Defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani leads the Eagles through practice inside the bubble.
(Robert E. Klein/For the Globe)
The mind-set at Boston College is that of any game week. Practices and implementing the game plan.
But there has been more time to prepare for this one. Defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani, for instance, has spent most of the last three weeks studying the personnel and tendencies of Michigan State, the Eagles' opponent in the Champs Sports Bowl a week from today in Orlando, Fla.
If BC's offense has been a constant this season because of the presence of quarterback Matt Ryan, then change was the byword for Spaziani's defense, mainly because of injuries.
Spaziani knows motivation will be a factor against the Spartans. During the regular season, the Eagles' focus was on the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and automatic BCS bid. The Eagles won the Atlantic Division to reach the title game, but lost to Virginia Tech, losing out on a chance to play in the Orange Bowl Jan. 3, and instead facing a Michigan State team that went 7-5 and finished tied for seventh in the Big Ten.
"It's a little bit different in terms of perspective because the last game we played was a championship game and we've got to deal with the pride factor," said Spaziani. "We have to let them understand that it is important. I think our guys always understood it's important to win."
Spaziani said BC (10-3), which has won seven straight bowl games, goes into postseason play with a different attitude.
"The days of bowls being rewards have gone by the boards," said Spaziani. "The idea is to win. It's fun to win. Our guys are pretty good. The seniors want to play well and go out well. But when our guys look at Michigan State, they understand that is a formidable opponent and they probably want to be there [in a bowl game]."
Spaziani acknowledged this has been a difficult year for BC in terms of personnel, beginning the opening weekend of the season when starting defensive tackle B.J. Raji was suspended for not meeting academic requirements. And starters Nick Larkin, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, DeJuan Tribble, Alex Albright, Brian Toal, and Tyronne Pruitt all missed all or part of the season because of injuries.
"This has been a unique year starting the Friday before the opening game," Spaziani said. "It's been challenging. We've been lucky because we had depth at linebacker, which has given us a lot more flexibility to handle some of the stuff that happened."
Dunbar (ankle), Tribble (knee), and Pruitt (ankle) should play against Michigan State. Albright (broken arm) will not.
Coach Jeff Jagodzinski is back from a whirlwind recruiting tour in which he visited 10 states in eight days. For the next week the focus will be on Michigan State and recapturing the edge the Eagles had when they climbed to No. 2 in the country.
But it is not a matter of learning something new. "They know the basics," said Spaziani. "All we have to do is tweak it as we go along. But what we have is experience and that is something you can't teach."
Jagodzinski announced that because of repeated concussions, the career of running back Jeff Smith at BC is over. "We're going to medical scholarship him, so he's done," Jagodzinski said of the former Silver Lake star. "Just repeated concussions. He just felt, along with his family, his mom and dad, that it was best that he doesn't play." . . . BC's search for a nonconference opponent to replace Army on next season's schedule continues. One possibility is Central Florida, which would like to play the Eagles and would consider coming to Boston. The problem is Central Florida has become too good. Same goes for South Florida, another school that may have an opening. But faced with a choice of playing a second championship subdivision team (Rhode Island already is on the schedule), the Eagles might agree to a game with Central Florida. Another possibility is Rutgers, which is also looking for an opponent.
Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
