Game Observations (Offense): Boston College 34 Louisville 27
Boston College snuck by Louisville on Saturday 34-27 in a game marked with turnovers and big performances. Let's break down what we saw from the offense during this game.
* We have to start with Dennis Grosel. What a performance from a quarterback who lost his starting job at camp, and had been quietly sitting on the sidelines preparing for this moment. Boy did he deliver. Two touchdown passes, a huge 44 yard run, Grosel lifted his team to a victory on Senior Day. When you talk to Grosel, he just exudes positivity and leadership, this was one of the great moments of the season.
* Want to see what Grosel's game meant to the team? Watch how crazy they get when he makes the 44 yard run. The sidelines goes BESERK
* That being said, not sure what is going on with Phil Jurkovec and what looks to be his knee. It looked to be non-contact, but he stayed on the field wearing the headset and cheering on his team. If it was a severe injury, like Anthony Brown's MCL/ACL they would have had him in the medical tent and removed him from the field. Jeff Hafley said after the game that Jurkovec would be meeting with trainers after the game, and he would provide an update either Sunday or Tuesday.
* If Jurkovec does miss next weekend's game against UVA I believe that Grosel is perfectly suited to lead this offense. Will they be as effective as with Jurkovec? No. But I think Grosel does enough both with his arms and legs that BC could win that game.
* It's a bummer that Jurkovec's injury was the dominating story coming out of that game, because it should have been the play of the offensive line. The Eagles ran the ball for 188 yards, and there were zero sacks. Both of those were due to the play of the line. This was their magnum opus of the season. Zero mistakes, and just bullied Louisville all game. Jeff Hafley talked about their play after the game, and said this is the level of play that he had expecting them to grow and evolve to.
* Patrick Garwo III returned from rehabbing from his surgery to run the ball seven times for 34 yards, including a big 22 yard run in the fourth quarter. I thought that for the first time this year, he looked explosive and ready to be the starter. Which he will need to be if David Bailey is going to be out for any period of time. We will get updates on Bailey from Hafley this week.
* CJ Lewis with yet another big catch. After the game he was asked which catch stuck out more to him, this one or the catch against Clemson. He said this one, because his team won the game.
* The off target throw from Jurkovec to Spencer Witter was a big missed opportunity. Witter could have walked into the end zone. It might have been a critical miscue, but luckily the Eagles moved past that.
* Zay Flowers had a quiet Zay FLowers game. Seven catches for 87 yards, and a run for nine yards. Not sure why this game seemed so personal to him, but he was very chirpy this week.
* Can I just say here that I hate the "forward progress" rule in college football? This is the second time in three years that it has bit BC (Ben Glines in 2018). It just doesn't make any sense, and it is so inconsistently called. Look at two plays during this game. Jurkovec, looks to have his progress stopped, is stood up and has the ball stripped, and given to UL because the refs swallow their whistles. Then later in the game David Bailey is still churning and moving and pushes the pile into the end zone but the play is ruled dead because the ref called it. I don't know what the solution is to this, maybe make Jurkovec's play reviewable, but the inconsistencies drive me crazy.
* Please stop calling shotgun plays on 3rd/4th and short. Please.
* I saw people getting critical of some of BC's play calling down the stretch. On the second to last drive they were able to score on a touchdown pass to Jehlani Galloway, so I don't think "this team is predictable" is a correct analysis. Should BC have thrown the ball on second down on the final drive instead of running it there? Possibly. But a lot of coaches would have ran it there, not just Frank Cignetti Jr. and the one out of in Fort Collins. You have to take time off the clock, you don't want your backup quarterback throwing incomplete passes and giving the ball right back to Malik Cunningham and that offense.
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