Saturday, November 22nd, 2003, 3:30

TV: ESPN (national)

Forecast (from WeatherUnderground.com):
Click the "Blacksburg Weather" link to the right.
As of 10:00 am Thursday: "Mostly sunny. Highs around 66. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph."

Click here for TechSideline.com's VT/Boston College roster card

2003 Boston College Preview
by Jeff Ouellet

After a classic "Shallow Hal" performance against Temple -- I'm sure that there was some VT fan out there who thought the win was pretty, but it sure wasn't me -- the twelfth ranked and 8-2 Hokies return to the friendly confines of Lane Stadium to take on the 6-5 Boston College Eagles.

This game is basically a must win for BC in order to make sure they get a bowl bid. While they would be eligible at 6-6, odds are against them receiving a bid if they are at .500.

This edition of the Eagles is fairly typical: they have solid play along both lines, and they are physical. Consequently, they run the ball well and they do a nice job stopping the run. Their Achilles heel, as always, is their overall team speed. Worth noting is that BC Coach Tom O'Brien has an 0-6 career record against the Hokies as the Eagles' head man.

The season numbers on the Eagles suggest they are a balanced offense. BC rushes for nearly 182 yards and passes for 221 yards per game. They score 27.4 points per game with their lowest output (13) against Pittsburgh three weeks ago.

The BC offense looks a little different lately, though, as JUCO transfer Paul Peterson has taken the job from Quinton Porter. Peterson relieved Porter in the WVU game two weeks ago and earned the start against Rutgers with his performance. Peterson, perhaps shorter than his listed 6'0", is a very mobile quarterback who poses problems for defenses because of his ability to make plays. He isn't Doug Flutie, but he possesses some of those types of qualities, and the some in the New England media are making the comparison. Even though he is inexperienced at the DI level, he is a little older than the average playerb as he is 23 (he went on a Mormon mission for two seasons). It will be interesting to see how he reacts to playing at Lane.

The bell cow of the BC offense is super productive senior tailback Derrick Knight. Knight, undersized at 5'9", 205 lbs., is a tough inside runner who has great balance and knows how to go north-south. He's not an overwhelming physical talent, but he has gained over 3,400 career yards because he runs hard on every play and is tough to tackle. Knight is coming off a career high 224 yards versus Rutgers and averages 127.5 yards per game (5.5 yards per carry), fifth in the nation, with six touchdowns on the year. He also is a receiving threat with 25 catches on the year. The Hokies gave up over seven yards per carry to him last year, and the injuries on the defensive line this week make facing Knight a nerve-wracking proposition.

Underrated SR fullback Greg Toal (5'11", 240 lbs.) clears the way for Knight. Much like Doug Easlick, Toal's value is not in numbers, as he has only one carry and ten receptions on the year. Toal just does all the little things right, as he is great at blitz pickup and has a habit of blowing up linebackers on running plays.

The Eagles have okay talent at wide receiver, but they aren’t overwhelming. The statistical leader is 6’1", 200 lb. SR Grant Adams. Adams has 579 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on the season, and he averages an impressive 15.6 yards per reception. The other starter is 5’10" 185 lb. JR Joel Hazardb who has 29 catches for a 12.7 per catch average.

The name to watch among the wide receiver corps is intraseason corner convert Larry Lester. Lester, a 5’7", 185 lb. SO, played defensive back the first five games but in the last six games he has 14 catches for a whopping 21.1 per catch average, along with 3 touchdowns. He has made a significant impact for the Eagles since he moved to offense, and he is their most likely big play guy.

BC uses their tight ends very well in the passing game, and 6’5", 260 lb. SR Sean Ryan is a good one. Ryan is overlooked because of the other star tight ends in the Big East, but he is very good. He is tied for second on the team with 29 catches on the year and leads the team with 6 touchdown receptions. Backup tight end Dave Kashetta, a 6’4", 256 lb. JR, has 16 catches and four touchdowns too. The tight ends combined have as many touchdown receptions as the entire receiving corps (ten), so watch them in the red zone.

