Wake Forest 27 Boston College 24: Three Stars
3rd Star- AJ Dillon
Starting running back AJ Dillon had a typical AJ Dillon game, rushing 23 times to the tune of 159 yards with an impressive 6.9 yards a clip. Wake was Dillon’s 3rd straight game rushing for 150 yards or more. His lone reception was a 33 yard game that gave BC another devastating explosive play. We’ve seen AJ slowly become more involved in the passing game, hopefully this trend continues because Dillon is electric on those check down passes in open space forcing linebackers to go one on one to lunge and leap which is usually not effective. A nightmare matchup.
2nd Star David Bailey
Dillon’s backup is showing us why BC's running back position is in good hands once he departs for the NFL. Although he carried the ball just 9 times for 44 yards, every time he touched the ball it was a solid gain. Bailey had 4 catches with 33 yards and a shovel pass from Anthony Brown for a touchdown as well. The play that stuck out in particular was when a Wake Forest linebacker met him in the hole and as Mark Herzlich noted, was in perfect form to make the tackle yet Bailey just lowered his shoulder and ran him over with the boom stick. Bailey’s biggest play of the day surprisingly was not with his feet but his arm! With BC trailing 27-17 and in the red zone it looked as if the Eagles were calling yet another running play. Just as it seemed Bailey was to get buried for an infuriating loss he surprised everyone and threw a beautiful ball to Chris Garrison. Perfect passer rating, perhaps we got a QB controversy on our hands!
1st Star Jon Lamot
I think its safe to simply say, Jon Lamot is a BEAST. The linebacker finished with 17 tackles doing everything he could for a defense that has been struggling all year. Cousins with Wake Forest Quarterback Jamie Newman, these two had a personal family feud and man did they put on a show. There was an instance where Lamot pressured Newman and after the play they were laughing butting heads and you can just tell this kid loves to play football. Going forward BC will need Lamot to continue to stand up and be the leader and difference maker of this defense. We haven't seen a tackle machine like this since Luke Kuechly and yes it is a stretch to make the comparison, but it is a welcome sight to see a high motor line backer making those plays.
Honorable Mention- Sam Johnson dancing during a timeout in the fourth quarter on screen - Can we burn his redshirt?