Maine at Boston College: 5 Big Questions
By Joe Micik
Bob DeChiara-US PRESSWIRE
Maine at Boston College: 5 Big Questions — #3
Maine’s defense has been good against lesser opposition in their first two games. Do they pose any threat to the Eagles?
Most likely not, but at this point, it is difficult to know how good or bad Maine’s defense actually is.
What we have at our disposal is two games worth of empirical data against other teams with which Boston College would probably wipe the floor. As they have not faced a team as good or talented as the Eagles this season, we have little basis to say conclusively what they can or cannot do.
If we were to guess, however, it is a smart bet to assume that Maine’s defensive stats will inflate to a significant degree following Saturday’s game. The Eagles looked offensively clueless on September 5 against a legitimate team in Pittsburgh and still scored 20 points, so it stands to reason that they will probably be able to move the football a lot easier against Maine than the Black Bears’ opposition.
Few are likely afraid of numbers like nine points allowed per game or 200-something yards of total defense per game, but again, this is about respecting your opponent. Boston College cannot go out onto the field and take Maine’s FCS status for granted: they have to be opportunistic in exploiting it.