Nice fantasy crossed the line
A national championship in football was a nice fantasy, and it will remain so. Boston College will not be playing in New Orleans Jan. 7.
Now that Florida State has eliminated BC from national title consideration with last night's 27-17 victory at The Heights, BC must refocus on its original goal: get to the Orange Bowl by winning the ACC championship game.
A little reality has set in for BC in its last two games. Matt Ryan had his Heisman Moment down there in Blacksburg to pull out the Virginia Tech game, but no one should forget that, absent a rare Virginia Tech special teams boo-boo on an onside kick, the Hokies would have won and everyone would have been talking about how BC basically had been unable to move the ball on that dreary, rainy night.
This time, the Eagles weren't dominated for 56 minutes, as they were in Blacksburg, but there was no doubt in the mind of any neutral observer which team deserved to win. Florida State simply made more things happen on both sides of the ball, and, as a bonus, became the first BC opponent this season to display more offensive imagination than the Eagles.
Rain would have been a convenient excuse, but rain had nothing to do with anything that went on inside Alumni Stadium. It had rained all afternoon and into the early evening, but the precipitation was gone by the start of the second quarter, and there were no excuses for Ryan, FSU quarterback Drew Weatherford, or any of the many quality receivers populating both squads.
Rain also had nothing to do with two brutal squanders of first-and-goal situations that, as much as anything else, cost BC the game. The first took place in the first quarter when a 52-yard Ryan pass and accompanying gallop by Andre Callender put BC in excellent position with a first and goal from the FSU 5 in a scoreless game. But on first down, BC was called for holding, and it went downhill from there, with incompletions on second and third down and a missed 32-yard field goal attempt by Steve Aponavicius.
But if the first botched first and goal was damaging, the second one was positively catastrophic. BC was trailing, 13-7, in the fourth quarter when Ryan aired one out and junior wide receiver Brandon Robinson made a spectacular, fully extended diving catch for a 38-yard gain and a first down at the FSU 6. What followed was pretty painful for any Eagle, either elderly or sucking on a binkie, to watch.
There was a false start on first down, creating a first and goal at the 11. Ryan was then flagged for two illegal passes because he was over the line, and BC faced a fourth and goal from the 18. Aponavicius delivered a 35-yard field goal to make it 13-10, but a great opportunity had been lost, and the squander was made to look even worse when Weatherford hit De'Cody Fagg for a 44-yard catch-and-run TD collaboration to give the invaders a 21-10 lead.
Ryan would get BC back to within 21-17 with a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Ryan Purvis, but he was plumb out of miracles after that, as Seminoles linebacker Geno Hayes demonstrated when he stepped in front of Purvis to make a 38-yard interception return that put the game out of reach.
Ryan had a very tough evening, and never mind the 400-plus yards passing he rang up. Florida State was able to flush him out of the pocket repeatedly, making him into a scrambler, which is not his forte. He had three interceptions, one of which was simply a great defensive play by FSU cornerback Patrick Robinson, and another a pass that simply didn't have enough oomph because he was throwing on the run.
Rankings are capricious at any time, but never more so than in this absolutely inscrutable 2007 college football season. Was BC really worthy of being No. 10, let alone No. 4 or No. 2? All but the most irrational Eagles backer knows the answer: No. But there was a point late yesterday when there was a chance they could take the field for last night's game defending the No. 1 position before it even had been bequeathed to them. That was when Wisconsin was leading Ohio State, 17-10, late in the third quarter in Columbus. But the Buckeyes pulled themselves together, running off 28 unanswered points to preserve their No. 1 status.
Defending a ranking you never had. That certainly would have been an interesting, and perhaps unique, position, wouldn't it?
It's all different for BC now. Many previous Boston College teams had claimed some very impressive victories, and, no, it isn't necessary to recall the days of Leahy to locate those triumphs. But the one common thread binding just about every one of the notable BC victories over the likes of Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Clemson, Texas A&M, Miami, and, yes, Notre Dame, was the fact that BC was in the comfortable position of being the underdog.
When you're (supposed to be) No. 2, you can forget about sneaking up on someone. You're officially the hunted.
Representatives of such postseason extravaganzas as the Sugar and Chick-fil-A bowls were present in their blue-blazer finery, and if they were on their cellphones or Blackberries reporting back home at halftime, they were no doubt wondering what the fuss about BC was all about. For the Eagles were trailing, 7-0, after an inconclusive half in which both teams were undoubtedly angry about their play.
With a little more attention to defensive detail, BC could have kept the Seminoles from scoring. Third down was a particular BC defensive problem, and never more so than on a nine-play, 80-yard Florida State scoring drive on which the visitors converted on a third and 6 and a third and 13 before sophomore wide receiver Preston Parker made a truly outstanding diving catch of a Weatherford aerial for a 23-yard touchdown reception.
On the third and 6 at the Florida State 35, Fagg, seemingly trapped after taking a 5-yard pass from Weatherford, eluded a minimum of five sloppy-tackling BC defenders to pick up 20 yards and a valuable first down. The third and 13 from the BC 48 was another Fagg production. This time, the wily wideout ran a Welkerian pattern to make a 14-yard gain when 13 yards were needed.
There would be many more timely Seminole plays. Florida State came here to do a job and they got it done for legendary coach Bobby Bowden, who had a new experience. Never before had he "upset" Boston College.
The Eagles had better brace themselves for the bad news that is sure to follow. They now will be punished for their innocent impudence in rising to No. 2. Pray, Eagle fans, they remain in the Top 10.
Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at ryan@globe.com.
