game is where we’ll find out what this team is actually made of.
