The Boston College Eagles are back in action this week, hosting the 25th-ranked Miami Hurricanes under the Friday night lights in an ACC matchup.
Bye weeks can be a blessing or curse, depending on where they fall on the schedule. In the instance of the Boston College Eagles, with their bye week happening after their seventh game, it provided them a chance to rest up key players and use the extra week to prepare for a tough opponent.
Trouble is, the Miami Hurricanes (5-2, 2-1) will be coming off their bye week as well.
This game for the Eagles (5-2, 2-1) provides a true mile marker. Back-to-back 7-6 seasons has Boston College fans yearning for the program to take the next step and a victory over Miami would provide exactly that.
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Head coach Steve Addazio has guided the Eagles to 7-6 seasons four times in his career at Boston College. There have been big wins (over Florida State in 2017 and Louisville in 2017 and in 2018), but a victory here would mean a huge step forward.
The Hurricanes are 25-4 overall against Boston College, including a victory when the teams last met in 2012.
Miami enters the game averaging 37.4 points per game but is coming off a 16-13 loss at Virginia.
Boston College, meanwhile, continues to put up points of its own. They average 39.6 points per game and have crossed the 500-yard mark on offense multiple times in 2018.
Both defenses are solid and chances are the team that shuts down their opponent’s running game is going to come out the victor in what promises to be a physical battle.
Time, location and where to watch
Location: Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, MA
Time: 7 pm (EST)
Television: ESPN
Spotlight: Boston College Eagles
With any luck, the Eagles will bring a three-headed running back attack to Alumni Stadium on Friday night.
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Sophomore running back AJ Dillon returned to practice and appears on track to play for the first time since injuring himself against Temple. Dillon ran for 161 yards that game and has 652 in 2018, averaging 6.2 yards per carry to go along with 6 touchdowns.
That’s not to say the running game has suffered in his absence. Both Ben Glines and David Bailey have performed admirably in Dillon’s place. Glines has totaled 372 yards on the season and Bailey has 216, with the two combining for five touchdowns.
The rushing attack continues to pace the offense, but quarterback Anthony Brown has returned to form as well. Brown and his fellow quarterbacks lead the ACC in pass efficiency. The redshirt sophomore was an efficient 16-22 for 179 yards against Louisville and is completing 58.7% of his passes in 2018.
Boston College quarterbacks have thrown 19 touchdown passes to 10 different receivers.
Missing against Louisville was the deep ball, something the Eagles need to try to get back. And that means getting Kobay White involved. The sophomore receiver is second on the team with 16 receptions, but only had one reception for 23 yards against Louisville.
Stretching the field will be a must against Miami, especially to help ease the burden on the running game.
Defensive ends Wyatt Ray and Zach Allen continue to be quite the pairing. Ray has 8.5 sacks while Allen has 36 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 1 interception. The duo will need to make their presence felt in the Miami backfield to keep the Hurricanes shaky quarterback situation on lock.
Spotlight: The Miami Hurricanes
An inept offensive performance against Virginia has Miami switching things up at quarterback again, going back to Malik Rosier. Rosier started the first four games, with sporadic duty in the other three. He’s completed 52 percent of his passes for 781 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.
N’Kosi Perry took over the reigns for three games and, despite his benching, will likely still see time on the field. Perry has a 56 percent completion rate for 666 yards. He’s tossed 11 touchdowns against five interceptions.
Miami has two outstanding running backs in junior Travis Homer and sophomore DeeJay Dallas. The two have combined to rush for 922 yards and three touchdowns. Dallas has struggled the last two games, carrying the ball 20 times for only 55 yards.
Boston College’s run game will be tested by a Miami front seven that’s one of the best in the nation. The unit has allowed only 106.1 rushing yards per game and a total of only five rushing touchdowns in 2018.
Prediction
It’s easy to fall flat the week coming off a bye just as easily as it can be to have a crisp performance. Look for a little of both from each team in this nationally televised game.
This game is gonna come down to the defenses and who runs the ball better. And since the game is in Chestnut Hill, I’m gonna give the edge to the Eagles. Boston College 24 Miami 21