Week #6: Boston College (Predictions and Discussion)

[jpfalcon09]

Bowling Green Falcons (3-1) (1-0 MAC)

at Minnesota W 32-31 OT
at Michigan State L 28-17
Temple W 48-35
Western Kentucky W 41-21

Team Leaders:
Passing: Tyler Sheehan, 127-190 66.8%, 1304 YDS, 10 TD, 4 INT, 133.7 Rating
Rushing: Chris Bullock, 28 carries, 128 yards, 0 TD
Receiving: Freddie Barnes, 29 receptions, 318 yards, 3 TD
Tackling: John Haneline, 46, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble

The Falcons are coming off 2 wins in a row at home where they have scored a combined 89 points. The Falcons have averaged 34.5 points a game, while giving up 28.8, and also have a +8 turnover margin. P.J. Mahone leads the team with 3 interceptions. The offense is heavily geared towards throwing the ball, as the Falcons are #1 in the MAC in passing offense and #8 in the NCAA at 339.8 Yds./G. This is the 4th and final out of conference game for Bowling Green.

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# 6/#7Boston College Eagles (5-0, 3-0 ACC)

Wake Forest W 38-28
NC State W 37-17
at #15 Georgia Tech W 24-10
Army W 37-17
UMass W 24-14

Team Leaders:
Passing: Matt Ryan, 136-223 61% 1545 YDS, 11 TD, 5 INT, 131.0 Rating
Rushing: Andre Callender, 90 carries, 463 yards, 5 TD
Receiving: Brandon Robinson, 28 receptions, 376 yards, 3 TD
Tackling: Jamie Silva, 43 tackles, .5 TFL, 2 interceptions

The Eagles are off to the best start in 50 years and are ranked in the Top 10 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. QB Matt Ryan has been solid all year, and the offense is averaging 32.0 PPG. The Eagles defense has been very opportunistic, creating 13 turnovers in 5 games. They have for the most part dominated their schedule, and of course have the key win at GA Tech.

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Tough game for the Falcons, but it does lie before the Eagles play Notre Dame. Was Saturday's 10-point win against UMass a game in which the Eagles looked past, or were the Minutemen a feisty team? Should be a high scoring game nonetheless.

BC 45
BG 31

I see BG hanging around for 3 quarters, but BC's depth and size wears us down eventually in the 4th with the Eagles coming away with a 2 score victory. Sheehan and Ryan should slug it out and both defenses will likely be very busy.

[Class of 61]

My biggest concern is that BC will be able to run the FBall at will...at least Ryan isn't the scrambler that the kid from WKY....but if we give up 300+ yards rushing to BC, it won't be pretty...
Our "depth" at the D-line position, IMO, has been decimated... If Nick Davis can't go...and Michael Ream's "suspension" continues.... we'll have about 4-5 able bodies to play the entire game...not good, when you're trying to stop the rush...or .. trying to get some pressure on a very good QB, who's being mentioned now for Heisman consideration.

[BGSUFootballFan]

BG- 38
#6 BC- 35


Why not? I think we have a good team this year and we have a history of playing way over our heads against highly ranked opponents. It would be the biggest win in school history in terms of rankings and I think that will motivate the crap out of our players!

Also winning is contagious. Now at 3-1 and with the Minny upset already under our belts our players should fully believe they are capable of winning this game!

[ZuluWarrior]

BG 36
BC 35

BG goes for two with 12 seconds remaining and the aggressive decision works again as Sheehan finds Barnes in the end zone.

[hutchirish]

BC 41
BG 31

but i sure hope i am wrong!

[The Niz]

I had been very doubtful last night and earlier today about this victory. But FootballFan makes a good point. We, as a school, play over our heads against better competition. I don't even know right now what winning out the rest of the season could mean for this team, but I would sure love to find out.

We will make a big play late in the game.


BG 38
BC 35

[svillefalcon]

BC - 38
BG - 28

I hope I'm wrong. But, a good, injury free game is all I am hoping for. To expect victory against a top ten team is out of the question, but if we do play a perfect game we can win. I expect us to make a few mistakes that will end up costing us the ball game.

[OJ1969]

Hey guys. BC fan here. I figure this is a big game and wanted to give you a little info on BC.

Despite the ranking, we are far from a perfect team. We have not played very well of late and were lucky to beat Army and UMass. So, this game will be a huge challenge for us.

The big problem we have is the lack of a running game. When you run the ball close to 40 times against a Div 1AA team, 125 yards is inevitable - not special. The reality is we have three very average running backs. Callendar is Ok in the passing game, but is not much of a speed threat. Whitworth is slow and has trouble finding holes. Brooks is a fumbler and a major liability in the passing game. Overall, we could not get 300 yards against a team of girl scouts.

Th other problem we have is our pass defense is terrible. So far, teams have been able to throw at will if they have a decent QB. We got lucky against NC State as their QB is terrible. GT did not try to throw much, which was fortunate.

The strength of the team is Matt Ryan. But, he seems to be regressing. Maybe it is the hype going to his head. He can carry the team by himself and tends to get it together when needed. Lately, the offense has been terrible, but we are hoping it turns around quick.

The other strength is the run defense. We stop everyone.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some perspective.

I predict (hope) BC 35 BGSU 27

[Falcon137]

Hey guys. BC fan here. I figure this is a big game and wanted to give you a little info on BC.

Despite the ranking, we are far from a perfect team. We have not played very well of late and were lucky to beat Army and UMass. So, this game will be a huge challenge for us.