The Eagle o-line is good and big, averaging over 310 lbs. per man, although the statistics this year aren’t overwhelming. The offense averages 4.3 yards per carry and the line has surrendered 18 sacks on the season. The experience is on the right hand side with 6’7", 320 lb. RT SR Keith Leavitt anchoring things. RG Augie Hoffman is also a SR and at 307 lbs. provides additional beef. BC probably will look to go right in short yardage situations.

Center Pat Ross has performed admirably in his first year as a starter, with the key left tackle position being manned by 6’8" 315 lb. SO Jeremy Trueblood. The best BC lineman, Chris Snee, will be missing his first start of the season, and that is a blessing given VT’s injuries up front (for the Hokies, DT Kevin Lewis will not play, and DE Nathaniel Adibi suffered a dislocated thumb against Temple and won't be near a hundred percent).

The BC defense hasn’t been very good thus far this year. They yield nearly 26 points per game, but their strength is stopping the run (3.2 is the average gain for the opposition per rush). They have been victimized for big plays in the passing game. The official statistics only have BC credited with 12 sacks on the year.

The biggest man on the line is 6’8", 249 lb. SO defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka. Kiwanuka is a big play specialist who leads the Big East in sacks. He’s got a frame that makes pro scouts drool, and he is a real threat coming off the corner. He is third on the team with 68 tackles, and per BC’s stats he has 11 sacks and 14 tackles for losses (there is a discrepancy between the BC stat totals and the official stat totals, but I’m just going with the BC stats for this article). He is a fantastic athlete with a good motor.

The other defensive end is 6’3", 261 lb. JR Phil Mettling. Mettling is a solid player, but he doesn’t have the impact of Kiwanuka. Mettling has 27 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss (third on the team) and five sacks. Former Virginia prep star Justin Bell sees action as a redshirt freshman at defensive end.

BC has two pretty experienced senior defensive tackles in Tom Martin (6’4", 281) and Doug Goodwin (6’1", 295). Statistically, they don’t make a lot of plays, as Martin only has 29 tackles and Goodwin has 18, but they do occupy blockers to allow the linebackers to flow to the ball. Backup Tim Bulman is a super reserve, as he has 11 tackles for a loss and four sacks while backing up Martin.

Speaking of the linebackers, the Eagles' leading tackler is 6’1", 225 lb. Josh Ott. Ott has 108 stops on the year, but he is not limited to helping on the running game: Ott also has five passes broken up, second on the team, and an interception. He is one of the team captains for the Eagles and is an inspirational leader.

The other linebackers are SR Brian Flores (5’11", 218) and SO Ray Henderson (6’2", 231). Flores is undersized but is second on the team with 98 tackles. Henderson is the fifth leading tackler and has done a nice job this year of plugging run gaps.

The secondary has struggled at times this year for BC, but there is some talent. Athletically gifted Will Blackmon is a true sophomore with good size (6’0", 198) and great speed. He leads the team with three interceptions and eight pass breakups. The other corner is JR Peter Shean, a smallish corner (5’9") who has contributed two interceptions.

The safeties are both big, in the 210 range, with JR free safety T.J. Stancil being a major player in run defense. Stancil is third on the team with 71 tackles. SR strong safety Paul Cook has tallied 54 stops on the season, so both of the safeties are involved in run support.

Overall, this defense is slightly below average, but what they do best is crowd the line of scrimmage, so VT will have to make some plays in the passing game.

Although BC won this battle last year, the Eagles are not strong in this department, and it could cost them in what could be a very close game.

Punt returns are handled by Nathanael Hasselbeck, a 5’11" 187 SO. He has been quite capable, averaging 11.9 yards per return. The other punt returner is Blackmon, who also has a nice average of 10.0 yards. Both of them are dangerous.

Kickoff returns are also handled by Blackmon, and he has a 23.9 average with a long of 47 on the year. PSU transfer and SR tailback Horace Dodd is a bigger target at 222 lbs. and he is not quite as shifty. His average, though only five returns, is 10.2 per return.

