Boston College at Northwestern: 5 Big Questions
By Joe Micik
3. Will this game be more like Miami, Maine, or neither?
Well, it won’t be like Maine, I can tell you that right now. BC played an average game against the Black Bears and still won by 31 points, chiefly because of a sizable gap in talent between them. Northwestern is much closer to Boston College’s level, so this isn’t the sort of game where BC can go on cruise control all the way through and play the backups in the fourth quarter. It will probably be a close game, kind of like Miami was.
At the same time, it may not be as high-scoring and it may not be as sloppy as the BC/Miami game. Hey, it could be, but we don’t know that yet. Northwestern so far has been very good at holding onto the football, as they’re +4 in turnover ratio. The Eagles are -1 overall (-2 against Miami, +1 against Maine). That would lend itself a little bit against the idea that this will be a slopfest like the first game.
We do know as well that Northwestern is effective on offense. BC’s run defense, which hasn’t been the same since they peaked at #1 in the nation in 2010, will be challenged by the Wildcats, who are very good in that department.
The verdict here is definitely not like Maine, in some respects like Miami.