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Kickoff: Back in prime time. Boston College has the late game Saturday night at 10:30 on ACC Network. After last week’s wild one in East Lansing, this offense has a chance to put on another show for the rest of the country. More importantly, the Eagles can back on the right side of things heading into a now much-needed early bye week.
First down: The defense – especially the secondary – is banged up. Amari Jackson, Syair Torrence and Ashton McShane are all out. Max Tucker, Carter Davis, Isaiah Farris, Marcelous Townsend, Ashton Cunningham, Rae Skyes Jr., Njita Sinkala and Marcus Upton could all be called upon to make some plays at some point.
The good news is that Stanford’s offense is really, really bad.
In two games, the Cardinal have a total of 251 passing yards. Quarterback Ben Gulbranson doesn’t have a passing touchdown. The team’s top receiver Bryce Farrell has five catches for 68 yards. CJ Williams has seven for 61. The one thing BC does have to worry about a little bit though, is running back Micah Ford, who has 134 yards on 38 carries and Stanford’s only rushing touchdown.
This pash rush should be able to get the same kind of pressure they did last week and force some bad plays for Gulbranson without worrying about the ridiculous mobility of a guy like Chiles.
Second down: You could see flashes of how good this offense could be in camp and it’s shown so far. Albeit against Fordham, BC put up 66 points and then under much tougher circumstances a week ago, put up 40 in double OT. The Cardinal gave up 23 points to Hawaii and 27 to BYU a week ago
If Dylan Lonergan is truly ‘the real deal’ like it appears he might be – remember, he’s got three years left – then this is a defense he should pick apart. I’m extremely interested to see how he is at the line of scrimmage in terms of checking into certain plays and setting protection. He was outstanding and clearly confident on the road a week ago and this won’t be nearly as tough of an environment.
The receivers are as good as we thought they’d be (especially The Big Three of Lewis Bond, Jaedn Skeete and Reed Harris), the tight ends are deep and the offensive line is pass protecting at a high level early. The only thing fans should look to see more from tonight is the running game, especially with such a deep stable of backs. Stanford gave up 96 and 157 yards on the ground its first two games.
Third down: That running game simply has to be better. Bill O’Brien, Turbo Richard and Kevin Cline all talked about it this week. They know it’s a point of emphasis and key in helping Lonergan develop even quicker. The Eagles have done most of their damage so far without the benefit of a true play action game. If Will Lawing can get the run game and then the PA off it with Dylan in a rhythm, you saw how creative some of the plays in this offense are with guys absolutely wide open against Michigan State. Who knows how good this offense can be?
Fourth down: BC needs special teams to continue what it’s doing in the kicking game and fix what’s wrong with the kickoff return coverage. The Eagles immediately gave momentum back a couple times last week after scoring because of bad coverage. The team worked on it in practice more this week and hopefully it looks better.
Meanwhile, Luca Lombardo was third in line for team MVP last week behind Lonergan and tight end Jeremiah Franklin. If BC can get continued stability at the kicker position, it’s a huge question answered that lingered throughout camp. That takes a big weight off the staff’s shoulders when it comes to playing a field position game.
Extra point: Keep a particular eye on the tackling for BC tonight. That, and the lane discipline on pass rushers too. Chiles is obviously a much different test compared to Gulbranson, but the Eagles worked a lot on tackling this week early in practice and I’d expect it to look much better. It’s also worth noting that the gang tacking was really good, the open field stuff not so much at times.
Final drive: This could also be a proverbial trap spot for BC, although it’s hard to have one of those in Week 3. This is Stanford’s home opener and the Eagles re up to a 13.5-point favorite. The Eagles re far more talented, but you never know in the weird ‘after dark’ games.
Prediction: BC 34, Stanford 10