Boston College Football came crashing back down to earth this past weekend by means of a 48-22 demolition at the hands of Virginia Tech at home. With The Path dead and the momentum of the five-game win streak largely gone with it, how BC responds on the road in a very short week will be telling.
Luckily for BC, they face an ACC foe that has been worse than the Eagles this season. Just two years removed from the highs of the Kenny Picket era, Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers have struggled to a 2-8 record so far this season. Of course, ex-Eagle Phil Jurkovec began the year as their QB1, only to be replaced by Penn St. transfer Christian Vielleux a few weeks back. Vielleux has been pretty bad too, with more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (7) on the year. The run game has been awful, averaging less than 100 yards per game on the season, and with such bad QB play the offense just has not clicked all year long. Vielleux was himself replaced by Nate Yarnell for a stretch in their most recent loss against Syracuse, and Narduzzi was noncommittal when asked who would get the start against BC. Defensively, the Panthers are a bit more sound, but still give up 28.2 points a game — hardly a menacing unit.
The Eagles, at the time of writing, are a +3 point underdog. Despite opening as favorites for the second week in a row, it is a sign of just how little is thought of the Eagles program that the line has been flipped yet again and could continue to move. I think BC needs to come out and destroy the Panthers. The 5-game win streak was nice, but who was the best win of the bunch? A mediocre Georgia Tech team? Losing to Pitt would be awful. Give me the Eagles, with their backs against the wall.
Picks: BC +3, U 47