The big problem we have is the lack of a running game. When you run the ball close to 40 times against a Div 1AA team, 125 yards is inevitable - not special. The reality is we have three very average running backs. Callendar is Ok in the passing game, but is not much of a speed threat. Whitworth is slow and has trouble finding holes. Brooks is a fumbler and a major liability in the passing game. Overall, we could not get 300 yards against a team of girl scouts.

Th other problem we have is our pass defense is terrible. So far, teams have been able to throw at will if they have a decent QB. We got lucky against NC State as their QB is terrible. GT did not try to throw much, which was fortunate.

The strength of the team is Matt Ryan. But, he seems to be regressing. Maybe it is the hype going to his head. He can carry the team by himself and tends to get it together when needed. Lately, the offense has been terrible, but we are hoping it turns around quick.

The other strength is the run defense. We stop everyone.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some perspective.

I predict (hope) BC 35 BGSU 27

So in summary BC can't run the ball or defend the pass. BG in turn can't stop the run and can't run the ball themselves. This is going to be very very interesting....

BG-38
BC-35

[falconfan1999]

I like BG's chances here. I think that we will give BC more than they bargained for and will eliminate another BCS school from a list of possible opponents who will ever come to the Doyt after we beat them!

BG -34
BC -31


A defensive stand, featuring PJ Mahone and Erique Dozier making big plays will seal the win! Big Briggs will be a factor as well!

[jpfalcon09]

Hey guys. BC fan here. I figure this is a big game and wanted to give you a little info on BC.

Despite the ranking, we are far from a perfect team. We have not played very well of late and were lucky to beat Army and UMass. So, this game will be a huge challenge for us.

The big problem we have is the lack of a running game. When you run the ball close to 40 times against a Div 1AA team, 125 yards is inevitable - not special. The reality is we have three very average running backs. Callendar is Ok in the passing game, but is not much of a speed threat. Whitworth is slow and has trouble finding holes. Brooks is a fumbler and a major liability in the passing game. Overall, we could not get 300 yards against a team of girl scouts.

Th other problem we have is our pass defense is terrible. So far, teams have been able to throw at will if they have a decent QB. We got lucky against NC State as their QB is terrible. GT did not try to throw much, which was fortunate.

The strength of the team is Matt Ryan. But, he seems to be regressing. Maybe it is the hype going to his head. He can carry the team by himself and tends to get it together when needed. Lately, the offense has been terrible, but we are hoping it turns around quick.

The other strength is the run defense. We stop everyone.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some perspective.

I predict (hope) BC 35 BGSU 27

We don't run the ball much and pass 50+ plus times. Should be pretty interesting in how this plays out. The bigger question though is if we can stop you guys at all.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

Thanks for stopping by, OJ. Keep the info coming =)

Given what our friend from BC has said, I may have to rethink my outlook for this game.

If Sheehan plays well and protects the ball, and if we can find a way to hack it up front, I think we have a chance.


No score prediction until we hear more on who's playing and who's watching.

[MACMAN]

Ive been down on BG and think that our record is great...but not expected.
Its here all over the board.
But BC is way, way overrated folks.
Bg wins this game and we spank them in the process, that is as long we have our main functionality. Ie TS is in good health, recriever's corps, the D and secondary.
We out match this BC team big time...further proof that the "polls" suck like interns and we will drive that point home like a fine cuban.

[Falconfreak90]

MACMAN,
Man, you sure have changed your tune recently...that's cool.

BC is a solid football team. BG is a pretty solid team as well. I also would like to see the scouting reports as to who might play and who might not...

It's a big game...but the biggest one next on the sked is 10/13 in Oxford.

BG can win this game. BG can win any game they play. Why not? The kids are playing hard and doing what they can to improve. As OJ1969 pointed out (welcome to the board, man!), BC has some areas that need improvement. I've been able to see a couple of their games. Good team, no doubt. If BC starts controlling the clock like MSU did, we aren't going to be in good shape. And we have to be able to run the ball. 124 yards against WKU was nice but this is a whole new beast here. #12 ranking and sure to move up with all the Top 10 teams that went down this weekend.

I think we have a great chance to win...Can't wait for Saturday at noon...down in the Nest with ESPN U on.

GO FALCONS!

[Ritt18]

Hey guys. BC fan here. I figure this is a big game and wanted to give you a little info on BC.

Despite the ranking, we are far from a perfect team. We have not played very well of late and were lucky to beat Army and UMass. So, this game will be a huge challenge for us.

The big problem we have is the lack of a running game. When you run the ball close to 40 times against a Div 1AA team, 125 yards is inevitable - not special. The reality is we have three very average running backs. Callendar is Ok in the passing game, but is not much of a speed threat. Whitworth is slow and has trouble finding holes. Brooks is a fumbler and a major liability in the passing game. Overall, we could not get 300 yards against a team of girl scouts.

Th other problem we have is our pass defense is terrible. So far, teams have been able to throw at will if they have a decent QB. We got lucky against NC State as their QB is terrible. GT did not try to throw much, which was fortunate.

The strength of the team is Matt Ryan. But, he seems to be regressing. Maybe it is the hype going to his head. He can carry the team by himself and tends to get it together when needed. Lately, the offense has been terrible, but we are hoping it turns around quick.

The other strength is the run defense. We stop everyone.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some perspective.

I predict (hope) BC 35 BGSU 27

I'm at a loss to understand the smallness of your existence. Of all the possible things that can befall a man and dispatch him from this mortal coil, none sound grotesque and monstrous enough to settle your account before reaching the after life.