Boston College at NC State Opening Line & The Basics

Even during the offseason, we here had identified Boston College at NC State on October 11 as the kind of game upon which the outcome of the season could hinge. It most certainly looks that way now as the Eagles are bound for Raleigh.

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Back then, we might have collectively figured that Boston College would be 3-2 heading down there. In fact, that would have been a very good guess, even though the Eagles got there in an unexpected way.

With a win over a vulnerable NC State squad, the Eagles are 4-2 and have a chance to figure things out with regards to bowl eligibility. However, with a loss, Boston College is 3-3 and put themselves in a position to have to pull at least one more upset, possibly against Louisville or Clemson.

The season is not over with a loss, but there is a definite sense that Boston College’s season could go either way based upon what happens here.

The game primer:

Boston College at NC State Opening Line

NC State -4

Boston College at NC State: Us

• Head Coach Steve Addazio (2nd; 10-8)
• Last game: defeated by Colorado State, 24-21
• This season: 3-2 (0-1 ACC)
• First game outside Massachusetts this season
• Won only other road game so far (Foxboro vs. UMass)

Boston College at NC State: Them

• Head Coach Dave Doeren (2nd; 7-11)
• Last game: defeated by Clemson, 41-0
• This season: 4-2 (0-2 ACC)
• Have already exceeded 2013 win total (3)
• NC State is 0-10 in the ACC under Doeren so far

Boston College at NC State: The Game

• 12th all-time meeting between Eagles and Wolfpack
• Boston College leads series, 7-4
• Most recent meeting: BC wins, 38-21 at Alumni Stadium (2013)
• The home team has won each game since 2009

• Saturday, October 11, 2014, 3:30pm ET
• TV: ESPN3
• Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Long-range forecast: Scattered storms, 76

Boston College at NC State: Initial Evaluation

Both teams are coming off of bad losses; games that were awful in their own special way. For Boston College, they blew a winnable game in the final minutes and dealt themselves a bowl-eligibility setback. As for the Wolfpack, they were never in the game against Clemson, and Jacoby Brissett played very poorly, amongst others.

This is a big game for both, for similar reasons. NC State loaded up on cupcakes in their first four games, barely winning a few of those, before losing both of their ACC games to date. The Wolfpack will try to hit the brakes on the losing in-conference before things spiral out of control again. Boston College needs the game to give themselves a realistic shot at making it to six wins before they enter a difficult second half.

The point spread opened at NC State -6 and is already down to four; yet, as we saw with Colorado State, it sometimes does not mean a thing.