Five Questions Boston College Needs To Answer Against Georgia Tech
Boston College faces off with Georgia Tech on Saturday. Both programs are trying to turn their ship around after tough losses the previous weekend. But what specifically do the Eagles need to answer if they want to defeat the Yellow Jackets this weekend.
1. Can they tackle two quick ball carriers?
Hafley gave the number this week, 26. That was the number of missed tackles the Eagles had against Virginia Tech, a team that ended up with 350 yards on the ground. Georgia Tech is going to present a similar problem. They have two ball carriers, quarterback Jeff Sims and running back Jahmyr Gibbs who are both quick and elusive. BC spent all week getting back to the basics, working on tackling circuits and perfecting technique. But will that be enough to slow down Georgia Tech?
2. Will BC regain their ball security?
It will be important to see if the turnovers in the Virginia Tech game was a fluke or the start of a trend. The Eagles have five turnovers, three fumbles and two interceptions. Easily the sloppiest game of the season, especially when you consider they had just three turnovers the other four games total. The running backs need to hold on to the ball, and Jurkovec needs to be more careful. It's a fixable problem, but we will have to see how Cignetti and Hafley worked it out in practice.
3. Will GT surprise BC on special teams?
Jeff Hafley talked about Georgia Tech special teams this week. They are a unit that will gamble. Whether it's a fake punt, or field goal, they can be a tricky group. On top of that GT head coach Geoff Collins is aggressive on 4th down (GT has gone for it 10 times). If it is 4th and short, can BC stop the Yellow Jackets?
4. Will this be the game the rushing attack finally gets going?
It has been the million dollar question for almost five weeks now. When will Boston College be able to run the ball? Last week the rushing attack came tantalizingly close to returning, but then got bit by a combination of fumbles and VT building up a lead, and was abandoned. But it looks like it's almost there. Hafley continues to elude to it coming back any week, could this be it?
5. How will this team react to adversity?
Last week was easily the hardest loss of the season for the Eagles. They played sloppy and VT brought it to them and ran them off the field. But for a team to move forward they need to learn from this and move forward. Good teams take beatings like this and build off it. Hafley has said all the right things. They've worked on the areas that looked poor. But how will this new coaching staff look a week after they were beaten so soundly.
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