Boston College vs. Rutgers: Final Thoughts And Predictions

It's time to move on for the Boston College Eagles. After getting blown out at home by Kansas 48-24 they have to focus on not dropping two in a row against a struggling opponent, Rutgers. They went 1-11 last year, and have already won one game this season, but Rutgers should be a winnable game for Boston College. But there are still some major questions going into this game, and if the Eagles haven't fixed them, they could be shocked for the second week in a row. Let's take a look at my three questions going into this game.

3 Questions That Need To Be Answered

1. Has The Defense Fixed Their Numerous Issues: Last week BC was a mess in a variety of of areas on defense. They had really poor gap integrity, they got little to no pressure on the QB, and tackling was very poor. What has Bill Sheridan done to address these problems? This really should have been question 1-3, as their struggles pretty much derailed the offense by forcing them to try and score points quickly.

2. Can The Offense Get Back On Track: The offense looked pretty good through the first quarter and a half, and then fell off a cliff against Kansas. Anthony Brown struggled with his reads, the offensive line struggled, and just like the defense there were multiple mistakes. Can BC get back to what they do best, which is play a tempo style, with a mix of explosives

3. Can Anthony Brown Pick Himself Back Up? His body language said everything last week. Once the offense became predictable and throw game heavy, Brown started really pushing his throws and forcing them into spots he never should have thrown it. Hopefully he will be able to clear his mind and become the field general BC needs.

Matchups:

When Rutgers Passes The Ball: Advantage BC. As mentioned in yesterday's post on Rutgers, they haven't been able to throw the ball this season. They lost their starting quarterback Carter McLane, and will be using Artur Sitkowski who threw 4 touchdowns to 18 interceptions last year. I know BC's pass defense was shaky last week, but if they make a few turnovers which Rutgers is prone to do, they should win this battle

When Rutgers Runs The Ball: Advantage Rutgers. Isaih Pacheco had four rushing touchdowns against UMass, but struggled against Iowa. BC got shredded by Khalil Herbert and Pooka Williams last week. Until BC shows me they can stop the run game against a P5 team that can run the ball, VT doesn't count they can't run it, I am going to pick against them here.

When BC Passes The Ball: Advantage BC. Anthony Brown was not very good last week, but some of that was due to some errors by WR's, and the way the game forced BC to become one dimensional. I think he will be fine against a Rutgers passing defense that has played two teams that ran the ball.

When BC Runs The Ball: Advantage BC. Rutgers got gashed two weeks in a row on the ground which should be an ominous sign going against a run heavy team like BC, and AJ Dillon should have a big game.

Pregame Music That Will Get You Ready To Get Back In The Win Column

I'm ready for this team to get their freak back on. Let's see some unconventional blitzes, get away from that 4-3 base set, and try and pressure the heck out of Artur Sitkowski and that Rutgers offense. Make it weird Bill Sheridan, make it weird.

Beer Of The Game: Boo Yeah By Wachusett

Ok I know I am going to get slammed for picking a pumpkin beer in September, but I had to. I tried this beer last week, and was blown away at how delicious it was. Not too pumpkin-y, and a good robust Oktoberfest flavor. Miles better than Pumpkinhead, check it out if you get a chance.

Food of the Game

Is it breakfast? Yes. Is it lunch? Yes. It is delicious? Absolutely. A perfect treat that will get you ready for a noon game.

Fan Excitement Meter: 2/10

There isn't much to get excited about for this game, if BC wins convincingly they did what they are supposed to do. If they struggled or even worse lose, then well the seaso will have a whole new tenor.

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Prediction Contest

It is not too late to join our contest, BC Maven is giving away a $25 gift card to the BC Bookstore for the winner, $15 for second and $10 for third. Remember all you have to do is get your predictions in the comment section below. If you want to win, just enter your comment with your score. Good luck!

Standings: The way I score the points is by taking away the difference from each individual prediction score from the actual score combining those and getting the sum . Lowest sum gets the points. In the event of a tie, I gave two or more teams those points.

Last week we all laid an egg, just like the outcome of the game, so no points for anyone!

Txaggie_2011: 3 points
Claver 2000: 3 points
Soar22: 3 points
Big Daddy Kane: 2 points
BCStas2018: 2 points
TheThrowGame: 2 points
DollardBillsYo: 1 Point
Al_Skinner: 1 Point

AJ's Prediction: BC 31 Rutgers 27.

Think this will be closer than some expect, because this is a huge game for Chris Ash and the Scarlet Knights, however I think BC has just enough fire power on offense to win it.

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