Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Exorcising Demons

NEWS AND NOTES
According to ESPN Blogger Heather Dinich, Wake Forest kicker Sam Swank has returned to practice and has been cleared to play this Saturday against the Eagles.

• BC has never won in Winston-Salem in three games and lost its only contest as a member of the ACC, 21-14, in 2006.

• Wake Forest owns a 7-6-2 advantage in the all-time series.

• The Eagles have picked off 10 passes in the last three games and now lead the country with 21 on the season.

• Under Coach Jags, the Eagles have become one of the least penalized teams in all of college football. BC’s 4.50 penalties per game ranks 13th in the nation and its 37.50 yards penalized per game is ninth.

• The Eagles have won 21 consecutive games against non-conference foes dating back to 2004. That number leads the nation by three games - LSU has racked up 18 straight wins against out of conference foes.

• BC is the only ACC school with 10 or more consecutive out-of-league wins.

GOOD CRANE?
The aforementioned Dinich also writes a nice piece on BC signal caller Chris Crane and touts his progression over the course of the season.

Although he got off to a rough start, the fifth-year senior has thrown just one interception in the last three outings and has thrown three touchdowns. In the three games previous to that, Crane threw seven interceptions and five touchdowns.

SUPERFRESH
True freshman TB Montel Harris is closing in on the Boston College freshman rushing record. Through Saturday night's game at FSU, Harris has gained 652 yards on 121 carries this season with a 5.4 yards per carry average. Shelby Gamble holds the freshman rushing mark with 776 yards, leaving Harris just 124 yards from the record.

Who would have thought back in September that Harris would be such a huge contributor?

WHAT'S THE SCENARIO?
While BC's path to the ACC Championship is clear, things are a little cloudy for other conference contenders.


A TALE OF TWO KICKERS
While BC has been mired in a special teams quagmire since the days of John "Auto" Matich, placekicking is a huge strength for Wake Forest and their All ACC Placekicker, Sam Swank. Although he has been out with a quadriceps injury, Wake's most valuable offensive weapon is set to make his return against the Eagles.

So far this season, Swank is 10/13 on field goals, including 5/6 on Field Goal tries of 40 yards or longer. His ability definitely makes the field much shorter for the Demon Deacon offense.

Although Swank has been cleared to practice (and was attempting 35 yard field goals on Monday), Head Coach Jim Grobe said that Swank will be a game-time decision.

YOU'RE OUT
Wake Forest Safety Alex Frye and Defensive Tackle Michael Carter, neither of whom traveled to N.C. State last week, will be suspended for at least the rest of the regular season for violation of undisclosed team rules.

On the Boston College front, still no word on Kicker Billy Bennett's condition except that he may have voted yes on Massachusetts Proposition 5 - the state initiative to decriminalize marjiuana. An interesting sidenote is that Matich, who was Bennett's personal coach in high school, appears to have facilitated Bennett's arrival on The Heights. (Thanks to Ahhhhbuckles for the link).

For those looking for a Wake Forest perspective, check out Old, Gold & Blog for updates and previews on this week's Wake-BC game.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"John" Auto Matich, who apparently steered Billy Bennett to BC.

cjack said...

Don't expect to see Bennett again. Did not do academically what he needs to do. Last straw was his insubordination... Bye bye Billy Bennett.