Boston College begins their home slate this season with a game against Wake Forest. BC has played well against Wake under Daz, winning 3 out of the 4 times they played. However, the last two games have been close, ugly games, with Wake winning 3-0 in 2015, and BC winning 17-14 in 2016. The Demon Deacons will like to have another ugly one this weekend as they rely on their strength on defense in order to win games. Currently the line is BC-1.
What to Watch When BC has the Ball: The two keys for the game offensively for the Eagles are likely to be the same 2 keys the rest of the season; the decision making of Anthony Brown, and the run blocking abilities of the offensive line. Brown had a good game last weekend, and one of the key reasons for that was he didn’t try to do too much. He didn’t throw into coverage often, and didn’t try to force a big play. However, Brown also left yards on the field. He needs to improve this weekend on reading the defense, as he missed some wide open receivers. He also should tuck and run more when things open up in front of him. While NIU had a good secondary, Wake has a much better defense overall, and should be a good test for Brown in his first ACC start.
BC’s offensive line struggled against NIU last weekend, particularly in the running game. The unit is likely to look different this weekend as Marcell Lazard was pulled in the 2nd half last weekend, and Jon Baker is out with a leg injury. Sam Schmal replaced Lazard, while true freshman Alec Lindstrom replaced Baker. The Eagles do get lineman Shane Leonard back for this game as well. Wake does have a solid front seven, so it will be interesting to see if the Eagles fixed their blocking issues. Another area to look at it is the carries that the running backs get. Last week, Hilliman got the bulk of the carries, while freshman AJ Dillion only got 5. No other back touched the ball. Hilliman was largely ineffective last weekend, and the ball should be spread around more. With the up tempo offense last weekend, the Eagles didn’t sub much between plays. Hopefully that changes on Saturday,
What to Watch when Wake Forest has the Ball: BC’s defense had a decent game last week against NIU. They benefited from a few drops by the Huskies, but BC also missed out on chances for turnovers. Wake Forest’s offense is similar in style to NIU, with John Wolford at quarterback. Wolford is a dual-threat QB, who doesn’t have breakaway speed or pinpoint accuracy. However, Wolford is great at picking his spots to run, and creating big plays. BC mostly shut him down last season, but he was still able to break off a few longer runs. The defensive line for the Eagles should once again have an advantage. They should be able to push the Wake line back, and create havoc in the backfield. Wake looks for longer throws than NIU, do BC should be able to get to the quarterback and pick up some sacks. This will be a telling game for the BC linebackers. The LBs can be put onto an island when facing a dual –threat QB, so the Eagles will need to use their speed to stop Wolford from gaining yards. Last week, the linebackers got too close to the line of scrimmage and took themselves out of plays, resulting in very few tackles for the unit. They must keep their levels to ensure Wolford can get yards by keeping it on the zone read.
Outside of one or two bad plays, the secondary had a very good game last weekend. That should continue this week, as Wake does not have much of a passing attack, especially deep down the field. The BC secondary did a great job tackling, especially Lukas Dennis, and the Eagles will need that again. The secondary should also be more aggressive when the ball is in the air this weekend. Wolford has a tendency to let the ball hang in the air, which can be picked off. The Eagles missed a few chances last week for picks. Wake does not have great receivers, or speed on the outside, so the safetys should not be beat deep.
Overall: it seems like every year that these teams play, it is an ugly low scoring close game. Look for that to continue this weekend, as each team’s strength is its defense. However, BC has the better skill position players, and greater speed than Wake. This should result in some big plays. Also look for the defense to be more aggressive and create turnovers and get some sacks. Look for the game to be close through the first 3 quarters, with BC pulling away in the 3rd.
Prediction: BC 27, Wake Forest 17
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