September 18, 2004

Big (B)East? BC pounds UConn

Don't look now, but the Boston College Eagles are 3-0 after dolling out another whooping. This week's victim was Big East Conference foe Connecticut in a 27-7 home win.

UConn has looked like a team that is rising to the upper levels of the conference. Not last night. The Huskies fumbled their first ever Big East touch on the opening kickoff. The rest of the night pretty much followed that pattern, with BC forcing UConn into mistakes and then capitalizing.

With wins over Penn State & UConn (and Ball State - but that doesn't really count), the Eagles are moving into the meat of their schedule with something to play for. Tough games against Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and West Virginia still loom, but there's no reason to think that BC can't be playing for the Big East title on November 13th in Morgantown. While the head to head is critical, BC is clearly putting pressure on WVU - everyone's sweetheart team in the Big East.

SR QB Paul Peterson is a proven leader. He's taken the Eagles to wins over Notre Dame, Penn State (twice), UConn (twice), Colorado State and Virginia Tech, among others, over the past two seasons. He's played in the big games and absolutely nothing fazes the guy. If he were a basketball player, you might say he's a "street baller" because he makes it up on the fly sometimes. In football terms, I guess he's more like a rugby player - always on the move and looking down field.

I've watched BC twice this year, and I like this team. Every Big East team is going to be gunning for them to "show them the door", so to speak, as the Eagles leave the conference for the ACC. (Can you imagine how mad Big East fans would be if Boston College is conference champ & BCS bound this year?!) I don't know if they'll beat Notre Dame on the road, but --if they do-- I think BC is the favorite in the Big East.