The No. 22 NC State Wolfpack is looking to defend its ranking versus Boston College this coming weekend after taking some time to recover in its bye week. Before the pause in play, the Wolfpack was looking like a force to be reckoned with. From knocking off Clemson for the first time in 10 years to coming out on top in a battle against Louisiana Tech, this season has had its fair share of excitement so far and shows no signs of slowing down.
The matchup against Boston College begins the streak of ACC opponents the Pack will face for the remainder of the year. With its nonconference schedule out of the way, NC State will surely put all of its focus towards taking the reigns of a wide-open ACC Atlantic division. Currently sitting at second place behind No. 16 Wake Forest, the Pack has as good of an opportunity as ever to claim the ACC’s crown this season.
NC State and Boston College both only boast one ACC matchup on the year, with the Pack’s being the previously mentioned historic win over the then-No. 9 Clemson Tigers and Boston College suffering a loss to the same Clemson team a week later. Despite the loss, the Eagles stood tall in the face of all the Tigers defense had to throw at them, playing the perennial college football powerhouse to a 6-point game.
“They’re gonna get in a phone booth, and they still try to run by you, don’t get me wrong,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “They got some play actions where guys are running down the field and they do some good things with their misdirections and their jets and things like that, but you know, you’re gonna see some 12 personnel for most of the game and sometimes more than that. Sometimes they bring an extra offensive lineman in and a tight end even and so you gotta be ready to play those types of things. As you know, I like that type of football too. Our guys embrace the challenge and look forward to the opportunity to play a very physical, disciplined Boston College team.”
Eagles quarterback Dennis Grosel has taken the keys to this Boston College offense in wake of Phil Jurkovec’s hand injury which will likely force him to miss the remainder of this year. Jurkovec’s injury, suffered in the opening drive of the Eagles’ week two matchup against UMass, would ultimately require surgery, throwing Grosel into the spotlight.
In his time as the starter since, Grosel hasn’t exactly proven to be the gunslinger that he showed glimpses of in a 520-yard, four-touchdown performance against Virginia in the Eagles’ last game of the season. In his five games played this season, Grosel is only averaging 157.6 yards per game with a fairly efficient 61.54% completion percentage. His touchdown-to-interception ratio of four to four will also have the Pack licking its chops at a chance for game-changing turnovers on Saturday, Oct. 16.
Game-changing turnovers will surely be a point of emphasis for the Pack as it prepares for the Eagles’ offense, as they have turned the ball over nine times through five games. On top of the previously mentioned four interceptions thrown by Grosel, the Eagles have also lost three fumbles and turned the ball over on downs twice. Putting pressure on Grosel and his offensive line will be the key for the Pack defense to force more turnovers, and it’s an accomplishable feat with Eagles’ quarterbacks having been sacked six times so far on the year.
“I do think as we get more and more sacks, you’ll see more and more fumbles,” Doeren said. “Getting to the quarterback a little bit more before the ball is thrown could help that stat, but overall I think if you look at us [now], we’re ahead of where we were a year ago in the takeaway category. We’d just like to keep trending, it’s about getting two or more a game. That’s our goal.”
Outside of questionable quarterback play, running back Pat Garwo III has been leading the way out of the backfield for the Eagles, netting 483 rushing yards and five running scores on the season. Garwo’s 73 attempts on the year are clear of anyone else in Boston College’s committee, with the next highest being 35 for Travis Levy, who has been another go-to guy in the redzone for the Eagles with four rushing touchdowns of his own this year.
Receiver Zay Flowers and tight end Trae Barry will also be a point of emphasis for the Wolfpack gameplan, with both pass-catchers averaging 15+ yards per reception. Flowers is currently pacing all wideouts for the Eagles with 23 receptions for 345 yards and two touchdowns.
The mediocrity of play this year trickles over to the opposite side of the ball for the Eagles as well. Despite shutting out Colgate and holding Temple to three points, the Boston College defense has conceded in big ways, including giving up 28 to UMass and 34 to Missouri in a game that went to overtime.
Regardless, the defense does have a handful of players that will look to make big plays against redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary and company. Defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku is currently pacing Eagles’ defensive linemen with nine total tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks on the year. Leading the way behind Ezeiruaku is linebacker Isaiah Graham-Mobley who currently leads the team with 36 total tackles, as well as boasting 1.5 tackles for loss and a single QB hit.
The Eagles’ secondary will give Leary a great opportunity to capitalize on the deep ball that has eluded him thus far, but he’ll need to be careful against a unit with six interceptions as a team. Despite the Eagles not having any particular player jump off the stat sheet in the secondary, five different players have accumulated at least one interception this season and nine players have at least one pass breakup. In a game where Doeren will likely want to put emphasis on the run, Leary will have his time to try and capitalize on gaps left by a ball-hawking Boston College secondary.
“Their corners played well against Clemson, they were very aggressive and didn’t allow people to get behind them,” Doeren said. “Their safeties do a nice job disguising things and they understand what they do on defense, and they’ve made a lot of plays with six interceptions as a defense.”
Even though Boston College has maintained the quality of mediocrity in recent seasons, this matchup always proves to be a tough one for the Pack in any given year. The Eagles lead the all-time matchup record 10-7, with the last 10 games resulting in a win-loss of 5-5 for NC State. The Pack faces a steeper deficit when facing off against the Eagles on the road historically, coming in at 3-7 all-time against Boston College when away from Raleigh.
The stage is set for the Pack to continue its hunt for the ACC’s top spot on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. If NC State has any hopes of not only maintaining its current No. 22 ranking, but moving up in both the AP poll and the ACC standings, a win against Boston College is an absolute necessity. Coming out of the bye week, this squad is as fresh as possible for a mid-season game and will need to play at its peak to ensure a victory against the Eagles to keep its high hopes alive.
