ACC Predictions: Boston College
The news that is coming out of Penn State today is obviously the top story in collegiate football, but despite that fact college football continues to move on.
This is the start of a 12 part article over the next three weeks that will examine every ACC team and their schedule game-by-game. I will go through the 12 ACC teams by Division alphabetically. We will start with Boston College in the Atlantic Division.
The Boston College Eagles are coming off of a 4-8 season in which they went 3-5 in ACC play. BC head coach Frank Spaziani is on the hot seat in 2012. Spaziani became the Eagles’ head coach in 2009 and he has gone 19-19 since then. He took Boston College to bowl games in his first two seasons at the helm but lost both of them. He did serve as head coach in the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl which the Eagles one, but since that time BC has been the definition of mediocre under Spaziani.
The Eagles have lost their top playmakers on each side of the ball in 2012. All-American linebacker Luke Kuechly is now in the NFL, and the all-time yards leader, Montel Harris, has been dismissed from the team due to a repeated violation of team rules.
The loss of Kuechly and Harris will loom large in 2012. Spaziani could be out the door if Boston College doesn’t end the season with a winning record.
The Eagles play the Miami Hurricanes in week 1. Miami isn’t in the best shape itself. The NCAA investigation and pending sanctions have taken its toll. The Hurricanes were able to bring in a top-10 recruiting class despite these problems. This game is in Alumni Stadium which is why it will be competitive. BC might be able to pull off this upset but as of now it seems unlikely. (Predicted BC Record 0-1).
Boston College plays Maine in week 2. Maine is a FCS school which should be an automatic win. If Spaziani and the Eagles manage to lose this game then the head coach could be headed out the door. That won’t happen Boston College will win this game. (BC Record 1-1).
Boston College hits the road for the first time in week 3 with a trip to Northwestern. The Wildcats haven’t been a pushover for a couple of years now. These teams are evenly matched which makes the venue important. The fact that this game is on the road means this is a loss for the Eagles. (BC Record 1-2).
The Eagles next game is against the Clemson Tigers. Clemson is the defending ACC champion, and has reloaded with talent. This game has the makings of a blowout. The game is at Alumni Stadium which will account for something, but not much. (BC Record 1-3).
BC then heads to a game against Army. Army has gotten better recently, but this is a game that the Eagles can win. If Boston College can handle the triple option then BC will get a much needed win (BC Record 2-3).
Boston College’s next two games are at Florida State and at Georgia Tech. As of now it appears that Boston College doesn’t have much of a chance in either game. The Eagles will lose to Florida State, probably by a large margin (BC Record 2-4). The Eagles do have an advantage against Georgia Tech in that they will have played another triple-option team, Army, two weeks prior. BC won’t have much of a chance against Georgia Tech simply because the Yellow Jackets have more talent in their system than Army does (BC Record 2-5).
BC’s next two games are winnable. The Eagles play a game at home against Maryland, and fellow hot seat head coach Randy Edsall, then BC goes to play at Wake Forest. BC will beat Maryland (BC record 3-5). The Wake Forest game is tough to call because these two teams are evenly matched when it comes to talent. Think positive Eagles’ fans (BC record 4-5).
The Eagles next game is against Notre Dame. Notre Dame has a recent history of underachieving vs. lesser opponents but the Fighting Irish will pull this game out, even if it is closer than most would predict (BC Record 4-6). Boston College then plays rival Virginia Tech in Alumni Stadium. A few years ago this was one of the premiere games in the ACC. It isn’t any longer; the Hokies are still at the top of the conference while BC has fallen off. Virginia Tech wins this game (BC Record 4-7).
BC closes out the season against NC State. The Wolf Pack should be considered a dark horse candidate to win the Atlantic Division in 2012 behind quarterback Mike Glennon. If NC State is still in the hunt for a division title by this time then the Pack will run away with the game. If they aren’t then this could be a close game, but NC State will still probably pull it out (BC Record 4-8).
The Boston College Eagles will go 4-8 in 2012, 2-6 in the ACC. Neither of which will help Frank Spaziani in his quest to keep his job.
