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THIS was supposed to be a feel-good season for Boston College. The nation followed the uplifting story of linebacker Mark Herzlich's return from cancer. College football fawned over the extraordinary talents of linebacker Luke Kuechly.
And Boston College's defense has delivered. The Eagles, led by Kuechly's nation-best 14.2 tackles per game, are fifth in rushing defense and 39th in total defense.
There was no reason the defense should have faltered under Frank Spaziani, one of the game's good guys. He was the defensive coordinator before being promoted to head coach before the 2009 season.
Spaziani moved up when Jeff Jagodzinski was fired in January 2009 for interviewing for the Jets' job, against the wishes of athletic director Gene DeFilippo. Jagodzinski was considered a whiz kid on offense.
Jagodzinski is a real piece of work. He quickly got hired as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator, but got fired from that job before the first game last season. He's got the shelf life of raw clams.
Jagodzinski is now the coach of the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League, and we wish him well. We also wish to remind him that he left Boston College, and his former good friend DeFilippo, in the lurch.
The Eagles started the season with 26-year-old Dave Shinskie at quarterback. He had been out of football for six years chasing the major league baseball dream.
When he floundered, the Eagles turned to highly touted freshman quarterback Chase Rettig, but he sprained his left ankle against Notre Dame and remains limited in practice this week, though he's expected to play.
Mike Marscovetra, who couldn't beat out Rettig for the backup job, is a competitor, but, well, he couldn't win the job.
No wonder the Eagles have scored just 30 points in their last three games combined. They are 104th in scoring offense. Florida State, under new defensive coordinator Mark Stoops, is 16th in scoring defense and leads the nation in sacks.
The Seminoles are coming off a dominating win over Miami. Usually we would figure them for a letdown game. But even if it takes them a half to focus in, that defense is too good against a team with no offense.
As for Jagodzinski, the Nighthawks scored a measly 10 points in their last game. And Tampa Bay is tied for 26th in total offense, averaging just 18.5 points. Maybe it's all a coincidence. Maybe not.
Take the Seminoles. Give the 21 1/2. And if you're an employee looking for temp work - Jagodzinski is your guy.
WVU (-10 1/2) over South Florida: Mountaineers have the Big East's best defense. Bulls have an offense that scored nine points against Syracuse.
Cincinnati (-3) over LOUISVILLE: Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros made his first career start last year against Louisville and had 305 yards in total offense.
Pitt (+1) over SYRACUSE: Season on the brink for Pitt, which lost all three of its marque non-conference games, but the Panthers have much more depth and talent than Syracuse.
MICHIGAN ST. (-7) over Illinois: It's homecoming in East Lansing. Throw in a team on a mission, playing for a coach (Mark Dantonio) who had a heart attack, and asking the Illini to post three consistent weeks make the Spartans an easy pick.
RUTGERS (-7) over Army: Scarlet Knights rookie quarterback Chas Dodd has the "it" factor.
Cal (+2 1/2) over USC: Welcome to the Lane Kiffin era. His response to last week's 37-35 loss to Stanford was to complain to the Pac-10 office about officiating.
NEBRASKA (-9 1/2) over Texas: Texas coach Mack Brown acknowledged this week his team is lacking confidence going into Lincoln. Not a good scenario going into this last meeting with the Cornhuskers and their fans, enraged at last year's Big 12 title-game loss.
Arkansas (+3 1/2) over AUBURN: Hogs have two impressive road wins (Georgia and Texas A&M), and the Tigers have won 3 of 6 by three points or less.
MICHIGAN (+3 1/2) over Iowa: Five of seven losses to the Hawkeyes have come by three or less. Love the Wolverines getting points in bounce-back game on homecoming.
TCU (-29) over Byu: Horned Frogs already have posted three shutouts, and BYU's top two quarterbacks have been lost to injury.
KENTUCKY (+5) over S. Carolina: Gamecocks, coming off biggest regular-season win in school history, suffer predictable letdown game on the road.
FLORIDA (-7 1/2) over Mississippi State: Home team is 10-1 in this series, and it's homecoming in Gainesville.
WISCONSIN (+4) over Ohio State: Undefeated Buckeyes are fourth in the nation in rush defense, but they have yet to face a rush offense the likes of the Badgers' (240 yards per game), who can keep Terrelle Pryor off the field.
WASHINGTON (Pick) over Oregon State: We had the Beavers until learning that wide receiver/punt returner James Rodgers was done for the year with a knee injury, not good for a team that has won 2 of 3 by three or less.
Last week: 7-7-1 overall; 1-2 Best Bets
