Over the next few weeks, I plan on doing Q-and-A's with opposing bloggers about Northwestern's football season. The only problem is that the questions I ask are generally different from those normal people ask, and then one question about football.
Today: Brian Favat of BC Interruption:
SoP: Is Frank Spaziani the best mustachioed coach in college football?
BCI: I think Pat Hill had Spaz beat in the facial hair department, but now he's out of college football and with the Atlanta Falcons. I can't seem to come up with much competition for Spaz's well-groomed stache that would make Tom Selleck proud. Idaho's Robb Akey? Meh. Temple's Steve Addazio's is pretty tame in comparison. Minnesota's Jerry Kill gets extra points because his last name is Kill. I mean, c'mon.
It seems like the mustachioed college football head coach is an endangered species these days. Then again, maybe this is a sign BC needs to ditch its head coach and fine another clean-shavin' coach.
Be honest: how much do you wish we were talking about hockey right now?
(This question was left unanswered, which I assume means they REALLY wish they were talking about hockey.)
Who loses more games at Gillette Stadium, the Pats or the newly-transitioned to FBS play UMass Minutemen?
The Minutemen have a decent shot at going winless this season in the program's first year in Division I-A (FBS for all you politically correct folk). UMass has just five home games this season -- Indiana, Ohio, Bowling Green, Buffalo and Central Michigan. Without any real home field advantage (Gillette is a good 90+ miles from campus), UMass may drop all of those games, sad to say. Even ones against Indiana and Buffalo. Best guess is UMass wins one of those games to get to 1-4 at home this year.
The Patriots would have to go 4-4 at best and lose a home playoff game to match that win total. I really don't know a whole lot about this year's Pats team, but considering they play in the AFC East, chances are good the Pats will win at least 2 of those 3 home games against the Jets, Bills and Dolphins. Throw in wins over Arizona and Indianapolis and chances are good that the Pats finish with fewer home losses than UMass this year.
Without prying too much into your personal life: are you older than Dave Shinskie? Which of you has a better chance of throwing a touchdown for BC this season?
Yes, I believe I'm roughly two years older than Shinskie and no, I don't have a better chance of throwing a TD for BC this season. But it's close.
If you had to guess - either from personal experience, or just from common sense - where I threw up on Boston College's campus last year, where would you guess? (For the record, I was very clean and professional about it, as I generally am in such circumstances, although it was somewhat out of character.)
My first guess would be the Mods. It can get pretty crazy in there, especially for the home opener. If it wasn't the Mods, I don't know ... please don't tell me you publicly defaced the Doug Flutie statue. (Good guess, but wrong. Although part of the reason I did is because of what I did in the Mods beforehand.)
THE ONE QUESTION ABOUT FOOTBALL: How does Boston College bounce back from a 4-8 campaign? What are BC's strengths, and how do you see a rematch against Northwestern going?
In order for Boston College to bounce back from a 4-8 campaign, it has to start on offense. The Eagles offense has been dreadful the last few seasons. BC cracked the 20 point total just twice last season against I-A opponents and hasn't broke the 30 point barrier in 25 straight games going back to a 31-10 win over Central Michigan in 2009. Enter another first year offensive coordinator, former Kent State HC Doug Martin, to revitalize the offense and maximize QB Chase Rettig's potential. The talent is there at QB, RB and on the line, so it will be interesting to see how the Eagles' offense responds to its fourth OC in three seasons.
BC's strengths are really in the backfield with Rolandan 'Deuce' Finch and Andre Williams, on the line where BC returns 8 of 10 guys with significant experience, and in the linebacking corps. BC's D does have to replace the insane amount of production from LB Luke Kuechly (first round NFL draft pick to Carolina), but still have a solid core of guys with Kevin Pierre-Louis, Steele Divitto and Sean Duggan.
I really don't have a good read yet BC-NU game. It would be a bit silly to pick the Eagles to win, considering we dropped a home game to Northwestern in last year's season opener and this one is at Ryan Field. I do think the fact that this year's game isn't the season opener for both teams will create a different dynamic than last season. BC got off to an atrocious 1-6 start last year with the only win in the first seven against then I-AA UMass. Northwestern will be coming off a home game against an improved Vandy team while BC draws ... Maine. Really, I think this is a toss-up game that could very well decide whether either Northwestern or Boston College goes bowling this season.