Boston College vs. Wagner Prediction, Game Preview
Boston College vs. Wagner prediction and game preview. Projecting who wins the Week 4 matchup between the Eagles and Seahawks.
Boston College vs. Wagner prediction and game preview. Projecting who wins the Week 4 matchup between the Eagles and Seahawks.
Boston College vs. Wagner Game Preview
When: Saturday, Sept. 24 – 1:00 p.m. ET
Where: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, MA
TV Broadcast: ACC Extra
The Eagles were shockingly inept last week in their blowout loss to Virginia Tech, but things should be much better (they hope) this week against Wagner from the FCS. Before the setback to the Hokies, BC opened with a close loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin and a win over UMass.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks come in at 2-0 after wins over St. Anselm and Concordia University. Last year against FBS squads, Wagner fell to Rice 56-16 and BYU 70-6.
What To Know About Boston College
The Eagles must forget about what happened in Blacksburg and instead try to work on some of the things that went wrong. Wagner should be thoroughly overwhelmed by BC, but that remains to be seen considering the offense has looked vanilla. This is when head coach Steve Addazio needs to be more creative and see what he has with a young player such as Davon Jones. Outside of a 73-yard touchdown run against Georgia Tech, Jon Hilliman has just 85 yards on 48 rushes, which will certainly bog down even the most prolific of offenses.
What to Know About Wagner
Jason Houghtaling is in his second season at the helm after replacing the legendary Walt Hameline, who led the Seahawks for 34 seasons. In his first year as head man, Houghtaling notched just one win. The strength of this offense is at running back, where Denzel Knight and Matthias McKinnon make a potent pair. Defensively, the team’s 2015 numbers were skewed a bit because of the blowout losses to the two FBS squads. Still, the Seahawks did give up 30 or more points in nine of their eleven contests last season.
Advantages
Offense: Boston College. Even with the Eagles not reaching triple figures in total yards until late in the third quarter against Virginia Tech, they have the edge over their FCS opponent.
Defense: Boston College. The Eagles came into the Virginia Tech disaster ranked third nationally in total defense, allowing just 180 yards per game.
Special Teams: Even. The Eagles have had field-goal issues this season, which is problematic for a team that has trouble finding the end zone.
Coaching: Boston College. Addazio faces an uphill battle getting his players refocused after last week.
Intangibles: Boston College. While Wagner has nothing to lose, BC knows that things can’t get much worse after last week’s debacle against the Hokies.
Matchup To Watch
Patrick Towles vs. An overmatched FCS squad
The Kentucky transfer likely won’t face too much pressure from the Wagner defensive front this week, but he still needs to get rid of the football a lot quicker moving forward. That was something he struggled with against the Hokies. BC needs him to provide a steady and consistent hand at the quarterback position.
Boston College vs. Wagner Betting Odds
Spread: Boston College -39
Over/Under: 45
Boston College vs. Wagner Prediction
The Eagles bounce back in a big way—as big as an anemic offense can get. The coaching staff really needs to open things up on that side of the ball if they want to compete for a minor bowl bid.
Boston College vs. Wagner Score Prediction: Boston College 31, Wagner 10
