Takeaways from a 7th straight loss for BC

Just going to jump right into it because it’s 1:30 a.m. and I’ve got to be at Gillette at like 9…

If James is healthy, he should start for the rest of the year

I completely understand the argument for starting Lonergan or even Shaker Reisig the rest of the way to get them more experience, but the seniors – including James – deserve to go down with a fighting chance. Not only that, but why get the young guys killed behind a now very banged up and inexperienced O-line?

I thought it was extremely evident early on that GJ had total command of the offense – particularly in the first half. The struggles in the second half were mostly do to pressure and whatever he’s dealing with (O’Brien said twice James was dealing with an injury, but didn’t disclose what it was obviously). There’s little excuse for the turnovers, but overall it just felt like there was more confidence throughout the team with him on the field.

Defense lets offense down

This is a tough one.

On the one hand, they forced three turnovers with a VERY depleted group clearly playing its collective ass off. On the other, 500 yards of offense, 300+ on the ground and some MASSIVE chunk plays that ultimately did them in just can’t happen. KP Price said the performance was ‘unacceptable.’ He’s right and even backed Bill O’Brien adamantly, saying it’s on the players to have O’Brien’s back and the rest of the staff with their play.

I just keep going back to some of the guys that are out on that side, though. Jackson. Crouch. Stoudmire. Blackwell. Torrence. That’s legitimately five starters right there that were expected to contribute greatly and that only scratches the surface of the injury issues.

Bill O’Brien called the defense ‘brutal’ tonight and it feels like with each passing day a move will be made at the end of the season. But, for now, it is what it is. Like, you can’t magically get an influx of new, experienced talent in here like it’s NFL free agency. This group will continue to take its lumps and hopefully learn and grow from this season.

Freshmen should be giving people hope

In particular, Kaelan Chudzinski and TJ Green.

Chudzinski has been fantastic since April, took the job from Ty Lockwood in the first week of camp and has never looked back as TE2 since then. Jeremiah Franklin is still Mr. Reliable, but with Chudzinski getting in the end zone again and making a sick Moss-like catch during the game on third down, he’s becoming a very, very valuable piece to this offense very early.

As for Green, the strip sack and huge tackle on third down that gave BC one more shot to try and tie the game were big time plays. He’s in that group that’s getting a ton of time – probably way before he was supposed to with all the injuries – and he appears to be growing and learning daily.

As long as O’Brien gets the opportunity to continue recruiting and building his roster (and gets financial help to recruit talent from a different pool than the Merrimack’s and Princeton’s) fans should be very encouraged by these young players.

Luca remains money

Because he deserves it, I had to mention Lombardo again. 38-yard FG to stay perfect on the year. Probably should have had another chance on one of the turnover on downs in the first half. He’s still perfect on PATs too and continues to deserve all the credit in the world for the season he’s having.

On to Notre Dame

No game time time locked in yet (let’ all hope for noon or 3:30), but I think it’s important to realize these guys truly won’t quit and could push Notre Dame the same way they pushed Louisville. Yes they’re being paid and any D1 athlete should be putting their best foot forward, but I was impressed with how hard this team played for the coaches tonight. Yes, there’s plenty of mistakes still, but they absolutely will not roll over. That’s the sign of a staff that does have the respect of its players, which isn’t always the case when you’re dealing with 17-22-year old kids.