game preview: Boston College

Date/Time: November 14, 3:30

TV: ESPN360 (it's the new ESPNUVA)

Last matchup: BC 28, UVA 17 (2005)

Last week: Miami 52, UVA 17; BC bye

History vs. the Eagles: 0-3

Line: BC by 4

Opposing blogs: BC Interruption, Eagle in Atlanta

I hope you enjoyed last year's game against Wake Forest. Even though we lost. It'll be the last one until 2013. Such is the downside of the ACC schedule - it's pretty simple to figure out if you can remember how the conferences sort out, but the permanent rival thing means you spend more years not playing half the conference than playing them. Four years ago. Just think about your own life and what was happening four years ago. This was weirder last year when it was Clemson, but still.

HOW WE CAN WIN

- This basically doesn't change for the rest of the year. Throw out the matchups and all that stuff, it doesn't matter any more. The offense is not good enough. It doesn't match up well with anything. The answer to the question "how can we win?" is the exact same for the next three games: the defense needs to be as bad-ass as it was against UNC and Maryland. And those were some pretty bad offenses themselves. The defense has to win it with big plays. Maybe block another punt. The offense can't be counted on for more than about 6, maybe 9 points if they're given some field position that's not too far away from the 50.

HOW WE CAN LOSE

- The usual, of course.

HOW THE GAME WILL GO

Badly, as usual. On paper, if we're going to steal another game this year, this'd be it. In terms of yards per game, the two teams we beat are 10th and 11th in the conference. BC is 9th. They're actually a bit better than that - yards per play is what matters, where they're 7th, and the margin between them and Maryland/UNC is actually pretty sizable. So. And their defense is pretty stingy too. BC, if they're smart, won't give Dave Shinskie the chance to have another game like the last one he had in the state of Virginia - they'll just give Montel Harris the ball over and over and over and over and keep our defense on the field, watch our offense go three and out, and repeat until the fourth quarter, at which point our defense will be too tired to be effective.

REST OF THE ACC

Georgia Tech @ Duke, 12:00 (GT would clinch the Coastal with a win, by the way)
Clemson @ NC State, 12:00
Florida State @ Wake Forest, 12:00
Virginia Tech @ Maryland, 1:00
Miami @ North Carolina, 3:30