October 2, 2015
Inside Look: Boston College
Brian McLawhorn
Devils Illustrated Publisher
Duke looks to be in store for yet another defensive battle this weekend, and with heavy rain blanketing the area, the likelihood of game expectations changing are pretty slim.
The Blue Devils will need to rely heavily on the ground game, against a defense that has proven to be outstanding against the run thus far in the season. Something will obviously have to give if Duke's going to be able to put points on the board.
Can Duke find ways to exploit BC's special teams? What will Jeremy Cash and company be faced with?
We talked with EagleAction.com senior writer Eric Hoffses to get a better look at what Boston College will bring to Durham on Saturday.
Q: After two FCS opponents to open the season, Boston College held Florida State in check and had a chance at pulling off the upset, and then knocked off a Northern Illinois team that pushed Ohio State to its brink. Is there a grasp on how good this team can be and the expectations going forward, or is the sample not big enough to gain a fair gauge?
Hoffses: The BC defense is good enough to keep the team close against just about any team in the country. On the flip side, the offense has been so bad that it has had trouble scoring against any team not named Howard and will probably continue to do so all year.
The Eagles trailed FSU 7-0 late in the third quarter of that game because the defense was just absolutely stifling. The BC defense owned that game and proved that it will keep the team in just about any game this season. I think a lot of BC fans had the team pegged for 5 or 6 wins this year, but it isn't unrealistic to think that this could be an 8 win team if the offense ever comes around.
Q: Aside from the Howard game, BC has struggled offensively. What can this offense build upon and what are the weaknesses with this unit? Key players?
Hoffses: Eagles started the year breaking in a new quarterback, a new tight end, and four new starting offensive linemen. The results have been like you'd expect and the offense has really struggled. If you throw out the Howard game, the BC offense is averaging just a tick over 13 points per game.
The strength of the offense is at running back where the Eagles have three players that could start for any team in the ACC. The issue is they are very banged up right now. Arguably the best of the bunch -- or at least the most productive -- Jon Hilliman (860 yards 13 touchdowns as true freshman) broke his foot last weekend and is out indefinitely. Junior Myles Willis is battling an injury and is questionable for this game, and sophomore Marcus Outlow left the game last weekend with an injury but will play against Duke.
BC broke in a new quarterback, Darius Wade, to start the year but he was lost for the season after getting injured against FSU. Troy Flutie (nephew of Doug) got the start against NIU, but was very up and down. Look for BC to bring in true freshman Jeff Smith as well to try and bring some explosiveness with designed running plays. To be frank, the Eagles have gotten pretty inconsistent production at best from quarterbacks this year.
The real struggles have been on the offensive line. BC broke in four new starters this year and the group has been substandard to how it performed in year 1 and year 2 under Addazio. Until the line is more consistent BC won't be scoring too many more points.
Q: Defensively, BC has been a beast and they showed it wasn't a fluke with how they handled Florida State. What's the strength of this unit? What are areas of improvement? Who are the key players?
Hoffses: The strength of the unit is the front four which is probably one of the best in the ACC. Inside is defensive tackle Connor Wujciak who is an All-ACC nominee. Wujciak is a run stuffing tackle that can dominate the game at times without a double team. Next to him is Mehdi Abdesmad who has shown flashes of being a dominant player throughout his career. He has had issues staying healthy but is healthy right now. Sophomore Harold Landry is starting to turn into a dominant pass rusher off the edge, which is evident by his 3.5 sacks this year.
The linebackers are strong as usual led by MIKE backer Steven Daniels who is an absolute thumper.
Heading into the season there was a lot of concern about the inexperience in the secondary. Safety Justin Simmons is probably the only experienced guy back there. So far the secondary has been good but I wonder if the issues have been covered up a little because the front four have been so good.
Q: Special teams is a strong point for Duke, particularly the return game. How does BC matchup with Duke's ability to break off big returns in both the kick and punt return games?
Hoffses: If you look at statistics, BC is in the bottom half of the ACC in punts and kickoffs. While the numbers don't lie, even Addazio commented recently that the kick coverage has been getting better each week. I don't think Duke should expect to return any kicks for touchdowns.
BC's field goal kicking was atrocious last season and was a huge question mark heading into this year. So far, new kicker Alex Howell and true freshman kicker Colton Lichtenberg have went 2-for-3. I'd say the kicking game is a big question mark heading into the first road contest.
BC has two explosive kick returners in Sherman Alston and Myles Willis. Neither player has done much to cause an opponent concern heading into this game though. That might just mean one of them is due.
Q: How do you see this game playing out?
Hoffses: I think a lot depends on the weather. If this game were to be played in a dome I'd pick Duke winning by 7-10 points. The Eagles are coming off of two really physical games in a row and are really banged up right now. It will be Flutie and Smith's first true road game which is another negative for the Eagles. Nice weather would allow Duke to test that young BC secondary.
That being said, the worse the weather is, the better chance I think BC has. If the wind is consistently around 20-25 MPH because of the hurricane then it's going to force both teams to run the ball more. That's the kind of game that BC loves to play and it would probably work in their advantage. If it's a windy and wet day I think this is a coin-flip game decided by a field goal.
https://duke.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1809481
Inside Look: Boston College
Brian McLawhorn
Devils Illustrated Publisher
Duke looks to be in store for yet another defensive battle this weekend, and with heavy rain blanketing the area, the likelihood of game expectations changing are pretty slim.
