PERMALINK: BC not giving Hokies special treatment
Sept. 23, 2010
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Boston College safety Wes Davis said that coming off an early bye week, the Eagles are treating Saturday's matchup against Virginia Tech like any other game.
So what if it's the ACC opener. And so what if the Hokies demolished the Eagles in the teams' last meeting, literally running away with a 48-14 win in Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va.
It may be a big game for the Eagles, but it's not the first and it won't be the last.
“After this one we've got another big one, and another big one after that,” Davis said before practice Wednesday. “The first game was the most important -- I don't know who isn't excited for the first game, Weber State or not -- and the second game should be just alike.
“I mean, if it's not maybe I'm doing something wrong as captain.”
Davis said the week was spent working on fundamentals and, though he conceded the Eagles may have started getting ready for Virginia Tech a day earlier than normal, he said he didn't think it would be good for the team to be focused on the Hokies for too long.
“I don't think you ever want to spend too much time preparing on one team because it might throw you out of rhythm a little bit,” Davis said.
And so the Eagles are trying to treat Saturday's game like any other -- an important one, but not necessarily any more important than any other. Davis doesn't think the beating the Eagles took last year adds any importance, either.
“Yeah, we watched the tape but not as thoroughly as I think a lot of people expect because it's a different Virginia Tech team,” Davis said.
That Virginia Tech team piled up 235 yards rushing in the beatdown in Blacksburg, 72 more yards on the ground than BC had total offense. The Hokies also passed for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns. And on the other side of the ball, the Hokies harassed Eagles starting quarterback Dave Shinskie into going 1-for-12 for 4 yards, with two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
Coming into this season, Virginia Tech had aspirations of contending for the national title. Losses in the first two weeks of the season -- to No. 3 Boise State and FCS school James Madison -- tabled that talk, but haven't made the Hokies any less explosive.
Davis said the Eagles will take what they can from last year's defeat, but they're more focused on learning about this year's team.
“I think what you learn is that each year's different,” Davis said. “For some reason they'll have something new, some new wrinkle.”
Davis noted that when the Hokies came to Chestnut Hill in 2008, the Eagles' defense played very well. It was obviously a different story in 2009, and the 2010 chapter will be written on Saturday.
“What I do know from my past experience is they have NFL caliber players, good coaches and a good pedigree to go along with it,” Davis said.
Linebacker Luke Kuechly said he didn't think motivation would be a problem.
“I don't think you need a lot of motivation for a game like this,” he said. “It's your first ACC game, so you want to get started off on the right foot.”
And while he downplayed the effect of last year's result, Kuechly admitted the memory hadn't exactly faded.
“You do remember that scoreboard and how it felt that they put up that many points,” Kuechly said. “Especially on defense, when teams score that many points it's kind of demeaning.”
Offensive line shuffle
Eagles coach Frank Spaziani said Mark Spinney will start at right guard on Saturday. Spinney replaces Thomas Claiborne, who Spaziani said has missed about 10 days of practice while dealing with the effects of a concussion.
Spinney, a junior, has bounced around since coming to BC. He redshirted a year, then spent some time with the scout team before playing parts of seven games last year.
Spinney is from Westford, Mass., and grew up watching the Eagles from the stands. He says his family has had season tickets for years. Which isn't surprising, considering his grandfather and his uncle played for the team.
“BC was always the school I wanted to come to,” Spinney said. But at first he wasn't recruited by the Eagles, so Spinney committed to Syracuse. When he later got a call from BC, Spinney took an official visit and was sold.
“Spinney's made a lot of improvements since he's been here,” Spaziani said. “I hope to see him give a winning effort and perform. He's getting tougher, better. He's done a good job.”
Spaziani said Claiborne will dress Saturday and may play, but for now Spinney's the starter.
Right tackle Rich Lapham said Spinney's proven his intelligence and versatility, playing center as well as both guards.
“If you're at Boston College playing offensive line you're not a bad player,” Lapham said. “He's shown us a lot of things. He's a smart kid, I think he understands the offense pretty well, the assignments. We haven't had too many hiccups when he was thrown in there.”
Picking up the tab
Despite the switch at right guard, Shinskie said he's confident his line is ready to perform against the Hokies.
“They're a veteran line, and they're gonna come to play,” the sophomore said. “They've played in these kinds of games and they thrive on situations like this.”
Shinskie's so confident in his line's ability, in fact, he's willing to put his money where his mouth is.
“I'll put this on the record: If I don't get sacked, I'll take them all to dinner,” he said.
Lapham said the line is ready for the challenge the Hokies' defense presents.
“We've looked at their pictures from earlier this season, some from last season, and we've watched game tape from last year, just to kind of see how they align to our formations and the kinds of things they do to react to our offense,” Lapham said. “We're prepared for whatever they bring at us.”
Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and contributes to ESPNBoston.com.
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