FanHouse Boston College Football

B.J. Raji, the Green Bay Packers' first-round draft pick and No. 9 pick overall, confirmed yesterday that he did indeed test positive for marijuana while a student at Boston College -- but not, as SI.com and others reported some weeks ago, at the NFL scouting combine. From the Green Bay Press-Gazette:

The distinction between the tests is important for a practical reason because if Raji had tested positive at the combine, he'd automatically be in the NFL's substance-abuse program and subject to a four-game suspension if he tested positive again. But because his only positive test was in college, he enters the NFL with a clean slate.

The distinction is important for other reasons, too.

A final, although somewhat belated, look at the Meineke Car Care Bowl through the guise of stream-of-conscience talking points and random notes of interest. Enjoy!

Play-calling- From the toss sweeps to the inside slotback traps to the onside kick, I thought Johnson called a very intelligent game. Had BC's defensive line not given the kind of stand-up performance which it gave, I think Navy walks away with this game with a comfortable margin of victory. I don't think that's too bold of a statement when you consider that the inside running game was pretty much shut-down for the entire game, and even so BC had only marginal success shutting plays down at the edges. What can you say except they were just too big and athletic up front?

Ryan Glasper Should Play for the Ravens- Good God could this kid relax? It seemed like before and after every play-whether or not he even had anything to do with it- he would start dancing. I don't mind emotion at all (See David Mahoney) but his actions were borderline disrespectful, especially when he started jawing in Reggie Campbell's face after pushing him out of bounce. Look Ray Lewis, you didn't stop the guy for a ten yard loss, you fell on your face and pushed the guy out of bounce after a nine yard gain. Get over yourself.

I was going to wait until later this week to post this, but judging by the comments I've been seeing thought the day, I thought I should address it now. First though, the usual discretionary speech. Most of us have never coached a college football team, so take what I say with a grain of salt. That being said, fans are always going to second guess and play arm chair coach, so I post this in the confidence that I won't be burned at the stake. Ok, now that we've established that, lets talk about Paul Johnson's play-calling, and in specific the third and one at the end of the first half.

I'll be honest. The play(s) in question drove me insane. I couldn't shut-up about during halftime, and I continued to replay the sequence over again in my mind on the way home. It just didn't make sense to me. I know there is something to be said for being aggressive when you play a good team, and I'm not trying to take that away from Paul Johnson. But don't you think there is a time to be aggressive and a time to play it safe? I sure do. Let me set the stage, although I'm sure everyone here knows exactly what I'm talking about.

With the Meineke Car Care Bowl fast approaching, I sat down with Boston College Fan House Blogger Bill Maloney to discuss the upcoming matchup between Boston College and Navy. You can check back later at the Boston College Fan House for the second part of our Q&A, in which I address Bill's questions about Navy football. For more Boston College news, including all your coaching updates, you can also check Bill's Boston College Football Blog Eagle in Atlanta.

First and foremost. By now everyone surely knows (I hope) that Tom O'Brien, who coached the Eagles to seven straight Bowl wins, has moved on to NC State and will not coach in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. What, if anything, changes with interim head coach Frank Spaziani at the helm?

I don't expect any real changes. The rest of the staff is in place through the bowl game and I doubt they'll use this time for new looks or twists (there probably busy looking for homes in Raleigh. What may be different, and will be easy to determine early on, is the team's motivation and emotions. If the assistants don't care, since they are moving on, will the team mirror that attitude? Or will the players come out fighting with something to prove to their former coach? I expect the latter.

I've had the opportunity to watch a number of Boston College games this year, and I think the first word that comes to mind, for me anyway, is inconsistency. They've posted some great wins over the likes of Wake, Clemson, Maryland, and BYU, but have also lost to major disappointments in NC State and Miami. What do you attribute this to?

I attribute it to O'Brien, really. The team is a reflection of its coach and O'Brian's steady but conservative and unemotional style lead to this team coming out flat for the Miami and NC State game. Both teams were bad. Both games were winnable and BC tripped up with the classic O'Brien Achilles heals (defensive letdowns, special team's limitations and stubborn play calling). O'Brian's consistency was a big selling point to NC State. But that even keep approach can be very frustrating. At this point most BC fans found it to be a limitation.