Tiers. Remember that word we all used so freely back some years ago when HWSNBN and then El Sid were at the helm of the roundball? Well guess what? It’s reared its ugly head again. The ’16 Football version of the Pack has a few things to prove if it doesn’t want to be relegated to some afterthought bowl played before Christmas. Or even if it wants any bowl at all. Up yours Wake…this time “Tiers” actually means something going forward.
The Pack returns home this week to the friendly confines of Carter-Finley after a less than stellar two weeks on the road. First, one got away at Clemson. Then came the pasting at Louisville.
State is a perfect 4-0 at home this year. They’re also a perfect-ish 0-3 on the road. So as the title says, Homecoming never looked so good.
Offensively speaking, BC is close to the being the worst in all of FBS. Defensively, at least statistically, they’re in the top ten defensively. But again, tiers. BC’s defensive statistics are skewed by 3 wins over terrible competition, and a close loss to GT (in Ireland…which still makes me laugh even now). Clemson, VT, and even ‘Cuse had no problem against their defense. And if we fancy ourselves as even being remotely competent offensively, we better not have any trouble with them either.
Moreover, our defense needs to show up today. After allowing ‘Ville to run roughshod over us last week, the preparation needs to show that we aren’t the lollygaggers we most recently appeared to be.
With FSU looming next week, a very winnable game btw…this week needs to be free and easy. One win closer to bowl eligibility is what I expect today. 5-3 is way more betterer than 4-4. Just saying. But FSU is NEXT week. They don’t mean jack this week. And they won’t mean jack next week unless we take care of business THIS week.
The Pack is a 15 pt home favorite. We need to not only cover that, but we need to beat that spread. We need a foot on the throat mentality, and we need it now.
NC State can’t afford to look past Boston College (NewsObserver.com)
Clemson, Louisville, Boston College.
One of these things is not like the other. At least to media and fans they aren’t.
N.C. State (4-3) gets Boston College (3-4) at home on Saturday after stepping up in weight class with Clemson and Louisville the previous two weeks.
But that’s not how the Wolfpack sees the Eagles, who have won 7 of the 11 ACC games between the two schools.
“I know you guys look at it differently,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said.
Yep. Clemson is 7-0 and ranked No. 3 in the country and the Cardinals are 6-1, with only a six-point road loss to Clemson, and ranked No. 5.
Then there’s Boston College. The Eagles’ wins this season are over UMass, Wagner and Buffalo. They have lost 12 straight ACC games. They got blown out at home by Clemson (56-10) and lost a must-win home game with fellow “Atlantic Division Participant” Syracuse a week ago. They’ve also lost to both Techs to take an 0-4 ACC record into this game.
But that’s what we, with an untrained eye, see. Doeren sees a tough defense, in Clemson and Louisville’s class, and a disciplined team.
Let us all hope that DD has imparted this attitude to the team.
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Boston College Eagles vs. NC State Wolfpack Preview and Prediction (AthlonSports.com)
Turn the page, right the ship, bounce back, forget it and move on: Pick your post-loss cliché and apply it to either Boston College or NC State, because they all fit. Neither team played particularly well last weekend, so both will be looking to… well, you know.
For NC State (4-3, 1-2 ACC), the last two weeks have been extremely distressful in its own way. Two weeks ago, the Wolfpack barely missed out on a season-altering upset of undefeated Clemson, only to see it slip away late in regulation and in overtime of an eventual 24-17 loss.
[snip]
Final Analysis
Both of these defenses are pretty stout against the run, but NC State has been able to lean on the ground game with more success. And despite quarterback Ryan Finley’s struggles over the last two weeks, he is a more reliable entity at this point than what the Boston College has at that position, which is still up in the air due to Patrick Towles’ injury. Look for the Wolfpack to come out on top in a game that should be a physical confrontation in the trenches and in the run game.
Prediction: NC State 24, Boston College 13
I’ll settle for that final score, but beating the Vegas line of -15 would be preferable.
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Coach’s Corner: Evaluating BC – NC State (BCInterruption.com)
Boston College Keys To Victory:
1. Win the kicking game – NC State has an advantage in the punt game behind AJ Cole who averages 44 yards per kick. BC on the other hand is #122 in punting this season, but the rest of the NC State kicking game is non descript to say the least and the Eagles have shown that they can pop the occasional return with either Tyler Rouse or Myles Willis and Mike Knoll has become consistent, if not artistic, kicking field goals and extra points. Pack kicker Kyle Bambard went through the nightmare game at Clemson missing the game winning FG, but is 5-6 outside that game. BC needs to get the hidden yards to create positive field position situations.
[snip]
Prediction:
The Pack have been very good at home and despite not looking overly sexy on offense have put up over 500 yards in three games this season and 400 or more (397 vs Clemson) in two others. Only in the game last week at Louisville and in the hurricane vs Notre Dame has the offense bogged down. From an NC State perspective, the game this most resembles is Wake Forest. Against a poor Demon Deacon offense and a stout defense, NC State put up 527 yards in a comfortable 33-16 win riding 300 yards passing from Ryan Finley. Something similar seems in line.
NC State 27 Boston College 10
Now that’s a prediction I can get behind. And that’s coming from the BC guys, btw.
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Where to watch – ACCN (Locally on the Big 5) at 12:30pm
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Let’s Do This!!!!!
Go Pack!!!!!
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