Following a couple of easy wins for Pitt and Boston College, the ACC rivals jump right into conference play. Pitt downed Delaware 62-0 and Boston College dispatched of UMass 30-7 in a couple of appetizers for the main course as these two teams are each looking to start conference play off on the right foot. With a lot of change on each roster, this will be a game to find out about both teams.
Pitt vs. Boston College College Football Preview
Date/Time: Friday September 5, 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
College Football Betting Odds from WagerWeb
College Football Betting Favorite: Pitt -4
Total: 49
Both Pitt and Boston College covered last week. Paul Chryst is now 14-13 against the number at Pitt and is 4-6 ATS away from home, including an 0-4 mark last season, though Pitt did cover at a neutral site in the Little Caesars Bowl. Steve Addazio’s BC Eagles were 5-1 ATS at home last season and 6-2 in conference play. He is now 8-6 against the number at Boston College.
Pitt Panthers:
The Delaware Blue Hens provided little resistance for the Pitt running game as the Panthers racked up 409 yards on the ground. Chad Voytik didn’t have to do much in his first career start. He threw the ball just 13 times with 10 completions, 84 yards, and a couple of touchdowns. All eight Pitt players that had a carry gained positive yardage. The Panthers were so dominant on first and second down that they faced only nine third down situations and converted seven of them. The Panthers had to replace Tom Savage and Devin Street from the offense and Aaron Donald from the defense. No ill effects of those losses could be seen against Pitt, but the competition takes a step up against Boston College and the Panthers will take on an opponent with more equal talent.
Boston College Eagles:
With a new starting quarterback and a new running back, BC expected to have some struggles. It was anything but in the first half as the Eagles jumped out to a 20-0 lead en route to racking up 511 yards of offense. It was the third time under Addazio that the Eagles amassed over 500 yards, though they scored 48 points in each of those other games. Tyler Murphy came as advertised. The Florida transfer, who was recruited by Addazio when he was the offensive coordinator at Florida in 2010, threw for 173 yards and added 118 more on the ground. Replacing Andre Williams won’t be easy and nobody really took the reins against UMass. The defense, which also lost a lot, wasn’t tested by the UMass offense, which only managed 202 yards of offense. BC only returned two started to the front seven, so Pitt’s running game has to be a concern in this one.
Free Pick: Under 49
Look for a lot of running in this game as the two teams break in quarterbacks with only one start of experience in the current offense. The team willing to take some shots has a good chance to win, but neither of these coaches seem like the type to do that. Both want to play ball control and control the clock. Red zone scoring might be hard to come by as Pitt has an injury concern with Tyler Boyd and BC lost five of their top six returning wide receivers.
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