Boston College at North Carolina State
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the North Carolina State Wolfpack will look to rebound from a tough home loss to Virginia Tech, as they host the Boston College Eagles. The loss was the first of the season for the Wolfpack. Boston College will also be looking to get back in the win column, as they have dropped their last two games, including a 31-13 loss at home to Notre Dame last week. In the last five meetings the home team has won four times, including last year when Boston College rolled NC State at home 52-20. The oddsmakers really like North Carolina State in this one, as the current lines have the Wolfpack favored by 9.5-points over the Eagles at home.
Boston College (2-2, 0-1 ACC): The Eagles offense has really struggled to get anything going in their last two games, as they were shutout two weeks ago against Virginia Tech and then last week scored just 13 points at home against a Notre Dame defense that had given up 99 points in their last three games. The Eagles are one of the worst rushing teams in all of college football so far this season, as they are averaging just under 88 yards a game on the ground. Things aren’t much better at quarterback right now, freshman Chase Rettig got the start over sophomore Dave Shinksie, who really struggled to start the season, but was injured in the second half and was unable to return. Sophomore Mike Marscovetra replaced Rettig, and threw for 193 yards, but had back to back interceptions on drives in the fourth quarter that ruined any chance of a comeback. It appears that Marscovetra will get the start if Rettig is unable to go.
Running back Montel Harris has been hit or miss this season, as he has ran for over 100 yards and averaged nearly six yards a carry against Weber State and Virginia Tech, but had just 80 yards on 29 carries against Kent State and last week had just 28 yards on 15 attempts. Harris will have to have a big game this weekend, if the Eagles want any chance of beating a very good NC State team.
North Carolina State (4-1, 1-1 ACC): What a disappointing loss the Wolfpack suffered last week against Virginia Tech. North Carolina State had a 24-13 lead early in the third quarter, but Virginia Tech’s offense got on a roll late, as the Hokies scored 28 points in the final 24 minutes to take home a 41-30 win. Quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 362 yards and three touchdowns, but had three costly interceptions, all going to Jayron Hosley. Wilson had just one interception to 11 touchdowns coming into the game.
The Wolfpack defense simply could not stop the Hokies rushing attack, as Virginia Tech piled on 317 yards on the ground. Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw for 123 yards and three touchdowns and added another 121 yards on 16 carries. If the defense lets Harris run like that this weekend, they are going to have their hands full, no matter who plays at quarterback for the Eagles. It will be interesting to see if the Wolfpack follow up the loss with another let down this week, or if they come out focused and on a mission to get back the respect they lost last week.
Looking at the Odds: I believe the Wolfpack prove that they are a legit threat in the ACC this week, as I think the right play in this game is to give the 9.5 points and take NC State. The Eagles offense is a mess right now, and they are going to have to score a lot to keep up with the high powered Wolfpack offense. If Wilson doesn’t throw those three interceptions we could be talking about a team that is 5-0 and would likely be giving the Eagles even more points in this one. My final score prediction is NC State 38, Boston College 20.
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