The Boston College Eagles look to make it four ACC Conference wins in a row when they take on the N.C. State Wolfpack at Alumni Stadium this weekend. The contest is scheduled to go off on Saturday, November 11th at 12 p.m. EST. The inner-conference match-up can be seen on ABC and ESPN2 for your after Gameday entertainment. Sin City has the Wolfpack as a slight -3 point favorite and the game’s total rests at 52.
The N.C. State Wolfpack enter this showdown against the B.C. Eagles off a loss to the fourth-ranked Clemson Tigers 38-31 last weekend. In that game, the Wolfpack had the lead going into the break but were outscored 21-10 in the second frame. As a result, they fell in defeat and dropped out of the top-25 in the Associated Press Polls. Now, the Wolfpack sits 4-1 in conference play and 6-3 overall.
The Boston College Eagles have been ramping up their play ever since they lost to the Clemson Tigers in late September. Since then, they have gone 4-1 and with three of those victories coming in ACC Atlantic play. In fact, the Eagles have some pretty good losses on their resume’. They have been beaten by Clemson, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and a feisty Wake Forrest squad. Two weeks ago, B.C. crushed the Seminoles 35-3 in front of their home fans in Massachusetts.
When these two schools met on the gridiron last season, the Eagles won 21-14. In the last 10 games against the Wolfpack, the Eagles have been victorious seven times.
N.C. State Wolfpack (6-3)
The Wolfpack’s loss to the Tigers last week really hurt their chance of playing for the ACC title. Miami is still undefeated in the conference and Clemson also has one loss but has beaten them straight up. Unfortunately, the defense was the culprit in the loss to the Tigers. N.C. State managed to put up 31 points on a stout Tiger defense but allowed 38 and over 400 yards of total offense in the loss.
Quarterback Ryan Finley certainly wasn’t to blame for last week’s failure. The senior signal-caller has been outstanding in 2017, throwing for 2,519 yards with 15 touchdown passes and only three picks. Against Clemson, he once again performed admirably, completing 62 percent of his passes for 338 yards and three scores. To his dismay, he did serve up two interceptions that ended drives for the Wolfpack.
The N.C. State Wolfpack has been running the football effectively, which keeps defenses honest. Tailback Nyheim Hines has been the workhorse in that department. So far, Hines has rumbled for a team-high 688 yards on 126 carries with six scores. He is not the only threat in the red zone as two other teammates have pitched in with another 12 touchdowns. Jaylen Samuels leads the team with eight trips to the back of the end zone.
Ryan Finley distributes the ball pretty well when the Wolfpack look to move the chains via their air assault. Four pass catchers have contributed by reeling in 181 catches for over 2,100 yards and 14 touchdowns. Wideout Kelvin Harmon is their leading receiver with 799 yards and four scores. Running back Jaylen Samuels actually leads the group with 59 catches and four touchdowns.
On defense, the Wolfpack are strong in some areas and weaker in others. For instance, their front seven is solid, ranking 31st in the nation allowing only 131 yards a game. Conversely, their secondary can’t seem to cover anybody, surrendering 256 yards to opposing receivers (103rd). Overall, their a little better than average in the red zone, giving up 25 points to their enemies (64th).
Boston College Eagles (5-4)
The Boston College Eagles are starting to get some attention in the ACC Conference after rattling off three-straight wins. Especially, after they beat up on Florida State 35-3 two weeks ago. In some of those wins, it was the offense that put up a ton of points but against the Seminoles, it was their defense. Now they have had two weeks to prepare for the Wolfpack and hope to put up a total team effort to claim their fourth win in a row.
Boston College tries to remain balanced on offense but they have way more success running the ball than passing it. Freshman tailback AJ Dillon is proving that he may the special player that pushes them into a bowl game in 2017. Dillon has been machine-like, running for almost 843 yards on 1185 carries with seven touchdowns. The greenhorn has shown flashes of brilliance on the big stage. For example, he dashed for 272 yards on 39 carries with four trips to pay-dirt against Louisville.
Quarterback Anthony Brown has been asked to manage the offense and limit mistakes that could hamper drives. In some games, he has done just that but in others, he has shown signs of immaturity. Overall, he has completed 52 percent of his passes for over 1,300 yards with 11 touchdowns and eight picks. He is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury for this game against the Wolfpack.
Four receivers all contribute to helping the Boston College air attack keep team’s secondaries honest. Altogether, the foursome has seized 83 catches for almost 1000 yards and six scores. All five receivers have caught at least 14 passes and three have at least 200 plus yards receiving. Kobay White leads the group with 26 catches for 359 yards. Like Eagles teams from the past, tight end Tommy Sweeny is a force to be reckoned with. Number 89 has 21 grabs for 253 yards and three scores.
The Eagles’ defense is a tale of two personalities. Their secondary is steady, holding other school’s receiving corps to only 191 yards through the air (30th). Conversely, the front seven is continually gashed for big yardage by opposing offenses. Overall, they rank 113th in the country, giving up a mind-boggling 206 yards a contest. Last week the unit played its best game of the year, holding Florida State to under 213 yards of total offense.
Prediction
Las Vegas has this line in favor of the Wolfpack by a field goal. The reason for this is because the Eagles are starting to soar and North Carolina State is hit or miss from week to week. Nevertheless, I feel that the Wolfpack are a complete team and should bounce-back after the heartbreaking defeat to the Tigers. The fact that they can run the ball effectively should bolster their chance to win on the road. Yes, the Eagles’ secondary is flat out good but I don’t think Ryan Finley will throw two more picks in this one. Also, Boston College has been anemic at times offensively, and North Carolina State’s defense can stop the run.
For these reasons, I’m suggesting to take the Wolfpack to find a way to win this game by at least three points on Saturday. If you want to buy that down to 2.5 before kick-off, it might give you the chance to make some money if the game stays close throughout. Either way, the better team on both sides of the ball here should find a way to get it done in this crucial ACC Conference battle this weekend. #moneytreesgrow @EriktheHun
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Trends
The Wolfpack are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games.
The Under is 9-1 in Wolfpack last 10 conference games.
The Eagles are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
The Under is 5-0 in Eagles last 5 games following a bye week.
Under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.
