Boston College Football: Welcome To Wake Forest Week!

Can BC take a win at home against a ranked team?

With Rutgers now firmly in the rear view mirror, the focus now moves back into the ACC schedule. Now up? The Wake Forest Demon Deacons, a team that has been a measuring stick for the Eagles in year's past. Last season the Eagles went down to Winston-Salem in a game pushed up due to a hurricane, and rode the wave of six explosive plays, and five touchdown passes from Anthony Brown to take out Wake Forest in a shoot out 41-34. This year will a little different, as Wake is coming into this game ranked #24 in the country, which has spelled trouble for Steve Addazio in the past as he has gone 1-19 against ranked teams during his tenure at Chestnut Hill. 

Wake Forest has been impressive this year with a big exciting win over Utah State in what arguably could be one of the best games of the year. They also outdueled Sam Howell and UNC two weeks ago, while beating up on Rice and Elon. The biggest story for the Deacs is the play of quarterback Jamie Newman. The junior quarterback has been electric throwing for 1278 yards, 12 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He leads the ACC in almost every category including passing yards per game and quarterback rating. Newman is a dual threat QB, which could be trouble for the Eagles as he leads the Demon Deacons in rushing with 55 attempts for 160 yards and 3 touchdowns. And of course they still have running back Cade Carney who tore up BC last year for 116 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball they can still give up points like last year, Utah State put up 35 against them. But can BC keep up if this another shoot out? We will have to see what BC team shows up on Saturday. 

Storylines Going Into This Game: Against BC Artur Sitkowski and Carter Stevens were efficient and could move the ball easily. What could a QB like Jamie Newman do? Can the Eagles hold their own against a team that runs a very effective RPO offense? What Anthony Brown will show up in a game that will require BC to score often and probably move the ball through the air?

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Vegas Line: Wake Forest (-3)

Random Wake Forest Factoid: Wake Forest's winningest coach is W.C Dowd who coached the first Wake Forest football team to a 100% winning percentage in 1888. Ok, well he only coached one game in his career defeating UNC, but the statistic still stands. 

Player To Watch: Mike Palmer. If Isaiah McDuffie plays, he would have been my player to watch, but at this point I have no clue if he will be ready. He would be a huge factor in terms of solidifying that linebacker position. But for this game I am going to go with a safety that needs to build on his success at the end of the Rutgers game. Palmer as mentioned before struggled with tackles and was burned a few times in coverage. If BC wants to slow down this fast paced Wake Forest offense, Palmer needs to have a big game. Keep the plays in front of you, and limit the explosive plays. If he can hold receivers to manageable yards, and finish his tackles that would be a great sign for the Eagles.