Week 9 Review
#24 Boston College Golden Eagles (4-2) at #5 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-0)
last meeting: we lost 33-24 on the road last season
series: 2-8 in B.C.'s favor
coaches poll: Rutgers #5, B.C. #24
the betting man says: Rutgers by 18
attendance: 41,500 - sellout!
weather: 56 degrees, fair
TV coverage: TV4
With each week the pressure and excitement is growing. We won the coin toss, and another home sellout had Rutgers Stadium absolutely rocking as the ball was kicked off.
Starting from our 18 yard line, we handed off to workhorse RB Claude Altenburger, and he found 5 yards. On second down we went long - QB Seth Duffy found WR B.J. Durham down the middle, and Durham evaded everyone. When all was said and done it was a 77 yard touchdown! 7-0 Rutgers!
The crowd was incredibly loud as Boston College tried to start their drive. A holding penalty backed them up, then they gaine 1 yard on first down, had another false start, gained 1 yard, and threw an interception on 3rd down! We returned it to the 19 yard line, and would settled for a field goal. It was 10-0 early.
We forced a 3-and-out on B.C.'s next posession, but RB Jon Burton couldn't handle the punt return - he fumbled and the Golden Eagles had it at our 20 yard line. In just 4 plays they pulled within 3, 10-7.
Bouncing back from our turnover, the offense came out blazing once again
QB Sethy Duffy scrambled for 6 yards, RB Jon Burton broked loose for 12, Seth Duffy found WR B.J. Durham for 25 yards, then Duffy hit TE Eddie Buckner for a touchdown. The game was 17-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was an absolute nightmare. As if they thought it was halftime already, our defense was being walked over on every drive. B.C. would score on 3 straight posessions to make the game 31-17. QB Seth Duffy threw
3 interceptions on our side of the field to set up the easy scores. We went into the locker room down 31-17, wondering if we were still really in this game.
--2nd half--
We laid into the players at half time, and were resolved to come out fighting in the second half. We saw a spark of life when we held B.C. to a 3-and-out. We took over at their 39 yardline. It took just 5 plays before RB Claude Altenburger plowed into the endzone, making it 31-24.
On B.C.'s next posession we kept attacking. After earning 1 first down, a false start penalty backed them up. Forced into 3rd and 15 they threw the ball - into the waiting hands of Safety Van Schulz. He picked it off at the 50 and ran it back to the 5, nearly scoring before being tripped up. It wouldn't matter. One play later QB Seth Duffy found WR Wesley Kay and the game was tied at 31-31!
After an exchange of punts, Boston College took over at their own 35. When we nearly forced them to punt, a moronic pass intereference call kept their drive alive. They didn't waste the advantage we'd given them and their RB broke a trap play for 49 yards and a go-ahead touchdown. It was 38-31 in B.C.favor heading into the 4th.
We starting our next posession at our 22 yard line, and began to feel the pressure. Down in the 4th quarter, we knew we needed something big - and soon. QB Seth Duffy found WR Welsey Kay for a 19 yard gain to start things off. RB Claude Altenburger broke a 10 yard run, we were moving the chains! Seth Duffy found WR Dan Patrick for a 22 yard gain. 3 consecutive runs would stall, and we'd settle for a Vinny Ballard field goal. We were down 38-34, but at least knew a touchdown could put us ahead.
Feeding off the offense's energy, the defense pushed B.C backwards 5 yards and forced a punt. We took over at our own 38
A holding call dampened some of our enthusiasm, and backed us up to the 28. We hadn't been moving the ball consistently, so I thought 1st and 20 might be tough to overcome. We handed off to RB Claude Altenburger to try to catch them a bit off-guard, boy did it work! Claude broke through the linebackers and outran the safeties. The 6' 220 lb monster just wouldn't be stopped. 72 yards later we were winning 41-38 with just 8 minutes remaining.
Boston College went to their passing game to try to regain control. Picking up 2 first downs on 3rd down conversions, we feared they had our number. But the defense came up big on the 3rd set of downs, and forced a punt to our 32 yardline.
Our offense realized they could put the game away, and they went for it. Seth Duffy hit WR Wesley Kay for 19. He hit B.J. Durham for 12. He scrambled for 5, found Kay for another 8, and WR Kirk Cassidy for 14 more. After his horrific 2nd quarter, he had taken the team upon his shoulders. A 20 yard bullet to WE B.J. Durham found us in the endzone once again! We went up 48-38 with a shade over 3 minutes to go!
Our defense would hold them on 2 posessions, and we just ran out the clock. I'm happy to escape with that one!
