Wake Forest Demon Deacons +6, o/u 43 at Boston College Eagles, 3:30 p.m. Saturday
by Zman of Predictem.com.
The 2007 ACC football seasons gets off to an interesting start when the defending conference champion Wake Forest Demon Deacons yes, that wasn’t some mass hallucination visit the Boston College Eagles Saturday afternoon.
Wake Forest went 11-3 last year and won the ACC before falling to Louisville 24-13 in the Orange Bowl. But while the Deacons’ rise to glory came very unexpectedly, they were returning 19 starters from the previous season, which is always a sign something good could happen. Wake won three games by three or fewer points last year, and their other two defeats came at the hands of Clemson and Virginia Tech.
Boston College went 10-3 last year and beat Navy in a minor bowl. Their three losses were by two points at North Carolina State, seven at Wake and three at Miami.
After 10 years under head coach Tom O’Brien, the Eagles are now playing under Jeff Jagodzinski, a former assistant in the NFL. And much of the coaching staff is also new, as is the offensive scheme.
Wake returns 13 starters this season, eight on offense but only five on defense. They include four on the offensive line and QB Riley Skinner, who started 13 games last year as a freshman.
BC has 16 starters back this year, including QB Matt Ryan, who’s 14-4 as a collegiate starter, and the entire front seven on defense.
The Deacons defense ranked 45th overall last year while the offense ranked 96th. But the Wake Forest running game ranked 44th.
The Eagles ranked 50th in total offense last year and 34th in total defense.
And both teams were very fortunate in the turnover department last season; Wake posted a +13 TO margin, and BC a +15. Both numbers ranked in the top 10 in 1-A football.
Wake Forest went a perfect 6-0 straight up on the road last year, and 5-1 against the spread.
Boston College went 7-0 at home last year, and 4-1-1 vs. the spread.
The Demon Deacons beat the Eagles when these two teams met last season 21-14 as three-point home underdogs. Almost everything went Wake’s way; they scored on a reverse, a 46-yard pass and an 81-yard run. They outrushed BC 160-28, and picked off two of Ryan’s passes in the end zone, the second one with the Eagles driving in the last minute. BC was also called for 10 penalties for 70 yards.
Boston College opened as 6 1/2-point favorites for Saturday’s game, but the spread has been bet down to six at most college football sports books.
The Predictem Pick: We like Wake Forest here!
