Virginia Tech Football: Boston College Q&A

Fresh off a disappointing 45-24 loss to Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Hokies kick off their conference season Saturday afternoon against Boston College. Steve Addazio leads yet another hard-nosed Eagles squad into Blacksburg, one that has struggled offensively but consistently excelled on the defensive side of the ball.

The Eagles fell to Georgia Tech in Week 1 in a 17-14 heart-breaker across the Atlantic (and yes, Scot Loeffler vs. Paul Johnson at 7:30 a.m. was peak college football), but Addazio's squad has since bounced back with a 26-7 victory over Massachussets. To get some first-hand knowledge on the Eagles as the Hokies begin ACC play, I spoke with A.J. Black of BC Interruption. Read my answers to A.J.'s questions.

JC: After an up-and-down three year tenure in Blacksburg, Scot Loeffler has reemerged on the college football landscape as the offense coordinator in Chestnut Hill. It's only been two weeks, but how would you assess the offense's performance under Loeffler thus far?

AJ: After last year anything is an improvement. Through the first few games BC has shown a little more aggression than we are used to under Steve Addazio. In years past you would never see a BC team pass on 1st down, but they have done that more frequently, and actually have attacked defenses through the air to some success. But on the other hand the majority of the plays still seem very vanilla and conservative. For two games we have seen a ton of HB draws with Jon Hilliman into the teeth of an overloaded box of defenders. Part of me wonders if the first game was due to our new QB Patrick Towles getting his feet wet in the new offense, and against UMass the coaches didn't want to show all of their cards. But the logical part of me believes that for the most part this is going to be the offense of Steve Addazio and Scot Loeffler this season.

JC: The Eagles sported one of the best defenses in college football in 2015, a physical and intimidating group that held the Hokies to just 274 total yards last October. Former defensive coordinator Don Brown bolted to Michigan shortly after the season, but the Eagles look to be a formidable bunch once again this year under Jim Reid. Can this group rival last year's performance?

AJ: I believe they can. This defense is stacked with talent, and it rolls deeper than just the starters. BC right now has four defensive ends that I believe would start on most ACC teams (Wyatt Ray, Harold Landry, Zach Allen and Kevin Kavalec). They are a nightmare to defend, and are equally effective against the pass (they had 8 sacks last week) than they are the run (they allowed -23 yards in the second game). From there Truman Gutapfel is probably the best tackle BC has had since BJ Raji, and is devastating in terms of breaking down the pocket quickly. The linebackers are a fantastic crew as well, Connor Strachan is basically a poor man's Luke Kuechly, an absolute closer who doesn't miss tackles, and Matt Milano and Ty Schwab are all over the field. In terms of weaknesses on the defense, I am a little concerned with the secondary. They got toasted by Justin Thomas and GT, but that was more on soft coverage calls by the staff, but there were some plays last week against UMass that would have been trouble if their QB had any sort of arm.

JC: It's been nearly 22 months since the Eagles recorded a conference win. Injuries and close losses have certainly factored in, but regardless of circumstances, one would figure that Steve Addazio's seat is feeling plenty warm in Chestnut Hill. How many wins do you see Addazio needing this fall if he hopes to return in 2017?

AJ: He has got to make a bowl game. Addazio was viewed very positively in 2014, especially with some big wins over VT and USC, but 2015 was a complete disaster. He admittedly failed to have a QB ready to play, his offensive line was a mess, and his in game coaching decisions were mind blowing in their ineptitude. (see Wake Forest game). This year, he started off with the same questionable in game choices and conservative play calling, but I'm not ready to write him off yet. If Patrick Towles truly is feeling more comfortable and Loeffler and Addazio allow for a few new plays through the air we may see some wins. BC certainly has the out of conference schedule to bowl (UMass, Buffalo, Wagner and UConn), and two ACC wins surely could happen. If he doesn't bowl though? It's going to get really ugly with alumni and season ticket holders.

JC: I'm typically not the biggest fan of the "[insert team here] needs to learn how to win" cliche, but it may hold water in Boston College's case. What do the Eagles need to do to get over the hump in the ACC, and how much does the arrival of graduate transfer quarterback Patrick Towles help?

AJ: They need to trust their offense. After BC lost to Georgia Tech Addazio came out and said that he wanted his defense out there to win the game. I don't know in what world that makes any sense. The moment BC knows that with a lead they can call a play that is not three yards and a cloud of dirt into a 10 man defensive box will be the moment I know they are feeling ready to win. But if Addazio feels like he still wants to just get his offense off the field and get his defense out there, well, that just spells disaster.

JC: Time to put you on the spot: who wins on Saturday?

AJ: I think this should be a good game, again dictated by the defenses. I know Virginia Tech has made a bunch of mistakes in their first two games, but on the road I worry that BC will make more, either through turnovers or by coaching decisions. It's probably going to be a brutal game to watch if you like scoring but I'll take VT winning it 17-10.