Game Film Review: Boston College vs. Louisville (First Half)

What did the game film show us in Saturday's loss?

Saturday's game against Louisville was a tough watch for Boston College fans. On the defensive side of the ball they struggled to make stops and allowed a school record 664 yards against the Cardinals. The offense played relatively well, but the Eagles lost starting quarterback Anthony Brown early in the second season with what looked like a knee injury. To better understand exactly what happened, I watched the game again on WePlayed. If you want to get my play by play recap, please check out my notes on the site. 

* Boston College's defensive line got worked by a Louisville offensive line that imposed their will on the Eagles. Watching some of the runs, if the Cardinal's scheme wanted to move BC in one direction they did so with hardly any resistance. Javian Hawkins is certainly a talented back, but he had huge gaps to run through. 

* Boston College defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan really needs to stop matching up slower linebackers and safeties on slot receivers like Tutu Atwell. When BC's front line couldn't get to Micale Cunningham, that gave the QB time which allowed the WR's to slip past their defenders. I would much rather see BC take a LB out and try a nickel back to try and defend the slot. 

* There is certainly something about Dennis Grosel. I hate the cliche but he has that "it" factor that might help in future games. He threw a decent ball, and looked good in the first half. If Mike Bajakian can mold the offense around him, he should be serviceable if Anthony Brown is down for an extended period of time. 

* The tackling against Louisville was bad, really bad. I counted at least four plays that could have been stopped for a loss or short gain, but missed tackles allowed for explosive plays. Bad angles, bad form, and over pursuit were all issues that were noted in the game film

* BC's play action is incredibly effective when it is clicking. On the touchdown to Hunter Long and Korab Idrizi they were completely unguarded as Louisville completely sold out on the run. Will be interesting to see how Dennis Grosel runs it especially after two weeks of preparation with the first team. 

* Zay Flowers continues to show flashes of brilliance. Anthony Brown hit him on a deep bomb, and on his jet sweeps if he can get a step on a defender he can turn that into almost ten yards every time. 

The second half game film will be reviewed tomorrow