Column: Winning May Have Saved Spaz's Job

Beating NC State 14-10 on Saturday at Alumni Stadium had several ramifications for the Boston College football team. The seniors earned a victory in their final home game, a gritty display of heart for a team that could have given up on the season long ago. The home fans also saw BC defeat an FBS opponent in Chestnut Hill for the first time since Nov. 20, 2010, against Virginia. Most importantly, though, Frank Spaziani likely secured another season as the head coach of the Eagles.

With this win, BC improved to 3-7. Three wins might be enough for the athletic department to chalk up this year's struggles to inexperience and injuries. The Eagles certainly have a great deal of both. But the coaching staff has compounded those problems with, among other issues, overly conservative play-calling, especially when leading. The development of many players on the team has stagnated because the coaches are afraid to trust them.

The second half of Saturday's game is a prime example. Even though BC thoroughly outplayed NC State for most of the game, the Wolfpack were within four points from the middle of the third quarter onward. Instead of going for the kill when they started the second half up 11 points, the Eagles turtled up.

Sophomore quarterback Chase Rettig threw just 13 times, despite averaging 9.1 yards per attempt and completing 69 percent of his passes. In the first half, he made an excellent back-shoulder throw to Alex Amidon on a go route for a 41-yard gain. The cornerback never stood a chance. It was one of Rettig's best passes of the year.

The first half demonstrated not just what Rettig could do, but rather the capabilities of the entire offense. The Eagles were dynamic because they kept NC State off guard. They mixed run and pass well, and they used Josh Bordner in the Wildcat formation when the Wolfpack started to get comfortable.

Rettig did make one mistake in the first half, throwing into double coverage on a long bomb toward the end zone and getting intercepted. Even though the play resulted in a turnover, Rettig should be encouraged to play aggressively. The Eagles need a quarterback with the confidence in his arm to make any throw. Matt Ryan had the gunslinger mentality. Rettig has it too, but he's stifled by a coaching staff that doesn't truly believe in him.

That's perhaps the best way to explain why Bordner came out for the next series under center. Although BC could have been trying to confuse NC State with different personnel, the change felt like punishment for the pick Rettig threw. The coaches were reluctant to even let Bordner drop back. All seven plays of that series were runs from the Wildcat. The Eagles moved the ball pretty well, but the Wolfpack began keying on Bordner and Amidon, who came in motion every play for a potential zone read handoff. After those two combined for seven rushes for 28 yards on that drive, Bordner had no more carries, and Amidon had two for minus-10 yards.

Once NC State adjusted in the second half, the Eagles needed more variety in their play-calling. They totaled minus-two total yards over the final 30 minutes because they turned to the ground attack to keep the clock running way too early. For the game, they dropped back to pass just 15 times, compared to 34 rushes. At a certain point, the staff needs to give Rettig a chance to grow. His long-term development is far more important to the success of the program than a single win.

This one victory, understandably, should not determine Spaziani's future at BC. Putting too much stock into a lone win (or loss) is a poor way to evaluate his job performance. The Eagles won, and they deserve credit for doing so when they've already been eliminated from postseason contention. Still, they were 2.5-point underdogs at home to a middling ACC opponent. Have expectations for the program sunk to the point where this is acceptable?

If Spaziani is holding the headset in BC's first game of 2012, we'll know the answer.