Boston College gets another crack at ending its ACC drought on Saturday, and the assignment comes with no shortage of pressure points.
The Eagles return to Alumni Stadium for the first time since a 21-14 loss to Virginia Tech on Sept. 26, and they do so still looking for their first conference win. Pitt arrives at noon ET with a 5-1 record and a 2-1 mark in ACC play, bringing a physical style that should make this a trench battle from the jump.
That’s where the game may be decided. If Boston College wants to have a shot, it has to hold its own at the line of scrimmage and keep Pitt’s run game from dictating everything.
The Panthers don’t lean on just one back, either. Sophomore Ja’Kyrian Turner, freshman Damon Ferguson Jr., and senior La’Vell Wright have formed a steady rotation, combining for 640 rushing yards and eight touchdowns through six games.
For BC, the defensive answer starts with cleaner gap control and better angles to the football. That was one of the painful lessons from the Virginia Tech loss, when Jeffrey Overturn Jr. ripped off a 76-yard touchdown run that put the Hokies in front in the fourth quarter.
Getting linebacker Bodie Kahoun back helps in a major way. He has fully recovered from the head injury he suffered against Rutgers in the Red Bandanna Game, and his return gives the Eagles another proven presence against the run.
Kahoun said, “I'm very excited,” Kahoun said of his return. “Obviously, seeing the boys on the sideline, watching them, I'm jealous to play, and I'm excited to get back out there.
They've been flying around. They've been killing it.
I'm excited to be an additional person for it now.”
Kahoun and Anthony Palano are two of Boston College’s best run defenders, and their ability to help slow Turner, Ferguson, and Wright will be one of the biggest things to watch.
On the other side of the ball, the Eagles need much better protection if they want quarterback Mason McKenzie to have any room to work. McKenzie can extend plays with his legs, but that can’t become the whole plan. Boston College has to give him a cleaner pocket if it wants any real chance of getting its passing game going.
Pitt’s quarterback situation adds another layer. The Panthers were without Mason Heintschel last week against North Carolina after he tore his ACL a game earlier, and the offense looked different with Holden Geriner taking over. If BC can make Geriner - or whoever lines up at quarterback for Pitt on Saturday, which could change - uncomfortable, that could open the door to turnovers.
That may be the most direct route for the Eagles to swing the game. Pitt’s ground game is harder to rattle, but mistakes from the quarterback position could give Boston College the short fields it needs.
More than anything, though, BC has to finish better. The Eagles have been outscored 74-46 in the second half this season, a number that tells the story of how close several of their games have been - every game except Cincinnati has basically been in the balance late.
At this point, it’s less about making a fast start than it is about playing clean, disciplined football when the game tightens up. Boston College has not done that well enough yet, and until it does, these close games will keep slipping away.
In Other News...
Boston College Suddenly Faces A New Recruiting Question Before Pitt
Boston Colleges buildup to Pitt took an unexpected turn when head coach Bill OBrien confirmed that general manager Kenyatta Watson is no longer with the program. OBrien did not get into the reasons for the departure, but he made clear the staff is moving forward in lockstep as the Eagles try to keep their footing both on the field and in the recruiting department.
The timing matters because Watson had been part of the programs recent push on the trail, helping lay the groundwork for a class that has already drawn significant early interest from younger prospects. OBrien said he feels good about the current recruiting class and insisted the focus remains on Pitt, but a change of this kind adds a fresh layer of uncertainty for a staff that was still building momentum. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Faces A Huge Momentum Test At No. 10 UNC
Boston College heads into Chapel Hill with a little something it has earned the hard way: momentum. The Eagles have strung together two wins, knocking off No. 15 Virginia and Boston University, with Klara Mueffelmann and Laila Rosenquest turning in notable performances as the roster starts to look more settled at the right time.
Now comes a much tougher measuring stick in No. 10 North Carolina, a familiar national power waiting at home. For Boston College, this is the kind of matchup that can say plenty about where the program stands, and the Eagles will need another composed showing to keep their recent surge from stalling against a Tar Heels team that still has plenty of talent on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Faces An Early ACC Test As Veterans Keep Rising
Boston College volleyball is about to find out a lot about itself in a quick ACC road swing, heading to Clemson on Oct. 16 before a trip to Georgia Tech two days later. It is an early conference measuring stick for a team that has shown plenty of promise in non-conference play, and it comes with the added backdrop of two programs the Eagles know fairly well from past meetings.
The bigger storyline, though, is how the veterans keep pushing this roster forward. Seniors Audrey Ross and Brooklyn Yelland have been central to that rise all season, giving Boston College reliable production as the ACC schedule tightens and the margins get smaller. With road points on the line and the league table starting to take shape, the Eagles are carrying both momentum and a growing sense that their upperclassmen can keep lifting them into the thick of the race. [Read more 🡒]