You can’t hear but feel a little bad for the Boston College Eagles. This offense is one of the hardest to watch in college football, but somehow the team keeps doing just enough for Steve Addazio to keep his job. Addazio is now in his fifth year as coach of Boston College and the team is the same as always. The Eagles are solid on defense, but moving the ball on offense is a chore. They are the clearly the worst team in a loaded ACC Atlantic and will have their hands full when a very good Virginia Tech Hokies squad comes to town.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 6 game is set for Saturday, October 7, 2017, at 7:15 p.m.
ET at BC Alumni Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts. This game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Virginia Tech -16.5
Boston College +16.5
Over/Under 48.5
Odds Analysis
Early action has been wild in this one. Virginia Tech opened as a 17-point favorite, but the line went down to 14 quickly. As of Tuesday morning, the line is back up to 16.5 points and a small push will get it back to its original number.
The Eagles are 2-3 ATS this season, but have covered their last two games. They were tied with Clemson in the fourth quarter two weeks ago, and picked up a 28-8 win over Central Michigan last week to cover 10 points. Under has been a solid bet in BC games this year with a record of 4-1.
Before falling to Clemson last week, Virginia Tech was seen as the team to beat in the ACC Coastal. The Hokies knocked off West Virginia in their opener and had gone 4-0 SU, covering against all three of their FBS opponents in the process. However, they were just outclassed by Clemson last week and didn’t come close to covering.
Key Stat
In a potential low-scoring game, it’s very important to have great special teams play. Unfortunately for the Hokies, they do not have a reliable kicker.
Joey Slye has been perfect on extra points this season, but has been inaccurate from every distance this season. Slye has hit just eight of 14 field goals and half of those misses were from within 40 yards. He does have a big leg and has hit a 50-yarder this season, but the lack of accuracy is a potential problem for Virginia Tech.
Boston College doesn’t have a great field goal kicker either, but he has been more steady. Colton Lichtenberg has missed three field goals this season, two of them coming last week against Central Michigan. However, he has hit six of his seven attempts between 30 and 49 yards and is more dependable than Slye.
Player to Watch
Josh Jackson has been very good since being named the starting quarterback at the start of the year. Jackson has not disappointed anyone with his play, completing 65.4 percent of his passes on the season and averaging 8.7 yards per throw. Those are good numbers for any quarterback, but great ones for a freshman quarterback just starting to get a feel for the college game.
He isn’t as good of a runner as Jerod Evans was, but has been decent when asked to move the ball with his feet. Jackson might need to do that against a team that is 123rd in the nation in run defense and 12th in the nation in pass defense.
Free ATS Pick
If you think this total is a little high, take another look at Boston College’s numbers against the run. The Eagles are allowing 5.7 yards per carry and have already given up 15 rushing touchdowns this season. That’s with a schedule that has only had two good teams too. BC might not win another game until mid-November at this rate. Virginia Tech should roll over this team.
College Football Odds: Virginia Tech 45, Boston College 13
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