Grading the Boston College Offense vs Pitt

A look at the offense and their play on Saturday. Handing out grades for the individual performances.

Boston College battled with Pitt last night, escaping with a 31-30 win. The difference maker being a missed extra point by Alex Kessman in overtime. We’ve broken the game down in many ways, and now it’s time to hand out grades, beginning with the offense.

(Because of COVID-19 this evaluation was done using the network TV feed. There certainly were moments the video missed. We did the best we could to evaluate what was visible. Also for grading: A: Great Game, B:Good Game, C: Average Game D: Below Average F: Poor Game))

Coaching: C. Frank Cignetti's plan in the first half was efficient and put up 24 points against a very good defense. Hitting Zay Flowers with the deep ball was a great way to open up the defense and Jurkovec looked poised. However, later in the second half BC started playing more conservative. The play calling became very predictable, with an emphasis on the non-existent run game, and the offense stalled. Would have liked to have seen more play action on some of those first and second downs. And if the run game isn't happening, don't force it. 

Phil Jurkovec: A-. Against the best defense he has faced this year, Jurkovec threw for over 350 yards and was responsible for four touchdowns. Hafley likes to talk about fixing mistakes, and there were a few for Jurkovec today. The biggest was when he was stripped in the red zone. Hit numerous big passes throughout the day, to a variety of receivers, while taking quite a few hits. 

David Bailey/Patrick Garwo: D. Run game was not there. Bailey averaged 2.4 yards per carry on fifteen rushes, Garwo 2.6. Today Hafley talked about getting the running attack back, but it was very concerning how ineffective the pair were yesterday. 

Zay Flowers: A. Not often will I give an A to a player who drops a touchdown pass in the end zone. But that is what happens when he scores three other touchdowns including the game winner. Incredible game for Flowers, great routes, hands, and this was against a solid group of big defensive backs. 

CJ Lewis: B. Turning into a very solid second wide receiver for this team. Had a drop, but has become an increasingly reliable wide receiver. 

Jaelen Gill: C+. Had a pair of catches, but wasn't much of a factor in the offense. 

Hunter Long: A. You consider it a quiet game when Long doesn't have a touchdown but watch the film and you can see how busy he was in this game. He had nine catches for 93 yards, including a big one on what could have been the game winning drive in the fourth quarter. But because of Pitt's relentless defense, he was used a lot on pass and run protection. 

Spencer Witter/Drew McQuarrie: C. Both played the second tight end roll in the game, three targets to the pair no catches. 

Offensive Line: D. Not a particularly good game for the entire line. Let's go over the day: five sacks allowed, 13 tackles for loss, rushing attack (Bailey/Garwo) averaged 2.5 yards per carry. Pitt has one of the best defensive groups in the country and clearly it was a struggle for this group.  The big positive? There was no penalties called on this unit all game. Watching the o-line play, they just haven't seemed to click yet. They have had their moments, where Jurkovec has a clean pocket, but other times it's like a wave of defenders coming down on the QB. Not sure if it's a new scheme they are playing, or if the new offensive system is a big change, but they haven't looked to be the elite group many expected. 

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