EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 6^th, the (4-1) Boston College Eagles will be on the road to take on the (4-0) NC State Wolfpack.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of NC State 30.3 – Boston College 24.5 with an over/under of 54.8.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of NC State 34 – Boston College 17.

Mark is predicting a final score of NC State 34 – Boston College 28.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: NC State 342.3 YPG > Boston College 233.4 YPG

Rushing offense: Boston College 243.4 YPG > NC State 124.8 YPG

Scoring offense: Boston College 43.2 PPG > NC State 34.3 PPG

Scoring defense: NC State 15.3 PPG > Boston College 26.8 PPG

Passing defense: Boston College 217.4 YPG > NC State 243.0 PPG

Rushing defense: NC State 104.3 PPG > Boston College 151.8 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: NC State +1.3 > Boston College +0.8

Summary:

Boston College is (4-1) to start the season with wins over UMass, Holy Cross, Wake Forest, and Temple.  Their lone defeat was a 30-13 loss on the road to the Purdue Boilermakers.  The Eagles have not played the strongest competition thus far but have taken care of business against inferior opponents.  Quarterback Anthony Brown has only completed 56% of his passes for 861 yards with 12 touchdowns to 4 interceptions.  Running back A.J. Dillon is an absolute monster who ranks third in the nation in rushing yards (652). Dillon is averaging 6.2 yards per carry and has run for 6 touchdowns.  The Eagles rank 19^th in points per game (43.2) and 79^th scoring defense (26.8 PPG)

NC State is (4-0) with wins over James Madison, Georgia State, Marshall, and Virginia.  The Wolfpack rank 46^th in points per game (34.3) and 13^th in scoring defense (15.3 PPG).  Senior quarterback Ryan Finley has completed 68% of his passes for 1,313 yards with 8 touchdowns to 1 interception.  Reggie Gallaspy II leads the team in rushing with 220 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Collectively, NC State is only averaging 3.7 yards per carry.  Kelvin Harmon is the team’s leading receiver with 406 yards and a touchdown.  The Wolfpack secondary has been suspect early in the season but they are allowing the 18^th fewest rushing yards per game (104.3).  NC State ranks 8^th out of 130 teams in turnover margin per game (+1.3).

Bottom Line:

Ryan Finley and NC State as a team have done a great job with ball security.  In Boston College’s loss to Purdue A.J. Dillon was bottled up for 59 yards and Anthony Brown threw 4 interceptions.  N.C. State is one of the better teams in the nation at stopping the run so if they can slow down Dillon they will win this one at home.

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