Boston College opens their 2017 season with a visit to DeKalb, Illinois to take on the Northern Illinois Huskies. The last time these two played was in September 2015, with the Eagles winning 17-14. Both teams had disspointing seasons last year. BC struggled against quality teams, and finished 7-6. Northern Illinois finished 5-7, but had 4 separate injuries to quarterbacks, and improved as the year went on, wining 4 out of their last 5. Most places have Northern Illinois much improved this year and as a contender for the MAC West title. Currently the line sits at BC -2.5.
What to Watch When BC has the Ball: This will be the first glimpse at the Eagle offense, and who the starting QB will be. Look for Wade to start, but for Brown to also receive first half snaps. If BC does indeed rotate quarterbacks, even more pressure will be put on the offensive line to get the running game going. They have struggled the past 2 years, and the offense has struggled with them. In the run game, look for Jon Hilliman to continue to get the bulk of the carries for the Eagles. He has been their featured back (when healthy)the past 2 seasons. Freshman A.J. Dillion appears fully recovered from a knee injury last year, and should also receive carries. Davon Jones was the second leading rusher from last season, but has had a quiet camp. It will be interesting to see how they use him, and if he will get any carries. The good news for the backs is that BC should be able to run the ball as NIU is replacing 4 of the top 6 defensive lineman and 3 out of the 5 linebackers that played for them. Last season NIU was ranked 60th in run defense in the S&P rankings and should be worse this season. The one area where NIU was very strong was it did not give up many 10+ yard runs. BC will need to grind out 5-7 yard carries against this defense. The strength of NIU will be its secondary. Their secondary improved as the year went on, and they return all 4 starters. BC cannot afford to fall into 3rd or it could be a long day.
What to Watch When NIU has the Ball: There is a reason why NIU had 4 quarterback injuries last season, their offensive line is a weakness. While they have potential all-conference lineman in tackle Max Scharping and Center Luke Shively. Look for Scharping to line up across from Landry on most plays. The BC defensive line should have a great day rushing the passer, particularly Zach Allen. He had a great camp, and should be facing a weaker tackle. NIU mostly uses a short, quick passing game in order to help with the pressure. However, they don’t have much speed on the outside, and BC’s corners should be able to stop these for short gains. In the backfield, NIU, just like BC, has yet to name a starting quarterback. The competition is between Ryan Graham and Daniel Santacaterina, both of whom starter multiple games last season. Who is starting at QB should not effect BC’s gameplan as both are similar players with similar talent. Joining whoever starts at QB in the backfield will be Jordan Huff. Huff is a big play back who has been mostly used as a change of pace the last 2 seasons. However, this year he will be their featured back. BC must avoid giving up the big play on the ground to Huff. If they can do that, the defense should be fine.
Overall: While BC returns a lot from last season, there are still some major question marks with this team. The biggest 2 coming on offense, with the QB position and the offensive line. While NIU isn’t a top tier team, they have enough to provide a decent answer for these questions. Look for BC to come out early and trying to establish the run. BC needs to put itself in a position where it is not forced to throw the ball. Look for the Eagles to throw mostly short passes early to try to get the QB’s confidence high. Look for the playbook to open up more in the second half. NIU’s defensive weakness is up the middle, and BC should be able to exploit this. On defense, as long as BC does not give up long runs, they should have a great game. The defensive line should be able to get after the quarterback, and NIU won’t look to through the ball downfield.
I expect this game to be ugly in the first quarter, but BC will start to establish itself in the second half. Under Daz, BC has struggled in openers, particularly on offense. In 2013, they trailed Villanova at the half. The next season, BC lead only 6-0 at half before blowing out UMass. In 2015, Maine hung around as BC was only up 10-3 at half, and last season BC only scored 14 points in a lost to Georgia Tech where they were shut out in the 1st half. However, just like the openers in Daz’s first 3 seasons, the Eagles are clearly the more talented team, and it will show more and more as the game goes on.
Prediction: 27-10 Boston College
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