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Virginia Tech Hokies (4-5, 2-3) vs. Boston College Eagles (2-8, 1-5)
Time: 12:30 p.m. EDT
Date: Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012
Place: Chestnut Hill, Ma.
Stadium: Alumni Stadium
(Cap: 44,500, Open: 1915 (as Alumni Field), Field: FieldTurf)
TV: ACC Network
Radio: VT IMG, Sirius and XM Channels yet to be announced
Spread: Virginia Tech -9
Weather: High of 48, 0% Chance of Rain
Boston College: The Eagles are coming off of a painful 21-6 loss to undefeated (so at least there's that) Notre Dame at home Saturday. The Fighting Irish quarterback Everett Golson totaled all three of the Irish's touchdowns (and all three in the game), two through the air and one on the ground. The Irish started the scoring with a Golson run midway through the first quarter from 2 yards out. BC added a Nate Freese field goal just seconds into the second quarter to cut it to 7-3. Golson then threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Troy Niklas just seconds before halftime to make it a 14-3 Irish advantage. In the third quarter the Irish tacked on with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Golson to John Goodman. Nate Freese added another field goal early in the fourth to close out the scoring at 21-6. Golson ended up with 200 yards through the air and 2 touchdowns and 39 yards rushing and another touchdown. Theo Riddick also had 104 yards on the ground for the Irish. For the Eagles, Chase Rettig had a good game statistically, throwing for 247 yards, but was sacked four times.
Trends: The Hokies beat the Eagles in their last meeting, a 30-14 victory a year ago in Lane Stadium. In that game, the Eagles started off the scoring on their first drive with a Chase Rettig 2-yard rush to make it 7-0. Tech responded midway through the first quarter with a 26-yard Cody Journell field goal to cut it to a 7-3 Eagles lead. Nobody scored again until Journell kicked another field goal, this time from 36, to take it to half with the Hokies trailing 7-6. David Wilson scored a 42-yard rushing touchdown on Tech's first possession of the second half, and from there on, it was all Hokies. Logan Thomas found Marcus Davis later in the quarter with a 20-yard strike to extend the lead to 20-7. Then early in the fourth quarter, Thomas found the end zone on a 1-yard rushing score to make it 27-7 in favor of the Hokies. Boston College added a score midway through the fourth, when Chris Pantale caught a 7-yard score from Chase Rettig. But the Hokies took over five minutes off the clock before kicking a 24-yard Journell field goal to seal it, and provide the final margin, 30-14. Thomas threw for 268 and a score, and rushed for 60 and another score. Wilson ended his day with 134 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Rettig finished with 181 yards through the air, a touchdown and an interception. Rolandan Finch also finished with 92 yards on the ground for the Eagles. On the defensive side of the ball, Luke Kuechly didn't even hit the 20-tackle mark, finishing with an unimpressive 19 tackles. The Eagles were able to stay in the game early by several Virginia Tech special teams miscues (hey, we haven't ever heard that one before), resulting in a game of field position, which Boston College routinely won. Also, the Eagles won the time of possession in the first half, but were dominated soundly in that department in the second half.
History Lesson: The following information is all provided via Hokiesports.com. Virginia Tech has played Boston College a total of 20 times, all under Frank Beamer. Beamer holds a 14-6 record against the Eagles and a 3-0 record against fourth-year BC head coach Frank Spaziani. The Hokies hold the advantage in the series 14-6. The series began in 1993, when the Hokies lost to the Eagles 48-34 in Chestnut Hill. Tech has played visited Boston College nine times, going 6-3 in those games. Tech is 1-o against Boston College when neither team is ranked.
What to Expect
Hokies Win If: They play like they did a week ago. Otherwise, read lines 2-4 below in the "Eagles Win If" section.
Eagles Win If: Spaziani wants to go out on a good note, communicates that to his players, who will play fired up football in an ill-fated, but successful attempt to save their coach's job. Boston College fans and alumni will then riot in the streets, overthrow the higher-ups in the school's athletic department and unwittingly bring on the apocalypse. #TheMayansWereRight!
Dot-dot-dots: With a win Thursday, Frank Beamer would move into sole possession of seventh place all-time in wins among FBS coaches with 256, passing former Nebraska head man Tom Osborne. The average score in the series is a 27-17 Virginia Tech advantage. The Hokies have not been shutout in the series, but the Eagles' have been shutout twice in the series, once in 1998 and again in 2010. The Hokies lowest total in the series is 3, in a 22-3 loss in 2006. The Hokies and Eagles have faced off twice in the ACC Championship game (2007 and 2008), with Tech winning both games. Tech played Boston College twice in each of those years, losing both of the regular season match-ups and avenging those losses in the ACC title game.