Pittsburgh at Boston College Pick: Scenarios & Bottom Line

The Pittsburgh at Boston College pick for Friday night’s 2014 ACC opener at Alumni Stadium. Eagles or Panthers? Best or worst-case scenarios?

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Glad you asked.

Even if you didn’t ask, we’re still telling you.

Pittsburgh at Boston College Pick: Boston College Best-Case Scenario

The Eagles come firing out of the gate, taking an early lead on a Pittsburgh defense that had little to do last week. Meanwhile, it isn’t necessarily an image of what Boston College’s defense does as what Pittsburgh’s offense does not do: the Panthers cannot move the ball with the same ease against the Eagles, becoming more of the average offensive team they were last season.

Boston College does not have the same combined rushing performance as against UMass, but they total about 250 yards on the ground and keep Pitt off the field just long enough to win by a touchdown.

Pittsburgh at Boston College Pick: Boston College Worst-Case Scenario

Boston College meets an above-average Pitt run defense, and right away, they are having trouble moving the football. Unlike last week, however, the Panthers do what the Minutemen could not in the first half: score. Boston College finds themselves in an early two-score hole, and they play from behind the whole game.

The Eagles do not vary from their offensive gameplan, but the lack of a deep passing threat limits the Eagles to dinks, dunks, and short runs in what turns into a frustrating game that Boston College loses by about ten.

Pittsburgh at Boston College Pick: The Bottom Line

This is going to probably end up being a close game, because the gap between these two teams is probably not as big as the college football media at large would have had us believe preseason. Not that they necessarily thought it was massive, but the Eagles were seen as clear underdogs.

Well, some of them do think it is a wide gap.

Boston College’s key concern should be that Pittsburgh’s run defense is not bad. With that said, they can still make a game out of it, and the Panthers are not going to come close to replicating their easy Delaware performance on offense.

Expect the Eagles defense to get gashed here and there, but the offense is a viable unit, even if one-dimensional. This game comes down to one score.

In the preseason, we might have called this a loss, and it could still be. Yet, if they are anything like the 2013 team, they will play well at Alumni Stadium and stick it to their doubters.

Pittsburgh at Boston College Pick: Detailed Pick

• Boston College 27, Pittsburgh 24
• Boston College +4.5