Final Score: Rutgers 48, Boston College 38
Player of the Week nominees:
QB Seth Duffy - 16 of 24, 284 yards, 4 TD 4 INT
RB Claude Altenburger - 16 carries, 151 yards, 2 TD
WR B.J. Durham - 5 catches, 143 yards, 2 touchdowns
Injury Report
CB Terry Clay - pulled quad muscle - doubtful - 4 weeks
DT Oscar Padilla - shoulder tendonitis - probable - 1 week
S ben Davidson - repetitive concussion syndrome - OUT - 61 weeks
WR Kelvin Arnold - torn tricepts mucle - OUT - 26 weeks.
Recruiting
Everyone who has been offered a scholarship if visiting this week. This is
the big week for recruiting, so we expect decisions from just about everyone after our game. Hopefully we'll just be looking for walk-ons for the rest of the year!
Local Obligation Scholarships
none this season.
Blue-Chip Recruits
1. QB T.J. Houshmandzadeh - #4 QB, #18 player nationally. scouted 75-
6'3" 202 lbs from Philadelphia, PA. Ricky is a big-time passer from an extremely solid program. His proximity to us is amazing (just 49 miles), meaning only the horrible Princeton Tigers are closer. With his focus on distance and academics, this could be a slam-dunk acquistion of our next great QB.
high school stats (after 9 games): 60% completion, 2,155 yards (9.45 avg) 12 TD 4 INT. 168 rushes, 944 yards, 10 TD.
offer status: committed to Rutgers in week 7
2. DE Winfred Bernard - #8 DE, #27 player nationally. scouted 92-
6'5" 253 lbs from Medford Lakes, NJ. Winfred appears to be a much better run stopper than pass-rusher, despite his somewhat light frame for the position. An excellent student, Winfred is most interested in Academics (Random Number Theory) and distance. Only Princeton is closer to him, so we should be able to lock up his services.
high school stats (after 9 games): 97 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 1 INT
offer status:Visiting Rice, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, and Oregon. If we can hang with these programs, we're really getting somewhere!
3. RB Juan Weydahl - #11 RB, #112 player nationally. scouted 75+
5'9" 184 lbs from Souderton, PA. A deceptively tough runner for his size, Juan appears to be a guy who can carry the load. Coming from a very good school, I'm confident he could become our starter by his 3rd year. His distance and academic preferences put us at the top of his list.
high school stats (through 9 games): 266 carries for 1,932 yards and 13 TD's. 48 catches for 660 yards and 4 TD's.
offer status: committed to Rutgers in week 5!
---other scholarship offers---
G Chris Owens - #2 guard, #34 player nationally. scouted 92+
DT Lee Barnes - #4 DT, #39 player nationally. scouted 94+
T Ralph Stoughton - #9 tackle, #92 player nationally. scouted 78+
CB Todd Nykolaisyn - #3 CB, #29 player nationally. scouted 83+
OLB Doug Cerda - # 3 OLB, #46 player nationally. scouted 78+
K Marc Langford - #7 kicker, #268 player nationally. scouted 90-
Safety D.J. Cushenbery - #12 safety, #273 player nationally. scouted 65+
WR Jimmie Hatcher - #43 WR, #564 player nationally. scouted 58++
new offers:
none
Code:
committments new committments in blue
OLB Doug Cerda Guys Mills, PA
G Cris Owens Retsof, NY
QB Ricky Houshmandzadeh Philadelphia, PA
OT Ralph Stoughton Johnstown, PA
RB Juan Weydahl Souderton, PA
ILB Cornell Lynch Hopkinton, MA
rejections new rejections in red
G Bernard Manning Connecticut
ILB Brady Donovan Georgia
K Marc Langford Army
WR Jason Reilly Cincinnati
S Tom Bush Navy
ILB Matthew Mayes Pittsburgh
DE Kurt Shepard Pittsburgh
OT Bobby Porcaro Clemson
WR Daniel Burke Arizona State
OT Dana Gaines Ohio State
DT Kirk Joyner Syracuse
DT Harvey Cathey Penn State
Conference Snapshot
Week 9 Results
---------------
#24 Boston College 38 at #5 RUTGERS 48 [TV4]
#9 VIRGINIA TECH at Pitt 19 [TV5]
#3 SYRACUSE at Princeton 0
Code:
Big East Standings
Overall Conference
School W L PF PA W L PF PA Streak
Syracuse 7 0 304 53 3 0 104 27 Won 8
Rutgers 7 0 277 116 3 0 131 63 Won 11
Virginia Tech 6 1 213 87 3 1 107 60 Won 3
Pittsburgh 4 4 225 154 2 2 110 93 Lost 1
West Virginia 3 3 160 143 1 2 46 76 Lost 1
Miami Florida 4 3 223 191 1 2 75 63 Won 1
Boston College 4 3 221 174 1 3 117 143 Lost 3
Princeton 1 7 80 315 0 4 14 179 Lost 4