The Boston College Eagles soar into the state of Illinois to do battle with the Northern Illinois Huskies to kick-off their 2017 campaign. The non-conference match-up will go down on Friday, September 1st at 9:30 p.m. EST. The evening game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network for viewing entertainment. Odds makers have the Eagles as a -3 point favorite and the game’s total set at a low 47 points.
The Boston College Eagles are coming off a 7-6 season, where they went just 2-6 in conference play. However, Boston College won three straight games including the defeat of Maryland in the Quick Land Bowl.
To start the year, The Eagles will face a Northern Illinois squad coming off a disappointing 5-7 season. Unfortunately for the Huskies, they were also plagued by injuries at quarterback. The Huskies started four different quarterbacks last season.
Boston College Eagles
The Eagles averaged only 20 points on just 292 yards of offense in 2016. Only 144 yards came through the air, which had this team at the bottom of most rankings a year ago. This season, Boston College’s head coach Steve Addazio has been looking for somebody under center to step up.
Senior Darius Wade has the most experience, having threw for 100 yards last season. But the future is red-shirt freshman Anthony Brown. He’s a dual-threat quarterback and will likely be the starter. As of now, Addazio hasn’t made the decision who will get the start.
The Eagles’ receiving corps is set with Jeff Smith, Michael Walker and Charlie Callinan all returning to improve the team’s passing attack. Together, the trio combined for 84 catches for over 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns. Someone will need to emerge as Boston College’s deep ball threat.
There’s no doubt that the Eagles will look to get things started offensively via the ground game. In 2017, running back Jon Hillman returns to grind it out for Boston College. Last season, Hillman gathered in 542 yards on 182 carries and six trips to the back of the end zone. Boston Collegethe has experience on offensive line but will need to find a way to stay balanced to prevent teams from loading the box.
The defensive side of the football was the direct opposite of the offense in 2016. The unit only allowed 25 points per game, surrendering 314 yards a contest. As a result, the Eagles finished seventh in the country against the run, giving up less then 110 yards a match.
In 2017, Boston college gets back seven starters including defensive end Harold Landry. Landry is a beast, who led the nation in sacks with 16.5. The front seven should be as good as any in the ACC Conference but the secondary lost All-ACC performer safety John Johnson.
Northern Illinois Huskies
The Northern Illinois Huskies have been a dominant team in the MAC Conference for many years. Lately, the Huskies have managed to only collect 13 wins over the last two seasons. A huge reason for the regression is due to injuries at the quarterback position.
This year, Northern Illinois will open the year with signal-caller Ryan Graham under center. In 2016, Graham threw for 640 yards with eight touchdowns and six interceptions. He has to be more accurate with the Huskies’ receiving corps losing most of their targets from last season.
At the wide out position, Northern Illinois will hope that receivers Christian Blake and DJ Brown step in and produce immediately. Over the course of last year, the duo combined for 43 catches for just over 550 yards and two scores. To the Huskies dismay, Blake is truly the only pass catcher with any experience. Brown will need to capitalize as the Huskies second option.
Even with all the injuries at quarterback, the offense still managed to produce 30.5 points per game. Their point output was good enough for third in the MAC Conference. The Huskies 463.8 yards per game was largely due to their rushing attack.
Leading rusher Joel Bouagnon is gone and with him goes his team-high 885 yards and eight trips to pay-dirt. Now, running back Jordan Huff steps in as the Huskies’ full-time rusher. Huff was no slouch in 2016, splitting carries he collected over 700 yards with five touchdowns and an impressive 6.8 yards per carry.
Defensively, Northern Illinois allowed 30.3 points per game (80th) and 451.5 yards per game in the air (98th). The squad did improve after their first five contests after an awful performance in the first part of the year. The secondary will return three of four starters and the weaker passing attack of the Eagles shouldn’t do too much damage.
Prediction
Well, I don’t expect to see a shoot-out developing as these two struggling offenses will find yardage at a premium on Friday. That being said, 47 total points is pretty low. But with all the question marks on both teams’ offensive units, the under is a reality.
Both universities will field defenses that can control the other club’s offense. Typically, one school is at least balanced on offense. Not this time. The Boston college defense faced more explosive clubs than the Huskies will put out on the field and should control the line of scrimmage.
Similarly, Northern Illinois has and will see a lot better offenses than the Eagles have. The question is can they hang close enough to cover the -3 that line setters have set for bettors. It’s opening day and the Huskies will be fired-up for this one.
I suggest staying away from the line here as the Huskies could find a away to win as easy as lose by a touchdown. Instead, make your play on the defenses. Take the under 47. Boston College 23-20 over Northern Illinois.
Trends
The Eagles are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games.
The Eagles are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games.
The Under is 29-10 in the Eagles last 39 non-conference games.
The Under is 42-17-1 in the Eagles last 60 road games.
The Huskies are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 home games.
The Huskies are 0-5-1 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games.
The Under is 4-1 in the Huskies last 5 home games.
The Under is 4-1 in the Huskies last 5 games overall.
The getmoresports.com NCAA College Football Throwdown Podcast will be returning to the air on August 24th. We will be highlighting the first five games on August 26th of the 2017 NCAA College Football season. That will be the first of three installments leading into the first week of the season. We also we will be covering our expectations for the Heisman Trophy front runners as well as predictions for conference winners and team totals.
Our second NCAA College Football Throwdown is penciled in for August 29th. In that installment, we will be discussing all the games that will be played on August 31st and the 1st of September.
Our third segment will officially be airing on August 31st. In this edition of the NCAA College Football Throwdown, we will be covering all the relevant games for Sept 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
