Villanova at Boston College: Bottom Line and Pick

The good news is that Soaring to Glory football picks last season had a high level of accuracy, going 10-2. The bad news is that Soaring to Glory football picks last season had a high level of accuracy, given that BC lost ten games. Hey, don’t shoot the messenger, but I think we all plan on picking the Eagles a few more times this year.

Villanova at Boston College: Bottom Line

Boston College is not going to get an easier game on the schedule this year. Army at home in October looks like it will also be quite winnable, ditto with New Mexico State on the road, but the immutable truth is that the Villanova Wildcats are an FCS team and Boston College plays in a BCS conference. The difference in talent there alone would make any BCS conference team a favorite. Villanova is a top-5 or top-10 FCS team entering this season and BC just had its worst season in 35 years, and BC is still more than a two-touchdown favorite. If that doesn’t clearly demonstrate the difference between these two levels, then I don’t know what will.

Bad things can happen. Ask Michigan how they feel about Appalachian State. Games like that happen when your team gets complacent, the other guys get a couple breaks, and your guys actually have to think about how they plan to win the game, but by then, it’s too late. Steve Addazio is a lot of things, but complacent is not one of them. If you believe the coach when he says he wants maximum effort on every play, he is not going to let the Eagles go into this game thinking it’s an easy win. Addazio did not have to be here the last few years to know that Boston College has a lot to prove and these guys have to earn back their respect on every play.

The reality is that Boston College is most likely going to win. We have heard that not every practice this week went well — if BC were opening against Clemson, I’d be more concerned, but identifying these problems mean the players will have to work even harder. Winning is not easy and this game cannot be regarded as such, but despite all of the attention paid to the talent and overall lack of depth, BC has the top-string talent to win this game comfortably.

Villanova at Boston College: Pick

• Composite Score Projection: Boston College 34, Villanova 17 (BC by 17)
• Best-Case Projection: Boston College 41, Villanova 13 (BC by 28)
• Worst-Case Projection: Boston College 27, Villanova 21 (BC by 6)
• Eagles likely to score at least 30 points (80% chance)
• Eagles somewhat likely to cover point spread (-15.5; 55% chance)