BC's Smith quickly stands out
Of all the gaudy numbers produced in Boston College's stirring 34-33 double-overtime victory over 18th-ranked Clemson Saturday, there was one that seemed to jump off the page of the final statistics.
``I think the most startling was the five [kick] returns for 213 yards," BC coach Tom O'Brien said yesterday, citing the contributions of freshman Jeff Smith, a speedy Silver Lake Regional standout from Plympton . The 5-foot-9-inch, 185-pounder made quite a splash in his Atlantic Coast Conference debut by wowing an Alumni Stadium crowd with those 213 kick return yards, highlighted by a 96-yard touchdown return that opened the second half and tied the game at 17.
It was the Eagles' longest kick return for a touchdown since Will Blackmon had a 96-yarder that was the difference in BC's season-opening 19-11 victory at Ball State two years ago.
Saturday's game was won in double overtime when junior linebacker Jolonn Dunbar blocked Jad Dean's extra-point attempt to open the door for L.V. Whitworth (19 carries, 78 yards) to score on a bullish 6-yard run and kicker Ryan Ohliger to tack on the winning point. But Smith, a running back, was directly responsible for all 24 points BC scored in regulation with his fine work on kick returns.
After he bobbled his first touch and was smothered at the BC 8 on a 4-yard return, Smith rebounded. He recorded returns of 45 yards (which resulted in Matt Ryan's 9-yard TD strike to Kevin Challenger), 39 yards (which resulted in Ohliger's 35-yard field goal that helped the Eagles pull within 17-10 at halftime), 96 yards (the one that tied the game at the start of the second half), and 29 yards (which preceded Ryan's 1-yard TD plunge that tied it, 24-24, with 4:59 left).
``I think that was a huge difference in the football game, in terms of field position," O'Brien said.
``The runback to start the second half knotted the game and [was] a great individual effort by Jeff Smith, but there was also great effort on the return team; people were blocked and he was able to make the last guy miss on his touchdown."
Smith's gaudy 52.3-yard average per kick return, tops in the ACC, helped BC attain a national ranking. The Eagles yesterday cracked the polls at No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 25 in the USA Today coaches' poll.
But O'Brien knows his team, still riding high after its triumph over an Atlantic Division foe, will have to re focus for this week's nonconference home game against Brigham Young, a team that romped past Tulsa, 49-24, Saturday and will arrive in Chestnut Hill eager to avenge its 20-3 loss to the Eagles last year in Provo, Utah.
``That's the challenge ahead of us this week, because BYU certainly is a great football team right now and they changed a little bit on offense and they're rushing the ball more," said O'Brien, noting how the Cougars ran for 227 of their 467 yards of total offense. ``We'd better get focused on what they're doing or we'll be in trouble."
O'Brien hinted one way BC might adjust its offense would be to get the ball in Smith's hands more often. ``I think we will, as he feels more comfortable with things," O'Brien said. ``There's certain things we have to try and create to get him in there and to do that we could try and put him out there as a diversion."
Asked if he was considering having Smith handle punts for junior DeJuan Tribble, O'Brien said, ``Right now Tribble has sure hands and he's been in games and you don't want [Smith] to drop a punt the way he dropped a kickoff the first time back there. So I think right now we'll stay with Tribble, but he's certainly an option back there."
While it was surprising Clemson continued to kick to Smith, O'Brien said he was not surprised in the least by his freshman's blazing speed. ``We saw glimpses of that in camp," said O'Brien, who is one win shy of surpassing Joe Yukica (68-37, 1968-77) as BC's winningest coach. ``He ran away from a lot of people and played running back, quarterback, and returned punts and kicks in high school, so there's indication on tape that once he got in the open field, he'd be tough to catch.
``I was surprised by his calm and collectedness after he dropped the football," O'Brien added. ``Sometimes young kids will go into a shell, but it made him even more determined, and when he got the opportunity, he brought the next one out, and the next one, and the next one, [pause] and the next one."
O'Brien said Ryan, who started against Clemson despite being listed as questionable after playing through a left ankle injury in BC's season-opening victory at Central Michigan, was given yesterday off and would be questionable for BYU. ``We'll see how he is come [tomorrow]," O'Brien said. ``Hopefully, we can get him on the practice field [tomorrow], which would be sooner than we did last week." Ryan sat out last Tuesday's practice, but returned for Wednesday's and Thursday's workouts to earn the starting nod against Clemson . . . O'Brien indicated junior linebacker Brian Toal (right shoulder) and sophomore defensive tackle Ron Brace (head injury) also would be listed as questionable.
