Three Keys to Victory: Virginia Tech
The Only Prescription...is Morehead
The rotation at the quarterback position against Syracuse was obviously very confusing. But Hafley has now said in multiple press conferences that he wants one quarterback to play this week. He’s still trying to keep Virginia Tech off balance by using the “Or” designation on the depth chart. But based on the results of the Syracuse contest, a short week of practice, and Hafley’s other comments this week, I think Emmett Morehead will make his first official start on Friday night.
Here at BC Bulletin, we were hesitant to put Morehead on the field. His performance against Syracuse validated some of our concerns but also opened up some possibilities. The word on Morehead was that he was a very raw passer; this made sense, as he hadn’t played live football since 2019. These issues made themselves readily apparent against the Orange. Even when Morehead got adequate protection from the offensive line, if his first read wasn’t wide open, he hesitated and either scrambled or took a sack.
However, the physical talent was clearly there. Morehead willingly and effortlessly threw the ball deep, barely missing Flowers on two deep throws and hitting him and Lewis on two more. He also had some great zip on the ball when he threw it short. Morehead also displayed some solid ability as a runner when he scrambled up and out of the pocket; as a young player, he doesn’t have the regard for his safety yet, so using his big body to get some yards after contact is helpful.
With these strengths and weaknesses in mind, Morehead deserves and even needs a full week of practice with the starters to prepare for Friday. If he doesn’t have to split time with Grosel in practice, he should get more comfortable with the offense and the players around him. Virginia Tech has a pretty strong defense, so the Eagles need someone with more physical talent than Grosel to threaten more areas of the field. Additionally, Grosel might be too locked into executing the offense safely and efficiently. BC has been very solid on offense in terms of limiting turnovers, but Morehead might need to take some risks that Grosel wouldn’t in the passing game.
Cut Down on Explosive Plays
For the last few weeks, I’ve defended the coaching staff and the Boston College defense. Despite the results of the game and some of the box score stats, I’ve felt that the defense has done a solid job at limiting opposing offenses from imposing their will. They’ve made offenses work for most of their scores, they’ve held strong in the red zone, and they’ve been excellent against the pass. Part of their success against the pass is most likely due to their struggles against the run game, as teams are willing to keep running the ball if their passing game isn’t working.
Regardless of how you feel the defense has been performing in recent weeks, we can all agree this defense has struggled with allowing explosive plays. Against Clemson, the Tigers scored their only touchdown on a long run; NC State got a long touchdown off a catch and run where a BC defender missed the ball and tackled his own teammate; Louisville, specifically Malik Cunningham, torched the Eagles’ defense repeatedly; finally, Sean Tucker and Garrett Shrader scored on touchdowns of 51 and 48 yards, respectively. Generally, I would prefer that a defense give up fluky explosive plays over repeatedly giving up medium-to-long gains. However, these explosives are becoming a problem.
With Virginia Tech looming this Friday, BC fans may remember how Virginia Tech lit up the Eagles’ defense last year behind big plays from Hendon Hooker, Khalil Herbert, and Raheem Blackshear. Luckily for BC, Hooker and Herbert have moved on to greener pastures. But Blackshear is still there, and new quarterback Braxton Burmeister is a deadly running threat in the same vein as Malik Cunningham. Most of Burmeister’s carries and yards have come as a scrambler as opposed to designed quarterback runs. Therefore, hopefully, Isaiah Graham-Mobley will be back in the lineup, and he and Kam Arnold can be used as QB spies to prevent big scrambles from Burmeister.
You Wanna Get Nuts? Let’s Get Nuts!
It’s Red Bandanna Night on Friday in Chestnut Hill, inexplicably in November, but I digress. Boston College is 3-4 in Red Bandanna games since its inception in 2014. They lost last year in a back-and-forth matchup with Notre Dame. It will also be the second time the Eagles have donned their Red Bandanna uniforms this season, as they wore them on the road against UMass in September on the 20th anniversary of Welles Remy Crowther’s death and the 9/11 attacks.
In the previous seven matchups, they have all featured strange plays. The reverse to Sherman Alston against USC and the Jeff Smith pass to Kobay White against Florida State come to mind. The point is that only one of these games has ever been a true blowout: the 56-7 drubbing in 2016 against then-#3 Clemson, who would go on to win the national championship that year. Even the 2015 version of Boston College had a shot against Florida State before Darius Wade suffered an injury.
So far this season, and even going back to 2020, the Boston College offense has abandoned the trick play. Even the jet sweeps have gone down precipitously this year. Part of this is most likely tied to Phil Jurkovec’s injury. But this week, with the season reaching its nadir, it’s time to let loose the hounds of war. I’m not sure exactly who will be the featured player in said trick plays (CJ Lewis has a quarterback background, so keep an eye on him), but the Eagles need to break out at least one this week. The Hokies will most likely be keeping an eye out for it so that it may require some setup or extra window dressing. Regardless, Frank Cignetti has to reach into the gadget play bag and try to make chicken salad out of...you know the rest.