Boston College @ North Carolina State preview
Carter-Finley Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 17, 2009 ) North Carolina State 20, Boston College 52
Boston College goes into its game at North Carolina State with a couple of questions about its offense following last week's 31-13 drubbing by Notre Dame.
First, there's the quarterback issue. After starting the first three games, 26-year-old sophomore Dave Shinskie lost his job to true freshman Chase Rettig, who showed promise in his brief debut against the Fighting Irish.
But Rettig suffered a sprained ankle in the second quarter and did not return after completing 5 of 10 passes for 72 yards and a 58-yard touchdown. Sophomore Mike Marscovetra finished the game, completing 22 of 37 for 193 yards with two interceptions.
Rettig was listed as day-to-day, but some reports had him out for several weeks.
Then there's the BC ground game, which was expected to be a strength with junior Montel Harris running behind an experienced line. But the Eagles were held to five yards rushing last week.
They would probably settle for half of what Harris did against N.C. State last year, when he rushed for 264 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-20 rout. Harris, who rushed for 1,457 yards last season, has 334 yards and one score to go with 12 catches for 55 yards in four games.
BC's futility on the ground against Notre Dame left it near the bottom of the FBS offensive statistics - 108th in rushing (87.5 ypg) and 98th in scoring (19.3 ppg). The Eagles' defense has fared better, ranking 43rd in scoring defense with 20.8 points per game.
Penalties also hurt BC (2-2, 0-1 ACC), which was down 21-0 before it could get anything going. The Eagles were flagged 12 times for 120 yards. On the plus side, a new receiving threat emerged, with true freshman Bobby Swigert catching seven passes for 137 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown.
Boston College does have some recent history on its side in its first road game of the season. The Eagles are 3-0 against N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien, who coached the Eagles for 10 seasons before moving south.
N.C. State (4-1, 1-1) lost to Virginia Tech 41-30 on Saturday and hopes to avoid a repeat of last year when the season fell apart after a promising start.
The Wolfpack's first loss was especially distressing because they blew a 17-0 lead and gave up 34 points in the second half. Their 507 yards of offense weren't enough, mainly because quarterback Russell Wilson threw the ball to Virginia Tech's Jayson Hosley three times.
It was an uncharacteristic performance by Wilson, who had one interception in the Wolfpack's four victories. He finished the game with 362 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-49 passing. Wilson has 1,474 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season.
His top receivers are Owen Spencer (20 catches, 356 yards) and Jarvis Williams (17 catches, 312 yards, 2 TDs). N.C. State ranks eighth in the nation in passing yardage (303.8 per game) and 24th in scoring (36.2). Running back Mustafa Greene has 333 yards and a 5.3 rushing average.