Huge game this weekend (Boston Globe) for my alma mater and ESPN's crew will be doing their broadcast from the dustbowl in the center of campus:
ESPN's popular "College GameDay Built By The Home Depot" football show will originate from the "campus green" on the Boston College campus Saturday, the day of BC's inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference football game vs. the Florida State Seminoles. This will mark College GameDay's first appearance on the BC campus.
The campus green, affectionately termed "the dustbowl" by BC students, is a large, grassy area located behind McElroy Commons, the college bookstore, and alongside College Road. The stage will be set up to broadcast the popular show, which features host Chris Fowler and analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit, from 10:30 a.m. until noon each Saturday during the college football season. Fowler, Corso and Herbstreit also will be seen throughout the day on ESPN from Alumni Stadium in various pregame, halftime and postgame segments.
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• BC coach Jim O'Brien was the offensive coordinator at Virginia when the Cavaliers scored 33 points and handed FSU its first ACC loss in 1995, so he has an inkling about what's needed to move the ball against the Seminoles.
Boston College's coach is not Jim O'Brien, it's Tom O'Brien. No respect for B.C. See if this link works to get a live view of the dustbowl.
The rest of the Insider's take on B.C. after the jump.
News
ESPN Insider's take is wrong, literally:
From ESPN Insider:
Boston College
QB Quinton Porter is completing 76 percent of his passes, but that number will drop against an extremely fast Florida State defense. The key to winning for the Eagles in their ACC debut Saturday night is hoping their gargantuan offensive line fares better against a relatively inexperienced FSU defensive line than Miami did. If BC can run the ball effectively and keep FSU's linebackers involved near the line of scrimmage, then Porter may find some vulnerabilities in the Seminoles' pass defense. Miami had receivers wide open, at times, in the season opener, but no time for Wright to find them.• BC coach Jim O'Brien was the offensive coordinator at Virginia when the Cavaliers scored 33 points and handed FSU its first ACC loss in 1995, so he has an inkling about what's needed to move the ball against the Seminoles.
• FSU TB Lorenzo Booker, a Southern California native, thought it sort of amusing that BC receiver/utility infielder Will Blackmon is from Rhode Island ("What kind of high school football do they play in Rhode Island?'' Booker wondered). Blackmon gets a chance to make an impression on Booker and the rest of the nation in one of the most high-profile ACC games this season. Here's a proposition, Will: Catch a touchdown pass, and return a punt for another score on Saturday, and you'll make it on the short list for this Heisman ballot.
xContinued from the Insider:
Florida State
The mood, karma -- something -- is different around the FSU locker room this season, so maybe it's futile comparing this group to a team that last year went 3-2 on the road. But if the Seminoles aren't more effective on offense than they were away from home last year, then Saturday night's game at Boston College is going to be an eye-opener.
Most FSU players don't seem convinced that BC can play at the Seminoles' level, despite an offensive performance against Miami two weeks ago in which FSU gained 170 yards. Asked how he feels about facing BC in the Eagles' first ACC game, Booker said, "We're Florida State. We feel like we should be welcoming everybody, whether they've been in 10 years -- then we need to let you know nothing's changed -- or you're just in, then we need to let you know about the years to come.''
Last year, FSU welcomed Miami into the ACC by losing to the Hurricanes in overtime at the Orange Bowl.
• The Seminoles have, however, designated this a "sod game," as a result of being an underdog on the road.
• FSU's defensive line is relatively inexperienced, with the exception of senior DT Brodrick Bunkley, but the group dominated against Miami, recording nine sacks. Saturday's game will be a tougher test against a BC line that returned five starters from a year ago.
• Bobby Bowden is tiptoeing around the fact that redshirt freshman Xavier Lee, whose mental blunders have caused him to be yanked after his first series in each of two games (though Lee returned later against The Citadel) is the backup QB. "I'm sure it's very deflating to have the reputation he's got, then to be put in the game late, taken out late,'' said Bowden, who already has met privately with Lee to stress patience (translation: "Don't go transferring on me'').