The NC State football team returns home to Raleigh this weekend to face Boston College for homecoming 2016. Coming off of two road losses to College Football Playoff-caliber schools, No. 3 Clemson and No. 5 Louisville, the Wolfpack looks to get back on track in order to keep its bowl game hopes alive.
Boston College (3-4, 0-4 ACC) will be a very different team than the Pack (4-3, 1-2 ACC) has faced the past two weeks. Clemson and Louisville hold a combined record of 13-1, while Boston College currently sports a 3-4 record that includes a 49-0 blowout loss to Virginia Tech and a 56-10 mauling at the hands of Clemson.
The Wolfpack finds itself in a must-win situation against the Eagles after a narrow loss at Clemson was followed by a disappointing rout in Louisville last weekend. In order to qualify for a bowl game, the team needs to get to six wins.
Looking at the rest of NC State’s schedule, Saturday’s matchup will arguably be the easiest one remaining. The last four games are home against No. 12 Florida State and Miami and away against Syracuse and No. 21 UNC-Chapel Hill, all of which are solid teams.
In his weekly press conference, head coach Dave Doeren was optimistic about the remaining schedule.
“We have a chance to finish strong,” Doeren told NC State Athletics. “We have a chance to be undefeated at home. We have a chance to win our homecoming game. We have a chance to win more games still than we did a year ago or the year before that.”
Doeren knows that there is still a lot to play for this season, and it all begins this weekend.
On paper, the Pack is clearly the better team. Boston College has not won a conference game in their last 12 attempts and its three wins this year have come against lowly programs including Massachusetts, Wagner and Buffalo.
NC State, on the other hand, has shown incredible promise this season. The argument can be made that without errors made by the special teams unit, the Pack would be sitting at 6-1 overall. Regardless of “ifs,” however, defeating Notre Dame and taking Clemson to overtime are high marks not just any team can boast.
Doeren also talked about where Boston College’s strengths lie on the field and what his players need to be wary of for the contest.
“[They’re] one of the top defenses in the country,” Doeren said. “They’re first in the ACC in total defense, second in the ACC in rushing defense. They’re in the top 10 in the nation in both of those.”
Senior running back Matt Dayes will look to rebound against the tough Eagles defense after recording a dismal 13 yards on five carries against Louisville after leaving the game early. Dayes’ performance on Saturday will be one of the major keys to ensure a Wolfpack win because of redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Finley’s struggles of late.
Finley played exceptionally well through the first five games of the season, throwing for nine touchdowns and no interceptions. The past two weeks, however, Finley has thrown only two touchdowns and added four interceptions.
Defensively, NC State faces a Boston College offense that has struggled mightily this year. In his past two games, Eagles graduate student quarterback Patrick Towles has failed to put up 100 yards through the air. He has also thrown four interceptions on the season. Last week against Syracuse, Towles suffered a hamstring injury and is currently day-to-day as to whether he will start this weekend.
If Towles cannot start, backup quarterback Darius Wade will take the helm at offense for the Eagles. Wade, a redshirt sophomore, does not have the experience Towles has, and that could spell trouble for Boston College.
Boston College’s tandem of running backs in redshirt sophomore Jon Hilliman and redshirt freshman Davon Jones have put up fewer yards combined than Dayes has on his own. With juniors Bradley Chubb and B.J. Hill up front for the Wolfpack, look for them to wreak havoc on the Eagles offense.
All in all, if NC State plays up to its full potential on game day, it should have no trouble disposing of Boston College and taking another step toward a bowl game at the end of the year.