The kicking game is in the hands of SR K Sandro Sciortino and JR punter Jeff Gomulinski. Sciortino is 9-15 of the year. He is perfect inside forty yards – 8-8 – but is only 1-7 from outside that distance.

Gomulinski is averaging only 39.5 yards per punt, and the Eagles have had two punts blocked already this year (backup Bob Leuffen had one blocked). This is an area where VT will look to make things happen.

Coverage for BC is below average. The average kickoff return goes for 23.8 yards, and the average punt return is 12.4 yards.

Traditionally this game doesn’t scare many Hokie fans, but I am a more than a little bit nervous, with a potential Gator Bowl bid on the line. What BC does well – pound the ball on the ground and stop the run – is a recipe for beating the Hokies. With Kevin Lewis out and Jason Lallis and Nathaniel Adibi less than 100% (if Adibi plays at all), the Hokies will have to get off the field on third and long situations. VT simply cannot allow long distance conversions, which keep their depleted front on the field and take the ball out of KJ’s hands. The defensive line must keep Peterson from making plays with his feet, and that has been a problem for the Hokie D this season.

On offense, Bryan Randall and Marcus Vick will have to make plays and avoid mistakes. VT needs to take some deep shots to get BC out of eight men in the box, and there should be some opportunities for quick strike offense.

I’m not providing any real insight here, but turnovers and special teams will tell this story. If VT doesn’t protect the ball, it won’t win. Ultimately, I’m going with VT because I think the atmosphere will be electric and Peterson will make a key turnover or two, but BC is going to get their yards and points.

Will Stewart's Take: Michael Crawford, Steve Canter, Doug Easlick, Carter Warley, Jacob Gibson, Jake Grove, Chris Shreve, Nathaniel Adibi, Keith Willis, Robert Peaslee, Cols Colas, Vegas Robinson, Garnell Wilds, and Ernest Wilford. These guys all line up for the last time in Lane Stadium this Saturday.

Some of them, like Nathaniel Adibi and Colas Colas, have seemingly been playing at Tech forever. Others, like Steve Canter and Robert Peaslee, have had quiet careers. One, Ernest Wilford, is a record-setter. And another, Garnell Wilds, will watch the game from the sidelines, the victim of a career-ending knee injury a few weeks back.

We say goodbye to those players, and another home season, this Saturday. The Hokies have a chance to go undefeated at home for the first time since a guy named Michael Vick played QB for Tech, and it's not your ordinary undefeated home record: it's a chance to go 7-0, something that has only been done once before at Virginia Tech, in 1996.

The Temple hangover has extended deep into this week, but it's time to snap out of it, Hokie fans. Time to rise up again, attend the Walk, and make noise in Lane Stadium, because I've got a funny feeling the team is going to need every ounce of it.

I have pledged never to pick Boston College to beat Virginia Tech -- BC's perennial lack of team speed makes this a good bet every year -- but if I was going to, I might do it here. As Jeff pointed out, BC's strengths play to Tech's weaknesses, and the Hokies must therefore cash in on their own strengths -- mainly speed and special teams -- to make sure something nasty doesn't happen Saturday.

If VT can string together a couple of big offensive and special teams plays, they should be in good shape. But it's also not out of the realm of possibility for the Hokies to come out flat and let Boston College hang around and perhaps make a few of their own plays for the win.

That's not a pleasant thought. There has been a lot of disappointment from Hokie fans over the fact that VT didn't bring their "A" game against Temple last week, and if that's the way you feel, then look within and bring your own "A" game Saturday for BC. Don't assume Tech will walk away with an eighth straight win over BC, because if you assume that, you'll skip the Walk, sit on your hands, and not cheer very loudly. You'll be flat, the team will be flat, and it might ruin not just your day, but the season.

So bring it. Don't let that happen. The Walk starts at 1:30.

I think this one's going to be tough. I think the Hokies will get up early and stay up, but I don't think they'll be up by more than two scores at any point. It'll be close.

Will Stewart's Prediction: VT 26, BC 23

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