Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan is averaging nearly 300 yards a game in the air. He’s completing 62 percent of his passes and has six touchdowns compared to only two interceptions.
And his team is 3-0.
But in three games this season, the Eagles have only won by a combined 15 points.
The season opener was a seven-point victory against Central Michigan, followed by two double-overtime victories. The first a one-point win against Clemson and last weekend a 30-23 win over BYU.
Coach Chuck Amato has taken note of Ryan’s play early in the season.
“He’s got so much confidence in his ability and he puts the ball on the money,” Amato said. “He hit one in the second overtime in the BYU game the other day on a bootleg on second down. Right there in the corner of the goal line.”
The touchdown in the second overtime gave Boston College its third win of the season. Ryan found wide receiver Tony Gonzalez in the end zone for the win on the Eagles first play of double overtime. After a review, the catch was officially scored as a touchdown and once again, Boston College had escaped.
Ryan went 29-of-48 for 356 yards in the game. He also had two touchdowns.
Last weekend, the Wolfpack allowed nearly 300 yards on the ground. Southern Miss averaged five yards per carry and quarterback Jeremy Young passed for 181 yards.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Raymond Brooks said after last weekend, they have to stop all phases of the game.
“I love to pass rush. All defensive ends love to pass rush. But after we got ran on last week — we thought they were going to pass a lot too — we just got to be able to stop all phases of the game,” Brooks said. “We can’t let them push the ball down the field on us. When they have long drives we get tired. So we just got to get three and outs over and over again.”
Last season was the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Boston College went on to win the game in dominating fashion, 30-10. Sophomore running backs Andre Brown and Toney Baker were limited to 30 yards combined.
And according to Amato, after last week’s game, the team lost the game at the line of scrimmage. This weekend, he said the team will have to “win up front” to defeat the Eagles.
However, State could have center Luke Lathan back, who is listed as questionable. If he were to play, it would give the coaches the option of moving center Leroy Harris back to guard.
As Amato is looking for his 48th-career win on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium, Boston College coach Tom O’Brien hopes to improve on his 69 wins — a school record.
Amato said the Eagles have been a team that is waiting to have a breakout season.
“Boston College for years has been a silent giant,” he said.
Senior Staff Writer Dennis Burton contributed to this article.