Game Observations (Defense): UNC 26 Boston College 22

What happened in the game, what were some of the things we saw?

Boston College lost a heartbreaker on Saturday night, dropping a close matchup to UNC 26-22 in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles had to convert a two point conversion with under a minute to tie it, but Phil Jurkovec was intercepted. In this post, we are going to talk about the play of the defense. Here are some of the quick observations I had about their play.

* Tem Lukabu did a nice job adjusting after UNC started to really move the ball in the first two drives. What really stuck out was the lack of explosive plays in the passing game. 

* Incredible job by the secondary. They held the UNC receivers in check for most of the game. Dazz Newsome finished the game with one catch for six yards. Dyami Brown was a bit more troublesome with 4 catches for 60 yards. It seemed like almost ever pass needed to be up the middle. The defensive backs took away almost everything on the outside. Saw big plays by Elijah Jones, Jason Maitre, and Brandon Sebastian. 

* There were some plays made by Sam Howell that you had to just tip your cap and admire. He's one of those quarterbacks that you have to make sure you wrap up, or he will make you pay. There were a few times he just squirmed away. 

* BC's scheme in the second half was almost flawless. They held UNC to just three points, and just four drives, three of which ended with punts or missed field goals. BC tightened up against the run, and kept Howell in check. 

* Max Roberts has made big plays in both games this year he has played. Good job on the strip sack. 

* There was a span in the second half where BC got hit with 45 yards in penalties on one drive (two personal fouls, a pass interference). On one hand BC's defense was playing with a lot of emotion and energy, which is great. But they have to calm down. The PFs were completely avoidable, and this could have put the game out of reach. 

* I think at this point we are going to have to live with the good and the bad of Isaiah McDuffie. He isn't going to be the strongest player in space, but he will mask that with good plays that make a difference in the end. 

*Brandon Barlow has really come into his own on the defensive line. For a player who really wasn't all that disruptive last year, he has become a valuable contributor on that line. Had a sack and two tackles for loss.