Takeaways from a 42-40 double OT loss for BC vs. Michigan State

That one stings.

The Eagles put on a heck of a show offensively, but couldn’t quite close out a big prime time win on the road against Michigan State, falling 42-40 in double overtime on Saturday night.

Here’s some of the biggest takeaways from the Week 2 shootout in East Lansing:

Lonergan’s the real deal

The kid’s legit. Lonergan had 390 yards and four touchdowns, slinging it 45 times (completing 34 of them). I was most impressed with the calmness he showed. Sure, he rushed some throws at times and had a few balls batted down, but in the ‘got to have it’ moments he was pretty damn good. The little pump fakes he shows – especially in the red zone – to look off defenders before throwing darts is clearly why O’Brien wanted him at Alabama.

I asked Lonergan postgame where the comfortability at the line of scrimmage comes from when it comes to making checks and getting guys in the right position (he admitted he could be better with the protection, but I thought the O-line was very good) and he said it all starts in practice.

This team is going to score a lot of points if he keeps doing what he’s doing.

Where’s the running game?

Who saw this coming from Franklin?

I admit, I wasn’t really sure why Jeremiah Franklin was starting over Ty Lockwood this season, but that’s also clearly why I’ve never coached a down of football in my life. Franklin is Mr. Reliable (aside from a couple drops here and there) and has quickly become the 1B security blanket for Lonergan behind the 1A choice Lewis Bond.

Franklin finished with eight catches for 84-yards and the touchdown on Saturday night. Bill O’Brien has heaped praise on Franklin recently, talking about how much he wishes the big tight end had more eligibility left.

That’s still a deep tight end room, but Franklin has clearly established himself as a legitimate threat in the offense this season, something we just hadn’t seen under previous regimes. He’s the perfect player for this team right now.

Tackling

So, we won’t talk about what Carter Davis did while Amari Jackson was riding on Nick Marsh’s back. However, after that moment, I did think the gang tackling improved. Unfortunately, an inability to get Aidan Chiles on the ground during multiple scrambles – including some huge third down runs – was an absolute killer.

Chiles finished with just 39-yards on the ground, but it felt like much more given the back-breaking nature of some of those runs in critical spots, which is also something O’Brien addressed postgame when talking about rush lane integrity. KP Price also took accountability for some missed tackles or sacks on blitzes as well.

It’s not like BC doesn’t practice tackling. It’s literally part of practice daily. But, game speed and practice speed are two very different things and on this night, BC struggled to bring guys down.

Good and bad special teams stand out

Kickoff return coverage: very bad. Punting: mediocre? At times it was ugly, but I still don’t think it really killed BC like the big KO returns did. Field goals: very, very good. Luca Lombardo not only hit the clutch kick to tie the game, but drilled his PATs and has very much taken over the job.

I still think the return game will play a factor positively for the Eagles at some point, but they know they’ve got to clean up the coverage. Allowing teams to immediately set up in BC territory after the Eagles grab momentum with a touchdown is an absolute killer. (On the flip side, how nice was it to see BC actually end a half with momentum instead of the alternative from a year ago).

Plenty to work with

Bill O’Brien wasn’t in full teapot mode postgame because of all the encouraging signs the team put out there on tape in a very tough road environment. Offensively, it appears this team can probably score with anyone. Defensively, Tim Lewis went full Don Brown Dr. Blitz mode against Chiles and if his guys wrap up a few more times on third downs, they probably come out with a win.

O’Brien acknowledged losing is never acceptable, but given how it looked and how close BC was to coming home with the win, fans should be encouraged by what they saw for the most part.

The true tests begin next week when the Eagles open ACC play against Stanford.

Get the coffee (or in my case Diet Mt. Dew) ready, it’s going to be an even later night next Saturday.