Boston College at UMass: Eagles Open as 14.5-Point Favorites
By Joe Micik
It’s never too early to look at point spreads, and the upcoming Boston College at UMass football game on August 30 has already been assigned an opening line.
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Vegas Insider has made the Boston College Eagles 14.5-point favorites over the Massachusetts Minutemen for each team’s season opener next month down the road in Foxboro. The line has already dropped to 14 points even at one outfit, but expect some minor fluctuations over the next four or five weeks.
We already know that the once and present UMass head coach Mark Whipple considers this game to be “biggest home game we’ve ever had in the history of the school,” so expect the Minutemen to throw whatever they have at the Eagles as they look to start their season right.
Unfortunately for them, their transition to FBS is an ongoing process. Last season, that road was particularly rough as UMass went 1-11, their only win coming over Miami of Ohio, a team that went 0-12 but lacked the excuse the Minutemen had. Seven of the Massachusetts losses were by 20 points or more, including a 45-0 season-opening loss at Wisconsin, a 32-3 loss at Buffalo, and a 51-23 shellacking by Ohio University.
As for the Eagles, we know their issues. There is talent being replaced, but there is other talent being gained; namely, Tyler Murphy, Jon Hilliman and Marcus Outlow, Harold Landry, and Ian Silberman.
The spread is fair. With still a month to go, injuries and other factors can greatly affect the product that actually touches the field for Boston College at UMass. This acknowledges that the Eagles are the program in the better shape without going to either extreme. One extreme would be overplaying the losses of Andre Williams, Chase Rettig, Alex Amidon, et al., and the other would be potentially underrating any improvements the Minutemen may have made under Whipple.