BC hopes to tighten up on defense
Boston College’s defense still is smarting from Saturday’s debacle against Maryland, in which the Eagles allowed 42 points.
The unit will be in much better shape this weekend against Clemson if starting linebackers Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Tyronne Pruitt can return from injuries, but the players still are in a holding pattern.
Neither Dunbar nor Pruitt, who both missed the Maryland game with ankle injuries, practiced yesterday at Alumni Stadium, and both remain questionable for the Eagles’ critical ACC battle against the Tigers.
“If I can play, I’ll play, and if not, then it just wasn’t meant to be, I guess,” said Dunbar, still walking with a limp. “But things are going surprisingly fast, so if there’s any chance of me being out there, I’ll definitely be out there.”
Pruitt was even more optimistic. He hopes to start jogging today and then practice tomorrow.
“I think I’ll be able to play,” he said.
Dunbar felt as much if not more pain watching the Eagles’ 42-35 loss to the Terps than he has from his high ankle sprain.
“I stopped watching at halftime,” Dunbar said. “It’s frustrating. I felt like I was helpless. I couldn’t be out there to make plays and help my team, so I stopped watching it and decided to just watch it on Sunday (with the team).”
Chances are, the video didn’t ripen with age. The Terps had five plays of at least 35 yards, and the BC defense allowed 40 points for the first time since Nov. 27, 2004, when the Eagles were crushed by Syracuse in their Big East swan song, 43-17.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things that we obviously have to correct,” defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani said. “You can’t play defense giving up big plays. We’re based on making people work. To Maryland’s credit, they did some stuff, too, but it was too easy.”
Spaziani said the problem simply was a matter of getting beaten, not missing assignments.
“It was just execution,” he said. “If you’re in the right spot and don’t make the right play, it’s a credit to the other guy. There’s more to it than that, but basically, that’s what it is.”
Asked what effect the absences of Dunbar and Pruitt had on the team psychologically, Spaziani said: “It’s a combination of all of that. There’s a lot that goes into this. There isn’t one simple reason why something like that happens.
“Does missing two starting linebackers have a psychological effect? You hope it doesn’t have any, but maybe it does. But that’s reality.”
Now, with the ACC Atlantic Division title and a trip to the conference championship game on the line, the Eagles have to travel to Death Valley to play one of the league’s hottest teams.Not only will the BC defense have to deal with running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller, Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper has been terrific, throwing 28 touchdown passes and only four interceptions.
“They might be the best team offensively that we’ve seen,” Spaziani said. “The quarterback is extremely efficient. Their two backs are explosive. They have wideouts who are explosive. They have it all. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
BC’s regular-season finale against Miami on Nov. 24 at Alumni Stadium will start at noon.
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