For the second time this season, Boston College takes its football show on the road today. The Eagles desperately hope it will be nothing like the first time.
It won?t be easy, though, as they have to travel to Blacksburg, Va., to take on fifth-ranked Virginia Tech (noon, Ch. 38), easily their toughest opponent of the season. Today will offer a better litmus test of how far the Eagles have come on offense since the debacle in Death Valley three weeks ago.
On that rainy day in Clemson, S.C., the BC offense had its worst day in decades, gaining just 54 total yards. But how things have changed.
First, Dave Shinskie, who fumbled in each of his two possessions against Clemson, has replaced Justin Tuggle as the starter and delivered a pair of solid wins over Wake Forest and Florida State. He hasn?t been spectacular, but he?s thrown five touchdown passes in the last two games while tossing just one interception.
Even Shinskie, a little overwhelmed in the beginning, has been a little surprised with his rapid improvement since Clemson.
?Yeah, I guess I?ve come a long way,? said Shinskie with a chuckle. ?I was telling someone the other day, during the summer I couldn?t even get some of the passes down. Some of the routes, I didn?t know where they were going. But now we?re throwing 6-to-10 new passes in every week. I?m getting more comfortable in what I have to do to be the starter and lead this team.?
He?ll be leading the Eagles against a Bud Foster defense that has done a number on far more experienced quarterbacks than Shinskie, including Matt Ryan two years ago in the ACC title game.
In the two games last year against BC, the Hokies feasted on turnovers, taking away the ball a whopping nine times.
But just how good is the 2009 version of the Hokies? defense? That remains to be seen. Virginia Tech gave up 268 rushing yards to Alabama in its only loss. Two weeks later, the Hokies allowed 207 yards on the ground in a narrow win over Nebraska. Recently, the Hokies stymied Miami?s explosive offense in a blowout win, but then allowed 397 yards of total offense in a tight win over Duke last week.
The Eagles surely will want to run the ball today at some point, and the Hokies will just as surely dare Shinskie to beat them through the air.
?Some teams have had success with (the run vs. the Hokies), but I think they?ll play us like they did last year in the ACC Championship Game. They?ll put eight down in the box to try and make it difficult for us to run the ball,? said center Matt Tennant.
As important as Shinskie will be, the Eagles will go only as far as the offensive line takes them. And like Shinskie, the line has come a long way since Clemson.
?It?s a growing thing with the offensive line,? said Tennant. ?We?re trying to understand the new scheme while still playing games and trying to play well. Clemson obviously wasn?t a great time for any of us, considering we had a bunch of three-and-outs. But once the Wake Forest game came, we had some confidence in ourselves and confidence that we could run this scheme successfully.
If the BC offense can continue on that same road against the Hokies, then the Eagles will have a lot of people taking notice.
It won?t be easy, though, as they have to travel to Blacksburg, Va., to take on fifth-ranked Virginia Tech (noon, Ch. 38), easily their toughest opponent of the season. Today will offer a better litmus test of how far the Eagles have come on offense since the debacle in Death Valley three weeks ago.
On that rainy day in Clemson, S.C., the BC offense had its worst day in decades, gaining just 54 total yards. But how things have changed.
First, Dave Shinskie, who fumbled in each of his two possessions against Clemson, has replaced Justin Tuggle as the starter and delivered a pair of solid wins over Wake Forest and Florida State. He hasn?t been spectacular, but he?s thrown five touchdown passes in the last two games while tossing just one interception.
Even Shinskie, a little overwhelmed in the beginning, has been a little surprised with his rapid improvement since Clemson.
?Yeah, I guess I?ve come a long way,? said Shinskie with a chuckle. ?I was telling someone the other day, during the summer I couldn?t even get some of the passes down. Some of the routes, I didn?t know where they were going. But now we?re throwing 6-to-10 new passes in every week. I?m getting more comfortable in what I have to do to be the starter and lead this team.?
He?ll be leading the Eagles against a Bud Foster defense that has done a number on far more experienced quarterbacks than Shinskie, including Matt Ryan two years ago in the ACC title game.
In the two games last year against BC, the Hokies feasted on turnovers, taking away the ball a whopping nine times.
But just how good is the 2009 version of the Hokies? defense? That remains to be seen. Virginia Tech gave up 268 rushing yards to Alabama in its only loss. Two weeks later, the Hokies allowed 207 yards on the ground in a narrow win over Nebraska. Recently, the Hokies stymied Miami?s explosive offense in a blowout win, but then allowed 397 yards of total offense in a tight win over Duke last week.
The Eagles surely will want to run the ball today at some point, and the Hokies will just as surely dare Shinskie to beat them through the air.
?Some teams have had success with (the run vs. the Hokies), but I think they?ll play us like they did last year in the ACC Championship Game. They?ll put eight down in the box to try and make it difficult for us to run the ball,? said center Matt Tennant.
As important as Shinskie will be, the Eagles will go only as far as the offensive line takes them. And like Shinskie, the line has come a long way since Clemson.
?It?s a growing thing with the offensive line,? said Tennant. ?We?re trying to understand the new scheme while still playing games and trying to play well. Clemson obviously wasn?t a great time for any of us, considering we had a bunch of three-and-outs. But once the Wake Forest game came, we had some confidence in ourselves and confidence that we could run this scheme successfully.
If the BC offense can continue on that same road against the Hokies, then the Eagles will have a lot of people taking notice.
