Boston College plays its last home game of the year on Saturday
when they take on Connecticut. BC
comes in at 4-6 with its bowl hopes hanging by a thread while Uconn is
3-7. BC has never lost to Uconn
before, although they have played just 4 times since Connecticut became a full
fledge division 1 program. Currently
BC is favored by 7.5.
What to Watch When
BC has the ball: The Eagles
offense struggled mightily against Florida State last weekend. They did not gain a first down in the
second and third quarter. BC
couldn’t do anything on the ground or through the air. This week, BC plays a less difficult
opponent in Uconn. The Huskies,
however, are lead by their defensive line, and could shut down BC’s running
attack. The Eagles have struggled
to run the football in almost every game this season. Jonathan Hilliman, the featured back, is averaging only 3.2
yards per carry this season, and only 1.7 yards per carry in the month of
November. The Eagles need to look
for others to carry the ball.
Myles Willis broke off a long 39 yards run last weekend against Florida
State, their longest play of the game, yet only receieved 2 more carries. Davon Jones averages 4.2 yards per
carry, but has only received 10 total carries in the last 3 games. The Eagles need to switch it up in
order to get the run game going.
Hilliman has struggled this season, and so far the coaches have not been
able to adjust. Look for
Boston College to try to attack Uconn through the air. If Patrick Towles (or however is
starting for Boston College at quarterback) gets time in the pocket, BC should
have open receivers. Jeff Smith
should have the speed advantage when he goes deep, and BC must take advantage
of this similar to the Umass game.
BC should also try to get Smith and Michael Walker touches on screen
passes and end arounds. Earlier in
the week, Daz stated that Towles would still be the starter this week, but that
Wade would be able to earn playing time through practice. It will be interesting to see if Wade
gets in at all, but based off of the performance of Towles this season, Wade
should be the starter.
What to Watch when
Uconn has the Ball: The Uconn
Huskies have been terrible on offense so far this season. Their struggles may
be even worse than what Boston College.
Uconn has switched quarterbacks in recent weeks to freshman Donovan
Williams, but that hasn’t helped out much. Williams is a dual threat QB, who is better with his legs
than with his arm. However, he is
surrounded by a bad defensive line, and BC should be living in the
backfield. On the defensive side
of the ball, look for Harold Landry to have another big day. No one on Uconn’s offensive line has
the speed to match up with him.
The linebackers for BC need to make sure they keep contain with
Williams, and need to make sure he
doesn’t break off a big play.
The Eagles’ secondary did not give up the big play, and need to have
that again this weekend. Uconn
will not be able to drive the field, so as long as BC doesn’t give up a long
touchdown they should be able to handled Uconn’s offense easily.
Overall: Uconn has played poorly all
season. However, this Saturday is
there super bowl. Look for them to
come out strong, and try trick plays in order to get big plays. BC can’t get frusterated if they find
themselves down at any point in this game. On offense, hopefully the coaching staff switches things up,
and tries to get others involved in the running game. BC’s defense should not give up more than 10 points in this
one. Look for them to create
pressure and cause turnovers.
Prediction:
Boston College 23, Connecticut 7
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