Boston College

When Odell asked his troops to walk slowly arm in arm onto the frigid Alumni Stadium turf, it embodied the statement he made earlier this week. We is all we got, and we is all we need. For the second time in less than 24 months, these players lost their coach. Both times, the administration turned to the grizzled old part of the furniture known as Odell. This absolute rock who represents all that is good in Nole Nation, takes the ship in an absolute shitstorm, grabs the rudder and holds that stick steady until all the sailors can point West again. Believe me, this ain't easy right now. We have 85 Navy men on shore leave after a year at sea and they are stationed on the same island as a Venezuelan swimsuit model competition. Our entire team is majoring in Distraction Engineering. Bring on the beast from Bartow that simply loves his damn school so much that you can't help but do the same in his presence. And breathe.

A few of the pretty boys on national networks decided that our Taggart-led squad spent more time talking than walking. They were right. Every play our defenders took turns claiming credit for whatever banal tackle had just been made. Not on Odell's watch. We saw none of that selfishness in Chestnut Hill. It was a team thing, and that was necessary because the BC backs require half the team to bring them down. 250 pounds of beef rolling downhill is not going to be brought to a halt by Stanford Samuels. Hamsah had 22 tackles because he actually had 66 one third contributions to dragging down AJ Dillon. There were so many times that our defensive front was a yard sale of guys we never thought we would see this season. Janarius spent so much time in the tent, he is now a professional termite specialist. Cory Durden was in the waiting room almost every time J-Rob left the medical booth, but somehow both guys absolutely refused to come out of the game. Think that big gray bearded man staring at them does not command respect?

It was almost cruel that the clinching interception chose the waiting arms of that Samuel. Asante is the loneliest man in a secondary of frenetic activity. He is the quiet recluse in the front row of a Metallica concert. Somehow, a BC team that has not completed double digit passes in a month was slinging it all over the yard when they needed to. Wide open Eagles on 3rd and forever seemed like the norm. Memo to Coach Leavitt - we know you just took over - we can't play zone...at all...ummm...ever. Exhibit number 74 was the literally offensive defense we employed with just over a minute and a half on the clock and the pass-challenged BC team needing a quick score. We played possum with eight DB's all thinking that zone means you stand in this part of the field and DO NOT worry about the ball or an opposing player in your area. Just stay still, and hope the light does not find you. Akeem Dent especially has mastered the art of waiting until the receiver catches the ball, then turn around and attack. I know that Harlon Barnett is a DB coach. I am wondering if his resume was mostly flag, cuz that man is not coming back to the tackle variety in Tallahassee.

It was 1989. Our Noles had opened the season with two straight losses. The first one was in Jacksonville to some unknown qb named Favre. Probably just a lucky day for the kid. The second defeat was at home to Clemson. We were starting a career backup named Peter Tom Willis and the natives were restless. In that era, my job in Tampa did not afford Saturday night stays in Tallahassee, so the wife and I always left after the game and took the family truckster back to Tampa. So, at midnight we are fueling up at Burger King before the four hour driving fun, and the lounge was overrun with Nole players like Dexter Carter and Edgar Bennett. These two particularly were still visibly upset over the loss, and they were especially angry over Coach Bowden's QB choice. "Give Charley a chance...They are just never gonna give Charley a chance...!" was what we were not so overtly overhearing. I turn to the wife and say, I think they are talking about the punter? Yup, that season, we had a freshman punter named Ward and I could not place another Charley on the squad. I could not take the suspense and asked them who they were referring to. "Nobody can handle Charley in practice. He runs the scout team, and we can't tackle him. He needs to be our damn QB!" was the consensus. Well, we laughed about the punter being our quarterback and headed home. We stopped laughing in 1992...

Well, I have not trolled the Tallahassee BK lounge after games lately, but would it surprise any of us if the entire team was in there waxing about Jordan? What in the world was happening in practice to dissuade our head coach from allowing this electricity into the light. Tough not to blame the head man when the first game he is not meddling on the headset, we turn this kid loose. Wait...a QB that can actually run the RPO? How happy would number 3 be if the entire defense was not packing the box. If the threat of an outside QB runner is real, and linebackers are not just slamming into interior gaps, and ends have to stay outside to stop the possibility of an errr, an actually athletic QB coming their way. I walked away from the Spring Game this year commenting on how Travis seemed to be our best QB. His mechanics were sound and he threw the ball with authority. I never saw him run. Let than sink in. So, again...how bad is this kid in practice, or why did his mom break up with Willie in high school? Maybe that last one was conjecture, but goodness what is the story?

Having said all the above, this was James best game as a Nole. He had some brutal drops, and still was never in danger of getting picked off. Yes, the BC defense is awful, but that throw to Terry that got us back in the game was an example of the arm talent that makes coaches stutter. His footwork is still so bad that I can not believe as many balls are in the right zip code as they are, but you can tell the players love this kid. Pulling up sod at BC makes me sad. It was not exactly Matt Ryan or Doug Flutie leading the Eagles as a road favorite, but this is our current reality, and the turf came home. We have not exactly been road warriors in the gulp Taggart Era, so winning away from our Magnolias was just awesome. Don't worry, we drank more than our share of Sam Adams for all of you.

Now, we head home for our undefeated Head Coach with a trip to El Paso, Shreveport, or Charlotte are on the line. Whew, hold the phone Dick Clark, NYC on New Years will have to wait...See you in Doak this week!