Curtis: Yet another week of disappointment. These Eagles keep finding new ways to tear down our hope, and the blown 20-point lead against Louisville was no different. What were your main takeaways?
For me, it was mostly the failure to capitalize on opportunities on offense. BC’s defense won the turnover battle 3-0 and BC still blew this lead. Castellanos and the offense failed over and over again in the second half to even get a couple of first downs, nevermind a score to extend the lead. It just seems like nothing is working other than the occasional Treshaun Ward wheel route. And it goes without saying that BC’s punting is absolutely dreadful. There were sarcastic cheers in Alumni Stadium when Candotti managed to boot it more than 20 yards.
Curran: To be honest, the final score is not even terrible. I predicted in my column this week that BC would not even cover; I believe Curtis did the same. Yet the manner in which the game got away just makes the loss so much more painful. O’Brien said in his (very short and angry) postgame presser that the offense — even in the first half — didn’t really do anything. They had success through gadget plays and benefited from short fields, but it still feels like this offense has no clue what its identity is. We had success rushing the ball, so we moved away from it. We’ve had trouble getting receivers open, so we call deeper dropbacks. The decisions are baffling. When the defense ran out of gas after forcing a flurry of TO’s, it was game over. At this point, throw the wheel to Treshaun or run the ball. I haven’t seen anything else work.
Kieran: Haha Curran, you might be right about that last point. Just throw the wheel on every play. One of the most frustrating parts to me is the complete lack of wide receiver talent on this team. Lewis Bond is the only wideout that caught a pass in this game, and of Castellanos’s 164 passing hards, Bond only had 20 of them! That’s just comical and not at all what a college offense should be doing in 2024. The defense is another problem on its own, but I’m more concerned about the offense because that’s supposed to be BoB’s specialty. And I expected way more out of Castellanos this year, but we just haven’t seen it.
Curran: I’m not even sure it’s a talent issue. Guys like Jerand Bradley and Shake McGowan were decently productive at their last stops and Jaedn Skeete and Reed Harris have flashed talent. I just think the offense does not maximize what the players are best at.
Curtis: It also doesn’t help that BC’s quarterback isn’t exactly a deadeye passer. I definitely think there’s a lack of playmakers in the passing game and it has hamstrung BC’s ability to score points, but the main reason is that Castellanos struggles to get them the ball. It might be the team’s biggest weakness.
Niraj: It’s like beating a dead horse and you guys pretty much covered it. How you lose a game winning the turnover battle 3-0 is insane. The play calling is abysmal – there’s no rhythm. To Curran’s point there are some talented players out there and I think it comes down to putting those players in the right position and better decision making from the quarterback.