Why Virginia Tech is BC's Biggest Game of the Year

It’s not often that a game in September against an unranked team, who isn’t considered a rival, is the most important game of the year, but that is the case for Boston College on Saturday.  BC comes in 1-1 with a devastating loss in the opener against Georgia Tech, and an easy win last weekend against Umass.  Their season hits a crossroads on Saturday against Virginia Tech.  With a win, BC snaps their ACC losing streak which is up to 10 games.  However, more importantly, it will be the program’s first solid win since winning in Blacksburg the day after Halloween in 2014. 

One of the main reasons for this game being so important is the weird schedule BC plays this year.  BC plays 3 top ten teams in Louisville, Clemson and Florida State.  At this point no one expects BC to win any of these games, and it would not be a disappointment to go 0-3.  However, they also play 4 terrible non-conference opponents, all of whom may miss bowl games.  Of their 5 remaining ACC games, Syracuse (who has been to 3 bowl games in 11 years), Wake Forest (who has not been to a bowl game in the last 4 seasons) and NC State (who just lost to East Carolina), all look like teams who may not reach bowl games, or if they do will be hovering near .500.  That leaves just Virginia Tech (who has been to a bowl every year since 1992) and Georgia Tech (who was #10 two years ago) for winnable games against quality teams.  BC has already lost to Georgia Tech in a nail biter, only adding to the importance of this game.

With a win on Saturday, BC is looking at the possibility of an 8 win year including 4 ACC wins.  This will be a huge improvement over last season, and the most wins in a year for Daz as coach of BC.  A win also allows the team to lose a toss-up game to NC State, and still be able to comfortably gain bowl eligibility.  In addition, the way the schedule works, BC could easily be 4-1 going into the Friday Night matchup with Clemson.  This would bring back a sense of excitement to the Heights that has been missing. With a loss, BC can still become bowl eligible.  However, finishing 6-6 with wins over Buffalo, Wagner, Umass, Uconn, Wake Forest, and Syracuse, would not be considered a successful season.    The difference between a successful season and a disappointing one could be the game on Saturday.