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Music City Bowl: Vanderbilt vs. Boston College Football Picks

Written December 30, 2008 by Jason Lowry

Boston College Vanderbilt Football

The Boston College Eagles are set to do battle with the Vanderbilt Commodores in the Music City Bowl this Wednesday, as they are one of 10 teams to see bowl action from the ACC. The Eagles were nearly playing in a BCS game again this season, but for the 2nd straight year they fell to Virginia Tech in the ACC title game. As for the Commodores they pretty much crawled their way into their schools 4th bowl game and only the 2nd time this team has seen postseason action in the past 25 years, as the Commodores started 5-0, but won just one of their final 7 games to finish the season at 6-6. For those of you looking to do a little NCAA football betting on the game this week, the oddsmakers have the Eagles 3.5 point favorites over the Commodores at Bookmaker.com.

Bad news if you are a Commodores fan coming into this one, as Boston College has won 8 straight bowl games, and has a very impressive 13-6 record in the postseason. The Eagles used a pair of 4 game winning streaks to finish the season at 9-4, but the offense is no where near the same as the unit led by Matt Ryan last season. The Eagles started off with Chris Crane under center this season, but he is out with a broken collarbone, so Dominique Davis will be making his 4th start of the season, and after leading the Eagles to wins over Wake Forest and Maryland, Davis really struggled against the Hokies throwing 3 interceptions. The running game isn’t overwhelming either, as freshman Montel Harris led the way with 832 yards and just 5 scores this season.

The Eagles defense is what got this team to the ACC title game and at least a 9 win season, as they are holding opposing teams to just 19 points a game and only 261 yards a game. Not only are these guys good against the run, 92.2 yards per game, but they are just as good against the pass, as they lead the nation in interceptions with 26 on the season. As a team they have taken 5 of those interceptions back for touchdowns, and the two guys causing the most chaos are Paul Anderson and Mark Herzlich, who both had 6 picks this season. Up front the player to watch is B.J. Raji, who led the way with 7 of the teams 34 sacks this season. If this unit can create turnovers like it has all season, then the Eagles have a big upper hand in this one. Bet Boston College -3.5 at Bookmaker.com.

We already mentioned the Eagles haven’t been the best on the offensive side of things, and the Commodores are possibly worse. Vanderbilt comes in averaging just 19 points a game, and in the final 7 games only scored more than 14 points once, in a 31-24 win over Kentucky. The Commodores have had some success on the ground running for nearly 140 yards a game, and a large reason for that has been the play of running back Jared Hawkins, who had 580 yards and 4 scores this season, but its uncertain if he will even play. More bad news for the Commodores comes in the play of their quarterbacks, as both Chris Nickson and Mackenzi Adams have struggled this season, but at least Nickson has been able to get it going on the ground when things get heated, as he ran for 485 yards and 6 scores this season.

The Commodores defense is the reason this team got off to the strong start, and even though they won just on of their final 7 games, this unit played strong the whole way through. They are giving up just 20 points a game and teams are only averaging 319 yards a game. The Commodores can make the big plays as well on this side of the ball, as they have forced 27 turnovers and have 29 sacks on the season. Keep a good eye on Patrick Benoist and Ryan Hamilton, as these two guys are a force at getting to the ball carrier. The other guy that could really make an impact on this game is D.J. Moore who is the Commodores leader with 6 interceptions this season. Bet Vanderbilt Commodores +3.5 at Bookmaker.com.

Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Boston College -3.5
In what should be a defensive showdown between these two teams, I am going to go with the defense that has made the most big plays this season, and if anything the Eagles offense looks like it can move the football at times, while I am unsure about the Commodores offensive success in this one.

Predicted Score: Boston College 21 Vanderbilt 14

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