Defining Success
You just saw a streak of 12 straight bowl seasons end. The bar for 2012 is pretty easy to set, then: get back to the postseason by any means necessary.
Prognosis
I do think Boston College will improve this year. The offense should be better simply because of experience, the secondary should be exciting, and the front seven of the defense at least will not be worse (faint praise, to say the least). B.C. could be pretty mediocre in 2012 and still have technically improved, but when you've slipped, at least slightly, for six consecutive years, the rebound has to start somewhere.
There is indeed some logic in the optimistic Football Outsiders Almanac 2012 projections, even if they seem off-putting at first. If luck turns, and if experience counts for anything, the Eagles should once again at least crack the Top 50. The problem, of course, is that the schedule is not conducive to a huge win total. Even when projected 44th, B.C. is only slated to go 6-6 in 2012. If they only improve to the 50s range, then you might not see any sort of improvement in the win column. And it will be very interesting to see if, despite extreme support from the athletic director, that finally gets Frank Spaziani on the hot seat. If Spaziani has a rebound in him, however, it starts in 2012.
