Pittsburgh at Boston College: 5 Big Questions
By Joe Micik
Nov 23, 2013; College Park, MD, USA; Boston College Eagles defensive lineman
Brian Mihalik(99) sacks Maryland Terrapins quarterback
C.J. Brown(16) during the first half at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Pittsburgh at Boston College: 5 Big Questions — #3
How will the Boston College defense handle an actual FBS offense?
Certainly not as well as they handled UMass. The Eagles held the Minutemen to seven points, which came off of one very, very bad play in which coverages were blown and the whole defense got smoked like Texas barbecue ribs.
Aside from that, they bent but did not break, and at times did not even bend.
Nobody in their right mind can or should expect that the Panthers will be as hopelessly incompetent offensively as UMass. Though the stats coming into this season show Pitt has not been a rip-roaring offensive team, they are also not at the bottom of the FBS division like Boston College’s Week 1 opponent. It should not need to be said, but Pittsburgh is not as good at this level of play as their 62-point pantsing of Delaware.
The safe bet would be to say that the Eagles defense will have its moments but that they will allow multiple scores, probably 20 points or more.