Crane lifts Eagles' confidence
QB solidifies status as starter
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RALEIGH, N.C. - He had lost the confidence of some Boston College fans at Alumni Stadium who greeted his appearance on the field with boos in the second quarter against Central Florida two weeks ago. His playing time started to erode as coach Jeff Jagodzinski talked about letting backup quarterback Dominique Davis get more snaps depending on the situation.
For Chris Crane, the Eagles' fifth-year senior quarterback, yesterday's game against North Carolina State and former BC coach Tom O'Brien was a litmus test. The message Jagodzinski and offensive coordinator Steve Logan gave Crane was simple: Make your move now or there are no guarantees what will happen when the Eagles resume their season in two weeks against Virginia Tech.
So, the 6-foot-4 inch, 239-pound Crane did what he had to do. He ran, leading the team in rushing with 42 yards and three touchdowns. He threw, completing 34 of 51 passes for a career-high 428 yards and two TDs, and, perhaps most importantly, he led the Eagles to a confidence-building 38-31 victory that was not secure until Crane sprinted into the end zone on a 13-yard run with 23 seconds left.
"I knew this entire week that it was something I had to do," said Crane, noting he had been told by the coaching staff that the quarterback rotation with Davis would basically stop if he could prove he could elevate the offense. "It was on my shoulders."
The game plan was formed from the success BC had in scoring 31 unanswered points in the second half of a 34-7 win over Central Florida, in which Crane showed some of the skills that led the Eagles (and O'Brien) to recruit him five years ago.
"We knew that [Crane] had that kind of ability," said O'Brien, who left BC two years ago to take over at North Carolina State. "He came out on fire and was picture-perfect."
For the Eagles, who threw the ball only nine times a week ago in a 42-0 romp over Rhode Island, it was a perfect antidote for the acid that was churning in their stomachs despite a 3-1 start. For Crane, who entered Carter-Finley Stadium with less than head-turning statistics - 461 passing yards, 2 TD passes, 5 interceptions in four games - it was a validation of major proportions.
And it started quickly as the Eagles jumped to a 21-7 lead on a 41-yard TD pass from Crane to Justin Jarvis, a 12-yard TD pass to Rich Gunnell, and a 5-yard scoring run by Crane. By halftime, Crane had completed 17 of 25 passes for 241 yards.
The only problem was that N.C. State (2-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which has dealt with a steady string of injuries on both sides of the ball, was making big plays, too, on a sunny homecoming afternoon.
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"Our defense couldn't get off the field," said O'Brien. "Crane got into a rhythm."
"He was in what basketball players call the zone," said Gunnell, who had a career-high 11 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles (4-1, 1-1) needed all of what Crane had to offer and then some to hold off State.
It was 21-17 at halftime and expanded to 31-17 following a 17-yard field goal by Steve Aponavicius with 12:29 left, before N.C. State scored two touchdowns to tie the game at 31.
Even with Crane doing everything he could, the Eagles needed some gimmick plays, such as a 39-yard run by linebacker Brian Toal on a fake punt in the third quarter that set up a 1-yard TD run by Crane to increase the Eagles' lead to 28-17.
"I'd been wanting to call that play for two years," said Jagodzinski, who watched fullback James McCluskey take the snap from center and hand off to Toal, who sprinted from his 41 to the N.C. State 20.
"Coach Jags told me if you run, don't get caught from behind," said Toal, who had visions of his high school days as a tailback before being pulled down.
For the Eagles, all parts of the machine worked. Not only on offense, but on defense, which made key plays, including nose tackle B.J. Raji's three sacks of Russell Wilson.
Still, with 3:24 left, nothing was guaranteed. The score was 31-31, the Eagles had the ball and were 70 yards away, and despite his success, Crane had lost a fumble and been picked off once.
Crane's message in the huddle was clear: "We are going to be aggressive. But the worst we are going to do is go into overtime."
The key play in the drive was a 36-yard pass from Crane to tight end Lars Anderson, who was filling in for Ryan Purvis (bruised knee in the third quarter).
"It started clicking and it felt good," said Crane. "All the things came together. They responded and we responded. But now we know we can win on the last play of the game [or in the last few seconds, at least] and that's going to be huge for our confidence for the rest of the year."
Jagodzinski was also elevated by the victory. "We found ourselves a little bit today," he said.