The Blue Devils will need to rely heavily on the ground game, against a defense that has proven to be outstanding against the run thus far in the season. Something will obviously have to give if Duke's going to be able to put points on the board.
Can Duke find ways to exploit BC's special teams? What will Jeremy Cash and company be faced with?
We talked with EagleAction.com senior writer Eric Hoffses to get a better look at what Boston College will bring to Durham on Saturday.
Q: After two FCS opponents to open the season, Boston College held Florida State in check and had a chance at pulling off the upset, and then knocked off a Northern Illinois team that pushed Ohio State to its brink. Is there a grasp on how good this team can be and the expectations going forward, or is the sample not big enough to gain a fair gauge?
Hoffses: The BC defense is good enough to keep the team close against just about any team in the country. On the flip side, the offense has been so bad that it has had trouble scoring against any team not named Howard and will probably continue to do so all year.
The Eagles trailed FSU 7-0 late in the third quarter of that game because the defense was just absolutely stifling. The BC defense owned that game and proved that it will keep the team in just about any game this season. I think a lot of BC fans had the team pegged for 5 or 6 wins this year, but it isn't unrealistic to think that this could be an 8 win team if the offense ever comes around.
Q: Aside from the Howard game, BC has struggled offensively. What can this offense build upon and what are the weaknesses with this unit? Key players?
Hoffses: Eagles started the year breaking in a new quarterback, a new tight end, and four new starting offensive linemen. The results have been like you'd expect and the offense has really struggled. If you throw out the Howard game, the BC offense is averaging just a tick over 13 points per game.
The strength of the offense is at running back where the Eagles have three players that could start for any team in the ACC. The issue is they are very banged up right now. Arguably the best of the bunch -- or at least the most productive -- Jon Hilliman (860 yards 13 touchdowns as true freshman) broke his foot last weekend and is out indefinitely. Junior Myles Willis is battling an injury and is questionable for this game, and sophomore Marcus Outlow left the game last weekend with an injury but will play against Duke.
BC broke in a new quarterback, Darius Wade, to start the year but he was lost for the season after getting injured against FSU. Troy Flutie (nephew of Doug) got the start against NIU, but was very up and down. Look for BC to bring in true freshman Jeff Smith as well to try and bring some explosiveness with designed running plays. To be frank, the Eagles have gotten pretty inconsistent production at best from quarterbacks this year.
The real struggles have been on the offensive line. BC broke in four new starters this year and the group has been substandard to how it performed in year 1 and year 2 under Addazio. Until the line is more consistent BC won't be scoring too many more points.
Q: Defensively, BC has been a beast and they showed it wasn't a fluke with how they handled Florida State. What's the strength of this unit? What are areas of improvement? Who are the key players?
Hoffses: The strength of the unit is the front four which is probably one of the best in the ACC. Inside is defensive tackle Connor Wujciak who is an All-ACC nominee. Wujciak is a run stuffing tackle that can dominate the game at times without a double team. Next to him is Mehdi Abdesmad who has shown flashes of being a dominant player throughout his career. He has had issues staying healthy but is healthy right now. Sophomore Harold Landry is starting to turn into a dominant pass rusher off the edge, which is evident by his 3.5 sacks this year.
The linebackers are strong as usual led by MIKE backer Steven Daniels who is an absolute thumper.
Heading into the season there was a lot of concern about the inexperience in the secondary. Safety Justin Simmons is probably the only experienced guy back there. So far the secondary has been good but I wonder if the issues have been covered up a little because the front four have been so good.
Q: Special teams is a strong point for Duke, particularly the return game. How does BC matchup with Duke's ability to break off big returns in both the kick and punt return games?
Hoffses: If you look at statistics, BC is in the bottom half of the ACC in punts and kickoffs. While the numbers don't lie, even Addazio commented recently that the kick coverage has been getting better each week. I don't think Duke should expect to return any kicks for touchdowns.
BC's field goal kicking was atrocious last season and was a huge question mark heading into this year. So far, new kicker Alex Howell and true freshman kicker Colton Lichtenberg have went 2-for-3. I'd say the kicking game is a big question mark heading into the first road contest.
BC has two explosive kick returners in Sherman Alston and Myles Willis. Neither player has done much to cause an opponent concern heading into this game though. That might just mean one of them is due.
Q: How do you see this game playing out?
Hoffses: I think a lot depends on the weather. If this game were to be played in a dome I'd pick Duke winning by 7-10 points. The Eagles are coming off of two really physical games in a row and are really banged up right now. It will be Flutie and Smith's first true road game which is another negative for the Eagles. Nice weather would allow Duke to test that young BC secondary.
That being said, the worse the weather is, the better chance I think BC has. If the wind is consistently around 20-25 MPH because of the hurricane then it's going to force both teams to run the ball more. That's the kind of game that BC loves to play and it would probably work in their advantage. If it's a windy and wet day I think this is a coin-flip game decided by a field goal.
https://duke.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1809481
