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Boston College - NC State Matchup
Two teams going in opposite directions will take the field on Saturday night in Raleigh. Boston
College is 3-0 and ranked 20th in the country after two thrilling double overtime victories in the
past two weeks. North Carolina State, on the other hand, is coming off back-to-back non-conference
losses to Akron and Southern Miss. With a victory on Saturday, BC can add a key ACC road victory and
possibly move up in the national rankings. For NC State, a win over BC could turn their disappointing
season around. Boston College is currently a seven point favorite. Here's a quick look at the matchup:
The Quarterbacks |
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Matt Ryan -- 61.9% comp, 891 yards, 6 TD, 2 INT |
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Daniel Evans -- 72.7% comp, 97 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
Top Rushers |
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L.V. Whitworth -- 191 yards, 4.4 ypc, 1 TD |
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Andre Callender -- 136 yards, 4.1 ypc, 0 TD |
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Andre Brown -- 183 yards, 5.9 ypc, 1 TD |
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Toney Baker -- 120 yards, 3.8 ypc, 1 TD |
Top Receivers |
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Kevin Challenger (WR) -- 16 catches, 169 yards, 2 TD |
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Tony Gonzalez (WR) -- 15 catches, 165 yards, 3 TD |
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Brandon Robinson (WR) -- 10 catches, 168 yards, 0 TD |
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Anthony Hill (TE) -- 11 catches, 103 yards, 0 TD |
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Toney Baker (RB) -- 9 catches, 74 yards, 0 TD |
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Donald Bowens (WR) -- 6 catches, 88 yards, 1 TD |
Top Defenders |
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Jolonn Dunbar (LB) -- 25 tackles, 1 forced fumble |
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Jamie Silva (FS) -- 24 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 INT |
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DeJuan Tribble (CB) -- 17 tackles, 5 passes broken up |
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Patrick Lowery (LB) -- 29 tackles, 4.5 TFL |
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Miguel Scott (S) -- 16 tackles, 1 INT |
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DaJuan Morgan (ROV) -- 13 tackles, 1 blocked kick |
The Kickers |
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Ryan Ohliger -- 4/7 FG, 9/11 PAT |
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John Deraney -- 2/2 FG, 7/7 PAT |
The Punters |
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Johnny Ayers -- 39.9 yards per punt |
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John Deraney -- 38.5 yards per punt |
The Kick Returners |
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Jeff Smith -- 36.3 per KO return DeJuan Tribble -- 4.3 per punt return |
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Darrell Blackman -- 26.8 yards per KO ret 8.0 yards per punt return |
Final Analysis
The BC defense has had a rough time this season and NC State could be just what they need to regain
their confidence. The Wolfpack is currently ranked 98th in the country in total offense. That ranking
looks even worse when you consider that NC State has played Appalachian State, Akron and Southern Miss
this season. NC State will be breaking in a new quarterback, Sophomore Daniel Evans, who will be
replacing an ineffective Marcus Stone. Evans completed 8 of 11 passes for 97 yards, a TD and an INT last
week in mop-up duty at Southern Miss. NC State appears to have a pretty solid running back in sophomore
Andre Brown. I say "appears" because Brown rushed for 427 of his 667 yards last season in a two week
stretch prior to NC State's game at Chestnut Hill. The Eagles held Brown to 12 yards on 13 carries. This
season, Brown rushed for 125 yards against Appalachian State in the opener but has rushed for only
58 yards combined in the past two weeks. NC State lost its top three receivers from a year ago.
Defensively, NC State has not been much better. NC State ranks a mediocre 55th in the nation
in total defense and 81st against the run. Last week, Southern Miss bludgeoned the Wolfpack for
261 yards rushing on 52 carries (5.0 yards per rush). The featured running backs for Akron and
Southern Miss combined for 298 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns in the past two weeks.
To make matters worse for Chuck Amato, the Wolfpack may have to play without the services of
their top kickoff and punt returner Darrell Blackman, who sprained a knee in Saturday's game against
Southern Miss. Blackman averaged a lofty 29.1 yards per kickoff return last season.
If Boston College is going to make a run at the ACC Atlantic Division title, this is a game they
absolutely have to win. NC State is in total disarray and the Eagles need to take advantage of
that. This game will provide a great opportunity for the BC defense to regain its confidence.
Most of BC's defensive problems have originated in the secondary. This week, that unit will face a
sophomore who has thrown all of 11 passes in his college career. As they say, this is just what the doctor
ordered. On the other side of the ball, I expect BC to feature the running game. It will help if
the Eagles can take an early lead and pound NC State with the running game the way that Southern Miss
did last week. Matt Ryan looked much healthier against BYU than he did against Clemson the week
before. Hopefully, he will improve a little more this week and be 100% for the game against Virginia
Tech on October 12th. The subplot for this game will be Ryan Ohliger. He and NC State coach Chuck Amato
will share the hot seat on Saturday. Both gentlemen are in danger of losing their jobs if things do
not improve soon. I think BC will win this game rather easily. No overtimes necessary.
Final Score: Boston College 30 NC State 17
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NC State by the Numbers
Three NC State defensive players were chosen in
the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft -- Mario Williams (1), Manny Lawson (22) and John McCargo (26).
Darrell Blackman ranked sixth in the nation a year
ago in kickoff return average (29.1).
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Statistic |
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Offense - Run |
90 |
70 |
Offense - Pass |
98 |
8 |
Offense - Total |
98 |
38 |
Defense - Run |
60 |
81 |
Defense - Pass |
119 |
41 |
Defense - Total |
113 |
55 |
Offensive Lines |
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Avg Height |
6'4" |
6'5" |
Avg Weight |
304 |
305 |
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