|
|
Boston College - NC State Matchup
Tom O'Brien will return to Alumni Stadium next Saturday as a 14-point underdog. O'Brien's Wolfpack
will be coming off a 25-23 loss to Central Florida. The Eagles will look to win their first two ACC
games of the season for the first time. Here is the matchup:
The Quarterbacks |
|
Matt Ryan -- 62% comp, 408 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT |
|
Harrison Beck -- 61% comp, 207 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
Top Rushers |
|
Andre Callender -- 49 yards, 3.5 ypc, 0 TD |
|
A.J. Brooks -- 18 yards, 2.6 ypc, 0 TD |
|
Andre Brown -- 73 yards, 5.2 ypc, 1 TD |
|
Toney Baker -- 38 yards, 3.8 ypc, 0 TD |
Top Receivers |
|
Brandon Robinson (WR) -- 9 catches, 127 yards, 1 TD |
|
Kevin Challenger (WR) -- 5 catches, 59 yards, 1 TD |
|
Rich Gunnell (WR) -- 4 catches, 54 yards, 2 TD |
|
John Dunlap (WR) -- 6 catches, 65 yards, 0 TD |
|
Marcus Stone (TE) -- 3 catches, 67 yards, 0 TD |
|
Toney Baker (RB) -- 3 catches, 38 yards, 0 TD |
Top Defenders |
|
DeJuan Tribble (CB) -- 7 tackles, 3 interceptions |
|
Jamie Silva (S) -- 11 tackles |
|
Nick Larkin (DL) -- 5 tackles, 1 sack |
|
Ernest Jones (LB) -- 12 tackles |
|
James Martin (LB) -- 9 tackles |
|
DeMario Pressley (DL) -- 4 tackles, 1 sack |
The Kickers |
|
Steve Aponavicius -- 1/1 FG, 5/5 PAT |
|
Steven Hauschka -- 1/1 FG, 2/2 PAT |
The Punters |
|
Johnny Ayers -- 43.0 yards per punt |
|
Nathan Franklin -- 31.5 yards per punt |
The Kick Returners |
|
A.J. Brooks -- 21.3 per KO return DeJuan Tribble -- 2.0 per punt return |
|
Darrell Blackman -- 20.8 yards per KO ret 18.0 yards per punt return |
Final Analysis
If the Eagles want to win the ACC Atlantic Division this season they will probably need to beat NC
State on Saturday. I think most would agree that this is BC's weakest conference foe this season. NC
State has lost eight consecutive games including the loss to a Central Florida team that was 4-8 last
season playing in Conference USA. Add to that the extra motivation resulting from Tom O'Brien's return.
That is not to say that NC State does not have dangerous players. Tight End Anthony Hill caught 45 passes
for nearly 500 yards last season. Darrell Blackman is a dangerous kick returner (29 yards per KO return
in 2006). On the defensive side, DeMario Pressley is one of the top defensive tackles in the ACC.
Last week, BC handed two defensive touchdowns to Wake Forest. If that happens this week, BC will again
have to struggle to win a game that they should win easily. I think Jagodzinski and Company will fix the
turnover problems and that should result in a big BC victory.
Prediction: Boston College 31 NC State 10
|
|
NC State by the Numbers
196 of Harrison Beck’s 207 passing yards last week came in the second half
NC State has lost 8 straight games and is only one loss away from tying the school’s all-time record for consecutive (1959)
Central Florida gained only 38 yards in the second half last week
|
Statistic (2006) |
|
|
Offense - Run |
92 |
79 |
Offense - Pass |
25 |
81 |
Offense - Total |
50 |
97 |
Defense - Run |
26 |
85 |
Defense - Pass |
59 |
13 |
Defense - Tot |
34 |
36 |
Offensive Lines |
|
|
Avg Height |
6'6" |
6'4" |
Avg Weight |
292 |
303 |
|
|