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Boston College - Virginia Tech Matchup
The Boston College Eagles will take on the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday at Lane Stadium in
Blacksburg, VA. The Eagles are 6-5 and fighting for their postseason lives. The Hokies are 8-2
having narrowly escaped with a 24-23 overtime victory at Temple last week. Here are the particulars:
| The Quarterbacks |
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Quinton Porter -- 56.0% comp, 1,764 yards, 14 TD, 6 INT |
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Paul Peterson -- 56.4% comp, 668 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT |
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Bryan Randall -- 61.7% comp, 1,208 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT |
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Marcus Vick -- 55.8% comp, 464 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT |
| Top Rushers |
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Derrick Knight -- 1,402 yards, 5.5 ypc, 6 TD |
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Horace Dodd -- 424 yards, 5.0 ypc, 10 TD |
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Kevin Jones -- 1,254 yards, 5.8 ypc, 15 TD |
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Cedric Humes -- 360 yards, 6.2 ypc, 5 TD |
| Top Receivers |
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Grant Adams (WR) -- 37 catches, 579 yards, 3 TD |
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Sean Ryan (TE) -- 29 catches, 372 yards, 6 TD |
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Joel Hazard (WR) -- 29 catches, 369 yards, 0 TD |
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Ernest Wilford (WR) -- 38 catches, 595 yards, 3 TD |
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Justin Hamilton (WR) -- 20 catches, 254 yards, 1 TD |
| Top Defenders |
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Josh Ott (LB) -- 105 tackles, 5 for lost yardage |
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Brian Flores (LB) -- 97 tackles, 6 for lost yardage |
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Mattias Kiwanuka (DE) -- 67 tackles, 11 sacks, 21 QB hurries |
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Will Blackmon (CB) -- 52 tackles, 3 INT, 8 passes broken up |
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Michael Crawford (DB) -- 90 tackles, 11 for lost yardage |
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Eric Green (CB) -- 43 tackles, 2 INT, 6 PBU |
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Cols Colas (DE) -- 31 tackles, 5.5 sacks |
| The Kickers |
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Sandro Sciortino -- 9/15 FG, 27/27 PAT |
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Mike Fassel -- 0/0 FG, 9/10 PAT |
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Carter Warley -- 10/13 FG, 44/47 PAT |
| The Punters |
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Jeff Gomulinsky -- 39.5 yards per kick |
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Vinnie Burns -- 39.7 yards per kick |
| The Kick Returners |
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Will Blackmon -- 23.9 yds per KO return |
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Nat Hasselbeck -- 11.9 yards per punt return |
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Mike Imoh -- 29.0 yards per KO ret, 1 TD |
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DeAngelo Hall -- 14.1 yards per punt ret, 2 TD |
| Final Analysis |
Boston College's bowl situation remains a mystery. They could win on Saturday at Virginia Tech and not be
invited to a bowl game. There is also a slim chance that the Eagles could lose and still be invited to
postseason play. Bowl game or not, the Eagles should be fired up for Saturday's game. A win might be
enough to get BC into a bowl game for the 5th consecutive season. At the very least, a victory would be a
nice ending to a disappointing season and a solid confidence builder for 2004. There is also the issue
of Virginia Tech's inclusion in the Big East lawsuit against the ACC which enabled the Hokies to
temporarily hijack BC's invitation to the ACC.
This game is not the mismatch that some might make it out to be. Virginia Tech's strength offensively is
the running game. BC's defensive strength this season has been stopping the run. The Hokies are 11th in the country
in rushing yards per game while the Eagles have jumped to 24th against the run. The Eagles have surrendered
just 2.6 yards per carry over the past four games. The BC pass defense has been weak, but so has
Virginia Tech's passing attack. The same is true on the other side of the ball, BC strength is running
and Virginia Tech is far better against the run than the pass. Virginia Tech hasn't given up a lot of
points, but this is clearly not the Hokie defensive juggernaut that we have seen in recent years.
Tech remains dangerous on special teams. Tech's ability to block kicks coupled with BC's difficulties blocking
on punts is a recipe for disaster. The Hokies have also run back three kicks for touchdowns this season (Mike
Imoh is 5th in the nation in yards per kickoff return and DeAngelo Hall is 11th in yards per punt return).
To win on Saturday, BC will need to avoid the problems that have plagued them all season - namely penalties,
dropped passes, poor blocking on punts and kick returns. The Eagles could win most of the battles, but
still lose the war - as they did against Wake Forest and West Virginia - if they continue to repeat those mistakes.
I expect this game to be competitive, but the special teams advantage and home crowd of 65,115 will be
the difference for the Hokies.
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| Virginia Tech 23 Boston College 14 |
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Virginia Tech by the Numbers
The Hokies have outscored their opponents by 63, 57 and 64 points
in the first three quarters this season. In the 4th quarter, the Hokies have scored 73 and given up 73.
Virginia Tech has blocked 101 kicks in 198 games under Frank Beamer.
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| Statistic |
BC |
VT |
| Offense - Run |
31 |
11 |
| Offense - Pass |
58 |
99 |
| Defense - Run |
24 |
36 |
| Defense - Pass |
63 |
55 |
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