Boston College opens ACC play Saturday afternoon at home against unbeaten Virginia Tech, with the Eagles looking to keep their momentum rolling in Chestnut Hill.
Boston College enters at 2-1 and has strung together back-to-back wins after a season-opening 34-15 loss to Cincinnati. The Eagles handled Rutgers 28-21 before edging Maine 22-16 in their last outing.
Virginia Tech arrives at 3-0 and has been piling up wins in convincing fashion. The Hokies opened with a 73-3 rout of VMI, followed that with a 44-21 victory over Old Dominion, and beat Maryland 35-26 last time out.
The game also brings together captains for both sides. Boston College’s group is Mason McKenzie, Michael Crounse, Zeke Moore, KP Price and Anthony Palano. Virginia Tech’s captains are George Ballance, Tyson Flowers, Benji Gosnell, Ethan Grunkemeyer, John Love and Kaleb Spencer.
These teams last met on Oct. 17, 2024, in Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech came away with a 42-21 win.
Boston College’s projected lineup features Mason McKenzie, Grayson Wilson and Femi Babalola at quarterback; Evan Dickens, Bo MacCormack III, Nolan Ray and Mekhi Dodd at running back; Johnathan Montague Jr., Reed Swanson or Landon Wright, Javarius Green, Jackson Wade, Dawson Pough, Jaedn Skeete and Nedrick Boldin Jr. at receiver; and Zeke Moore, Brady Clough or Danny Edgehille and Bryce Lewis at tight end.
Up front, the Eagles list Veguer “JuJu” Jean-Jumeau or Trevon Humphrey, Pape Abdoulaye Sy, Robert Smith IV, Owen Snively, DJ Williams, Amir Johnson, Judah Pruitt, Kristian Phillips or Reggie Jackson.
On defense, Boston College’s front includes Kris Jones, E’Lla Boykin, Israel Oladipupo, Cameron McGee, KJ Sampson, Josiah Griffin, Gavin Neil, Micah Amedee, Christian Hudson, Chuck Nnaeto, Demetrius Ballard, Onye Nwosisi, Favor Bate and Demeterius Thompson. The linebackers are Anthony Palano, Justin Medlock, Zacari Thomas or Kemori Dixon and Griffin Collins. In the secondary, the Eagles list KP Price, Charlie Comella, Cameron Martinez, Ashton Cunningham or Syair Torrence, Njita Sinkala, Charlie Comella or Max Tucker, Marcelous Townsend or Michael Mankaka, Marcus Upton, TJ Green, Carter Davis and Da’Jon Green or Kameron Howard.
Boston College’s specialists are Cooper Crook or John Owens at long snapper, Bryce LaFollette and Andy Quinn at punter, Luca Lombardo and Jonathan Hewitt at kicker, and Bryce LaFollette at holder. For return duties, the Eagles list Cameron Martinez or Charlie Comella and Javarius Green on punt returns, with T.J. Green or Bo MacCormack III or Johnathan Montague Jr. on kickoff returns.
In Other News...
Virginia Tech Passed Its First Road Test Thanks To One Breakout Hero
Virginia Tech navigated its first road test of the season in the kind of conditions that can flatten even a confident team, then left Alumni Stadium with a 21-14 win over Boston College and a 4-0 start for the first time since 2017. The Hokies had to fight through adverse weather and a halftime deficit, but the game turned on a performance that gave the offense the spark it needed when things started to tighten.
Jeffrey Overton Jr. was the difference, powering the comeback with a career-high 209 rushing yards and a 76-yard touchdown run late in the game. For a Virginia Tech team trying to prove its early momentum can travel, the result was encouraging in more ways than one, even if the road to finding a true identity still feels like it is only beginning. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Tech May Have Found Its New Lead Back
Virginia Tech left Alumni Stadium with a hard-earned 21-14 win over Boston College, and the most encouraging part for the Hokies may have been the way the ground game carried them through a tight, fourth-quarter battle. Jeffrey Overton Jr. delivered the kind of burst that can change a backfield conversation, breaking loose for a 76-yard touchdown run late and finishing with 209 yards on 25 carries.
For a Virginia Tech offense looking for a reliable lead runner, Overtons night offered a clear case for expanded responsibility. Boston College kept things close behind quarterback Mason McKenzie, who did plenty of damage on the ground with 138 rushing yards and two touchdowns, but the Hokies answered when it mattered most and may have come away with more than just a road win. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Let A Winnable ACC Game Slip Away Late
Boston College had plenty to like for much of the afternoon, with Mason McKenzie doing damage on the ground and the Eagles carrying an eight-point lead late against Virginia Tech. McKenzie finished with 111 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Boston College looked for stretches like the better team in a game it needed to finish.
Virginia Tech, though, kept chipping away as Boston Colleges issues on third downs and penalties piled up. The Hokies eventually tied it with a late touchdown and two-point conversion, then finished the job with a 76-yard rushing score from Jeffrey Overturn Jr., turning a winnable ACC game into another tough lesson for the Eagles. [Read more 🡒]