Boston College @ Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 20, 2010 ) Virginia 13, Boston College 17

Virginia aims for its first five-game winning streak in 10 years when it hosts Boston College and surging running back A.J. Dillon in an ACC clash Saturday afternoon. Dillon erupted for 272 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a surprise 45-42 win at Louisville last week, posting the third-highest single-game total in program history and the most ever for a freshman.

He will take aim at a defense that is allowing 312.8 total yards per game - the third-fewest among ACC teams - and let up just 257 in last week's 20-14 win at North Carolina. That result put the Cavaliers one win away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2011 and provided another week of legitimate buzz on campus. "Professors are nicer to you, students are nicer to you," linebacker Micah Kiser told The Daily Progress. "[They say], 'Great game, you guys are doing a nice job.' People working at Subway or Chick-fil-A, you see the smile on their faces. 'Great job guys.' Walking around Charlottesville everywhere, you hear, 'You guys are doing a really good job, keep it up.' Everybody loves a winner, so hopefully we'll keep winning." The Eagles are the only ACC team that Virginia has never beaten, having dropped each of the first five meetings, the last coming in 2010 at Boston College.

TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, RSN. LINE: Virginia -7

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (3-4, 1-3 ACC): Starting quarterback Anthony Brown completed 5-of-17 passes before being knocked out of the win at Louisville with a shoulder injury, and backup Darius Wade went 7-for-10 to help finish the upset. "As I said from day one, I have confidence in both guys," head coach Steve Addazio told reporters when asked who would start Saturday. "So, we'll see how Anthony is feeling and where he's at, and I don't have the read on that right now, but there's no more to that." Dillon and junior Jon Hilliman have combined for 967 rushing yards and nine TDs for the league's fifth-rated ground game.

ABOUT VIRGINIA (5-1, 2-0): Benkert ranks second in the league behind Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson with 15 TD passes and he's thrown just three interceptions in 248 attempts. He has plenty of targets, as three Cavaliers have at least 377 receiving yards and four TDs, led by junior running back Olamide Zaccheaus, who needs 32 yards to move into the top 20 all-time at Virginia. Safety Quin Blanding leads all active FBS players in career tackles (419) while Kiser ranks sixth (329) after the pair combined for 18 against North Carolina.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Benkert (4,232 career passing yards) needs two yards to move alone into 10th place on the school's career passing list and 135 to take over ninth.

2. Brown has completed 18-of-47 passes over the last two games and ranks last among qualified passers in the ACC with a completion percentage of 51.2.

3. Virginia last won at least five in a row in 2007, when it reeled off seven straight.

PREDICTION: Virginia 27, Boston College 21