Boston College vs NC State - Preview & Final Prediction
Boston College (4-1) will be hosting #22 NC State (4-1) this Saturday Night in Primetime. Kickoff will be at 7:30PM ET from Alumni Stadium (Chestnut Hill, MA) and will be nationally televised on the ACC Network.
Both teams are coming into this game after a Bye Week. Two weeks ago the NC State Wolfpack outpaced Louisiana Tech 34-27 to improve to 4-1 on the season. The last time these two teams played was in 2019 when BC beat NC State 45-25 and rushed for over 400 yards. The Eagles now face a much better Wolfpack team and in a game that will help determine the winner of the Atlantic Division in the ACC.
Jeff Hafley is well aware of the difficult task at hand and was extremely complimentary of the NC State coaching staff and team. In a recent press conference Hafley expressed how he thinks NC State is the best team they have faced all year.
"I have a ton of respect for [Dave Doeren]. He's doing an awesome job. His team plays extremely hard. They're very well disciplined. I believe it's the best team we've played up until this point." - Jeff Hafley on NC State
We agree that NC State is one of the best teams in the ACC right now along with undefeated Wake Forest. Boston College has a chance to show that they are one of the best in the ACC and are here to stay and compete for ACC Championships.
So Boston College Football Fans, it's been two weeks and it's time to get over that painful Clemson loss. The Eagles have a chance to knock off an even better NC State team this weekend. This would be BC's first win over an AP Top 25 team since 2014. BC is playing Saturday Night ACC Primetime Football and Alumni Stadium is going to be rocking. Get into your seats early, be loud, and GO EAGS! #GETIN
Current Line: BC +3.0 (O/U 51.5)
Chance Of Winning: 45.0%
According to ESPN's Football Power Index BC has a 45% chance of winning this game. The spread for this game is currently 3.0 points in favor of NC State, with the over/under around 51.5. This spread seems to be right where we expected it to be all week long.
Does BC Cover The Spread?
Boston College wins this game so yes! The score will be close for most of the game, but with the home field advantage we think that BC finds a way to win this game no matter what. Note: this might be the rare situation when the BC Money line (+130) might be the better choice.
The under is very favorable since we think BC will try to run the ball and control the time of possession. Also, how Hafley has transformed this defense has been remarkable and we expect that side of the ball to continue to step up. Both teams have a top 20 scoring defense so we expect the game plan to be somewhat conservative from both sides.
Final Score: 28-20 (BC WINS)
This will be a close game. Getting an early lead in this game would be huge for Boston College and will allow them to continue to stay more balanced on offense and control the game. We think the Eagles will continue to run the ball and that will open up some big plays for Grosel to hit downfield. This will be a big game for Dennis Grosel where he will finally prove his ability to handle the big pressure moments.
We will keep bringing this up every week until it happens, but the defense needs to create turnovers this Saturday and specifically fumbles. Hafley continues and continues to preach about forcing fumbles, and we expect to finally see the Eagles recover one at a critical time late in this game. We really do this time.
How To Watch The Game:
GET IN! GO TO THE GAME! We expect Alumni to be at full capacity but there are still some tickets left here.
The game will be televised nationally on ACCN at 7:30PM ET Saturday Night.
(For those of you that do not have access to the ACC Network, we suggest signing up for YouTube TV free trial and cancelling after the game)
Follow us on Twitter!
We will be tweeting live from Alumni Stadium this Saturday Night!
GO EAGS!
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