Cougar Corner Blog
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Looking ahead to BC
Boston College is next for the BYU Cougars. It will without a doubt be one of the toughest challenges the Cougars face this year. I had a short conversation with BC Blogger, William Maloney.
You can see our conversation about BYU at his blog (http://atleagle.blogspot.com/2006/08/blogger-summer-assessment-byu.html). And he answers some questions about BYU below.
1. What are the differences between this years BC team and last years?
What will be stronger? What will be weaker?
What will be stronger? What will be weaker?
The defense will feature five new starters. While most would assume that the unit would be weaker, I actually think our new starters will be an upgrade at Linebacker. Jolonn Dunbar is a star in the making and finally gets a starter spot. The defensive line is more of a question mark. Two new starters there, but these guys are not nearly as tested as our new LBs.
2. What does the loss of Mathias Kiwanuka mean to your D-Line?
As referenced above, Kiwi's void is huge. Fortunately the secondary and linebackers are so good that a drop at D-Line should be somewhat minimized by the guys behind them. The key to the defensive line with be DT B.J. Raji. He looked great last year. Was a real run stopper and a general disruptive force causing more than one line to collapse. Can he continue to create problems now that Kiwi is gone. Teams couldn't double him last year. This year they can...and the whole line hinges on how he handles it.
3. What are the keys to a victory for BC over BYU?
3. What are the keys to a victory for BC over BYU?
First of all I think the new clock rules will favor our more conservative offense vs your more open Texas Tech style. The other important keys will be getting to Beck and slowing you down in the Red Zone. BYU moved the ball last year only to see drives stall out before you got into scoring range. BC needs to do that again. Finally, BC needs to open it up a little on offense. Last year's game plan was fairly conservative for a variety of reasons. However, when we did open it up we had some success. Hopefully this year will will exploit downfield advantages again.
4. Where would you rank BYU among your other opponents this year?
We play FSU, Miami, Clemson and Virginia Tech on the schedule, so BYU is not getting much attention. They are our best non-conference opponent. Knowing only so much, I would group them in the middle of our opponents along with NC State, and Maryland.
5. What do we need to know about BC that may not be covered in the Media?
The WRs will be better than advertised. Most offseason stories are focusing on losing Blackmon and Lester. Both were good, but I think Tony Gonzalez, Kevin Challenger and Brandon Robinson will surprise people and equal the production we got from our Recievers last season.
Thanks a lot!
del.icio.us
Digg This!