Ryan's Heisman Hopes Washed Out

The forecasters came through right on target for the Boston College game Saturday night against Florida State. Of course, I’m talking about weather forecasters and not the odds makers in Vegas.

I didn’t see much of Florida State's 27-17 upset over the previously unbeaten Eagles, but I did see enough to know the turf was soaked. Here’s what a USA Today story had to say about the weather conditions at Chestnut Hill:

The game began in a frigid and soaking downpour, with wind gusts forecast at up to 50 mph as the remnants of Hurricane Noel proceeded up the East Coast. The rain had stopped by the end of the first quarter, but the winds battered the U.S. flag and played havoc with a couple of second-quarter field goal attempts.

Matt Ryan threw for 415 yards, but tossed three costly interceptions in the Eagles first loss of the season, likely knocking the quarterback out of the running for the Heisman Trophy.

Sorry ESPN. (In case you haven’t noticed, the Four-Letter Network has been tirelessly touting Ryan for the Heisman for the past week and a half.)

One of Ryan’s interceptions was returned for a touchdown.

Florida State’s Drew Weatherford, whose surname is great for a sports weather blog, had a more Heisman-like game with 354 yards, no interceptions and two big TD passes.

Slingin' In The Rain

The bad news for Matt Ryan is that weather forecasters are saying there's a 100 percent chance he'll be tossing the pigskin in the rain for the second consecutive game.

The good news for the Heisman candidate – I think ESPN has already given him the trophy – is that he will be facing a defense that more resembles the one he faced in the final two minutes of his Boston College Eagles' win more than a week ago instead of the Virginia Tech defense that busted his chops in the game's first 58 minutes.

The undefeated Eagles welcome ACC foe Florida State to Chestnut Hill Saturday where rain and wind gusts are likely with temperatures dipping to 40 degrees at kickoff. The weather is a result of Hurricane Noel which is tracking parallel with the coast and will graze eastern seaboard states.

Noel will lose its hurricane strength as it moves up the coast, but still will be a significant storm by the time it slides by Massachusetts. More than an inch of rain is expected in Boston beginning Saturday morning.

One More Shot And I'm Out

I'm still dealing with last night's Virginia Tech loss to Boston College. In case you missed it, Tech dominated the game, its defense got fatigued near the end and Matt Ryan tossed a couple of touchdown passes in the final two minutes to give the Eagles a win during a downpour at Lane Stadium. And all day long the media have been verbally stroking Ryan and have all but given him the Heisman Trophy. Blah, blah, blah! Call me a Hokie homer, but Ryan was not that impressive. And please, ESPN, we can do without the shots of Ryan hurling on the sideline after he threw the winning TD pass. Jebus! Despite the outcome, the game did provide some uber cool visuals, both on TV and in still photographs. The above is a great example.

That's it for me. I'm outta here. Have a good weekend and enjoy all the good football that comes along with it. If you're looking for another rain game, check out the West Virginia at Rutgers game in Piscataway. There's a 100 percent chance of rain with temps dipping through the 40s.

Hold That Line

Just as forecasted, the heavens opened up tonight in Blacksburg and dropped huge amounts of rain on Lane Stadium. And in the last two minutes, Virginia Tech dropped its chance to upset No. 2 Boston College. The Eagles scored two late touchdowns for a 14-10 victory. Wow, Matt Ryan sure looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate, not for most of the game, but certainly in the end with his line holding, I mean tackling, I mean diving for the knees, uhhhhhhh, I mean blocking the Tech defense as the quarterback tossed the game-winning pass with just 11 seconds left in the game. Oh, well. At least we got a chance to see Erin Andrews wet and wearing a baseball cap.

By the way, I'm so sick of Boston's sports teams. I think I may concentrate only on hockey for a while since the Bruins suck.

The Rain In Lane Falls Mainly on the... Oh, Never Mind

Some much needed rain is expected to hit the Mid-Atlantic states beginning today, thus there is a very good possibility for precipitation Thursday night when No. 2 Boston College visits No. 8 Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium.

Tech already has home-field advantage with its raucous crowd, and wet field conditions should add to that advantage. We may get to see just how well Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Ryan can sling a wet ball against an always stout Hokies defense.

Chris Moore of CSTV said this morning on FOX Sports Radio that Tech should "man handle" Boston College. I don't know about that, but it should be a great game with some spectacular visuals with the rain and mud… and Erin Andrews patrolling the Worsham Field sidelines for the 7:45 p.m. ESPN broadcast. Yummy!

The Blacksburg forecast calls about a 70 percent chance of rain with a kickoff temperature hovering around 50 degrees – that's Fahrenheit for you international readers – with a low of 46 later in the game. Winds will be blowing East Northeast at approximately 11 mph.