First Quarter Live Blog: Boston College @ Virginia Tech

B.C. @ VaTech | 1st Qtr | 2nd Qtr | 3rd Qtr | 4th Qtr

Let's face it: pretty much everyone in America is rooting against Boston College tonight. They're at #2 in the BCS standings but look like a fish out of water in being there. Worse, the people of Boston really don't give a damn either with the whole Patriots and Red Sox thing going on. So uh, good luck finding any sympathy tonight if any strange officiating works against you.

LSU fans are breathing down BC's neck. Same with our resident Gator who I presume mixes voodoo with burnt offerings nightly in hopes of further losses by those teams ahead of his beloved Gators. And let's not ignore that powerful contingent rooting for Kansas. No respect? I guess. But no sympathy either. Not when everyone wants you to lose and then disappear.

Virginia Tech's flown under the radar after a slow start and frankly I don't think they're all that great of a football team this year. But there they stand at #8 in the BCS and fully capable of handing the Eagles a loss and stemming the tide of playoff honks too impatient to let the season work itself out. We've got another five or six weeks of football left people! Chill . . .

Anyway, you'll probably be off watching The Office or any of a million other Thursday night shows so feel free to keep tabs on this game without losing sight of other programming by following the Live Blog while your television set flirts with some other non-ESPN channel. Live Blog starts at 7:30 Eastern.

Vitals, TV Info and Pregame Notes after the jump . . .

Vitals

- (2) Boston College (7-0, 3-0) @ (8) Virginia Tech (6-1, 3-0)
- TV 7:30 Eastern, ESPN
- Virginia Tech is favored by three

Phil Steele Facts (Boston College): Walk-on K Steve Aponavicius played in his 1st ever FB gm LY vs VT (2-2 on FG's & XP's). BC has won 2 of L/3 but is just 2-8. Third straight Thur night ESPN game with VT.

Phil Steele Facts (Virginia Tech): Hokies are 13-2 in Thursday night games all-time. VT has won 5 straight with revenge. LY vs BC, VT failed to score a TD for the 1st time since a 42-3 drubbing by NC in the '97 Gator Bowl.

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Pregame Notes (continuously updated) . . .

. . . Allegedly it's supposed to rain tonight and give this game the added element of wet football. That's fun when you're 11 and playing the backyard but I imagine it only adds to the stress of jumpy Eagle fans. No pressure or anything, it's not like your school spends much time this high in the rankings. It's not like everyone hates you right now and thinks your unworthy (I'm neutral in this debate, although the Eagles did check in at 10th in my weekly rankings) . . . Our resident Eagle Bill Maloney has a great rundown of what's going on with tonight's quarterbacks. big Matt Ryan fan myself, hope he has a better game than what we saw against Notre Dame . . . Oh sweet, Lou Holtz in the house! Looks like we're going to get another halftime "pep talk" sure to become instant legend . . .

7:32 - The delusional Sean Glennon will get the start for Virginia Tech tonight. Good luck getting the Hokie offense past 20 points.

7:33 - No Flutie in the booth tonight. Awwwww . . . Todd Blackledge fills in. Will we get lucky and not have Craig James high as a kite and doing his hyena laugh two weeks in a row? PRAY.

7:43 - Dammit. Craig James hyena laugh at something not even remotely funny. Blackledge is on his game so far.

7:44 - Hilariously named Hokie right tackle: Ed Wang.

7:49 - Those Breeder Cup commercials are more exciting than this game so far. But then, I'm a horseracing fan.

7:52 - Lots of pressure on Matt Ryan so far. It's loud. Lane Stadium has one of the greatest day/night swings in all of sport. The Hokies are incredibly beatable and sleepy on day games. At night . . . whole 'nother animal.

7:56 - Zone read plays with Sean Glennon? Ohhhh kayyyyy. That's kind of like when Notre Dame kept running the option with Ron Powlus. Both guys aren't stiffs and can kind of do it . . . but not really.

7:58 - Interaction time. Has there been a more disappointing back this year than VT's Branden Ore? Feel free to respond with more disappointing backs.

7:59 - Ooooohhhhh. Glennon threw into double coverage downfield to Eddie Royal and it looked like he had it but the ball slipped out at the end there. Dumb throw, but then Glennon's made a lot of those in his career. Nice effort by Royal, almost pulled a Tyrone Prothro in hauling in a pass over the back/helmet of a defender.

8:01 - VT's defense is aggressive so far, really getting some pressure. Boston College is content to play it short. This is just a crazy guess but I'm thinking their coaches are setting up something big.

8:02 - That's not how to win the Heisman. Matt Ryan just threw a ridiculously dumb jump ball pass on third and two that should have been picked off deep in his own zone.

8:03 - Running into the kicker by Virginia Tech. Freebie first down for B.C. Their punter's having a hell of a game, even if that last one was called back.

8:06 - Second time tonight Chris Fowler has used "tough sledding" to describe running against the Hokie defense.

8:08 - Punt downed at the half yard line. They should review this as it might've snuck into the end zone. It's becoming a field position game. Nice, play reviewed (good) and upheld (iffy). Realll close there and ESPN didn't put much effort into showing the key moment of that in freeze-frame.

8:11 - Nicely drawn up play on third and five goes incomplete as Glennon overthrows an open fullback. There's a "career in a nutshell" moment. Punt goes off and Boston College gets the ball inside Hokie territory. Field position football, exactly what I hate about the NFL and despise when it becomes part of the more wide-open, risk-taking college game.

8:15 - Nothing going. Still loud, Hokies still flying around. Punt time. Hokies get the ball back at their . . . seven.

Fowler: "great field position squandered"

8:18 - First down pass to tight end Greg Boone. Crowd favorite, as the "Boone!" chants go off as he hauled that one in.

8:20 - Another hilariously named Hokie: receiver Josh Hyman. Lots of room there for Eddie Royal as the Hokies get to midfield. Boston College isn't pressuring Glennon much. Ladies and gentlemen, an offense has finally entered the ballgame for the first time with under 1:00 left in the first quarter. ACC football!

See you at the Second Quarter Live Blog