Boston College at North Carolina: Opening Line & The Basics
By Joe Micik
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
No more bye weeks for the Boston College Eagles football team as they get ready for six uninterrupted weekends of games to end the 2013 regular season. They will start their second half on the road, as they take on the North Carolina Tar Heels for the first time in four years.
Your initial look at the game:
Boston College at North Carolina: The Line
• Opening Favorite: North Carolina -10
• Current Favorite: North Carolina -8
Boston College at North Carolina: Us
• Head Coach Steve Addazio (1st; 3-3)
• Last game: defeated by Clemson, 24-14
• This season: 3-3 (1-2 ACC)
• 0-3 against North Carolina football since joining ACC in 2005
• Have not won in Chapel Hill (three attempts)
• Last road win: November 25, 2011 (Miami)
• 0-2 on road this season
• Last win vs. UNC: Continental Tire Bowl, Dec. 30, 2004
Boston College at North Carolina: Them
• Head Coach Larry Fedora (2nd; 9-9)
• Last game: defeated by Miami, 27-23
• This season: 1-5 (0-3)
• Only home win vs. Middle Tennessee State on September 7
• Three-game win streak vs. Boston College
Boston College at North Carolina: The Game
• 7th all-time meeting between Eagles and Tar Heels
• BC 2-4 all-time against North Carolina
• BC 0-3 all-time against North Carolina in true road games
• Last meeting: November 21, 2009 at BC: North Carolina 31, Boston College 13
• Saturday, October 26, 2013, 3:30pm ET
• “TV:” ESPN3
• Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC
• Long-range Forecast: Partly cloudy, 58
• STG New Difficulty Rank: 6th of 12
Boston College at North Carolina: Initial Evaluation
Vegas really does not like the Eagles here as they’ve made a 1-5 team almost a double-digit favorite at home against a team that has actually played decently over the last several games. It could be because they don’t trust Boston College to win a road game, or because they think the Tar Heels are that much better on paper, or for any other reason. It might also be that they believe North Carolina is better than their 1-5 record, which is true to an extent, but they make mistakes. This is a team, in addition to giving up over 600 yards to East Carolina, is 103rd in the nation in penalty yards per game (63.2) and has a few miscues to its credit (e.g. blocked field goal for a touchdown last week). Not all of North Carolina’s fundamentals are bad, but they’ve shot themselves in the foot often enough that their 2013 is nearly a lost cause.
As for Boston College, it has been almost two years since their last road win. One way or another, they’re probably going to get at least one this season (if they can’t beat New Mexico State, they can’t beat anyone). Despite being 1-5, North Carolina has shown some fight and this is a key swing game for the Eagles’ season. If they can put forth the same sort of effort they brought to Clemson, they can absolutely win and give themselves some wiggle room with regards to bowl eligibility. If they lose, all is not lost, but an opportunity will be to beat a conference team while they’re down.