AJ Dillon Returns To The Site Of Career Day When Boston College Faces Louisville
When Boston College travels to Louisville this Saturday, star running back AJ Dillon will be making his return to the stomping ground that put him on the national radar as a true freshman.
The last time the Eagles played down in Louisville in October of 2017, Dillon cut up the Cardinals on the ground with a career-best 272 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead Boston College to a barn-burning 45-42 victory.
“I have been really working on just being a physical runner,” Dillon said after the game. “I had the opportunities that I had because the O-line did their jobs, the receivers did their jobs blocking downfield and our defense for holding them.”
To that point, Dillon only eclipsed 100 rushing yards once and had not scored multiple touchdowns. But then that explosive afternoon in Louisville seemed to mark a turning point in his freshman season as he went on to average 179 rushing yards in five of his last six games. He also scored eight touchdowns in that span en route to winning ACC rookie of the year and offensive rookie of the year honors.
"[Louisville was] a red stamp game for him," said head coach Steve Addazio "He crashed on to the scene as a dominant tailback with some of the runs he had and the way he flung a couple of defenders off. That was a big day for him down there for sure."
Even 21 games later, Dillon's performance against the Cardinals still marks his career-best totals in yards and touchdowns. He has not gone over 200 yards or scored made it into the endzone four times since then.
When Dillon takes the field in Cardinal Stadium on Saturday, he will look to replicate that success against the 45th ranked rushing defense in the country and one that gave up three rushing touchdowns to Florida State's Cam Akers last week.
Louisville was able to avoid Dillon's impact last season when he missed the week seven matchup against the Cardinals with an ankle injury but BC was able to manage a 38-20 win in that game regardless. The Eagles currently ride a two-game win streak over Louisville and Dillon can help make some history in the rivalry this Saturday.
If the Eagles were to win, he would help to deliver the program's first three-game win streak over the Cardinals in the history of the rivalry. A win would also even the all-time series at 6-6.
Will it take another career day to just etch out a win over the Cardinals like in 2017? Will the Eagles cruise to victory regardless of Dillon's impact like last season's matchup? Or will Louisville stand up take its revenge against Dillon to stay on the right side of the all-time record? Find out Saturday when Louisville hosts Boston College at 12:30 PM ET at Cardinal Stadium, televised on CHSS.