Virginia at Boston College Spread
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the Boston College Eagles will look to become bowl eligible when they host the struggling Virginia Cavaliers in ACC action. The Eagles come in off a 21-16 win over Duke for their third straight conference win, while the Cavaliers fell to Maryland 42-23 for their second straight loss. The Eagles are a perfect 4-0 against the Cavaliers, including a 14-10 win last year. The oddsmakers seem to think the Eagles streak will continue this week, as the current odds have Boston College favored by 6.5 points over the Cavaliers at home.
Virginia (4-6, 1-5 ACC): After beating Miami 24-19 it looked as though the Cavaliers were going to put together a strong finish to the 2010 season, but after last weeks collapse to Maryland in their home finale, its hard to imagine there is much fight left in Virginia.
The Cavaliers fell behind 21-10 with just over four minutes to play in the first half, but scored 10 points in the final two minutes to make it 21-20 at half. The Cavaliers then added a field goal in the third quarter to take 23-21 lead, but things went down hill quickly in the fourth, as Maryland scored three times, while the Cavaliers could do nothing offensively.
With the running game managing just 92 yards on the game, it was up to quarterback Marc Verica to get the offense going. Verica finished 25 of 43 for 265 yards and a touchdown, but had two interceptions in the fourth quarter when the Cavaliers needed him the most. It will likely be up to Verica again this week, as the Cavaliers don’t figure to do much of anything on the ground against the Eagles top ranked rushing defense.
Boston College (5-5, 3-4): The Eagles have to be pretty happy to be 5-5 and have a shot at making it back to a bowl game this season, after losing five straight, including their first four in conference play.
An solid running game and great defense really has the Eagles looking good over their last three games. Running back Montel Harris has rushed for at least a 100 yards in the Eagles last five games, and with the Cavaliers coming in allowing 202 yards a game on the ground, it figures to be another monster week for Harris.
Quarterback Chase Rettig completed just 12 of 24 for 230 yards and two touchdowns last week, and the key for him is simply not giving the ball away to other team and letting the rest of the team win the game.
Looking at the Odds: I am all over the Eagles to win big in this one. This is the final home game for the Eagles, and with a bowl game on the line, this team is going to be fired up and ready to go. On the other hand the Cavaliers season is over, and I will be shocked if they put up a fight in this one. My final score prediction is Boston College 31, Virginia 17.
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