Boston College vs Rutgers: 2022 Season Home Opener - Preview & Final Prediction
Boston College (0-0) will be hosting Rutgers (0-0) this Saturday to kickoff the 2022 college football season. Kickoff will be at Noon from Alumni Stadium (Chestnut Hill, MA) and will be nationally televised on the ACC Network (ACCN).
The last time these two teams played was in 2019 when BC beat Rutgers 30-16. The Eagles now face a much improved Rutgers team. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 5-7 season that landed them a spot in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl when Texas A&M was forced to drop out.
Jeff Hafley is well aware of his opponent and acknowledged that he will not be holding back anything for this game. In a recent press conference Hafley expressed how the playbook this year will be wide open against Rutgers.
"The playbook's open. This isn't go out and save anything. This is go out and try to beat a really good opponent. We will run whatever we have to do to win the game." - Jeff Hafley on Rutgers
We agree that Rutgers is a much improved team than what we have come to expect in the past. Boston College had the luxury of limiting themselves last year when they opened the year against FCS opponent Colgate. This year, there is a lot more urgency.
So Boston College Football Fans, the good news is that we will know a lot more about this team after week one. The Eagles have a chance to win it's 12th game in a row against Rutgers (all time: 20-6-1). Get into your seats early, be loud, and GO EAGS! #RollEags
Current Line: BC -7.5 (O/U 48.0)
Chance Of Winning: 70.3%
According to ESPN's Football Power Index BC has a 70% chance of winning this game. The spread for this game has held strong at 7.0 points in favor of Boston College (UPDATE: now 7.5), with the over/under at 48.0.
Does BC Cover The Spread?
Boston College wins and covers! The score might remain close for the first quarter, but with the home field advantage and Phil Jurkovec healthy, we think that BC finds a way to not only win this game, but to do it in a blowout fashion.
The over/under looks tricky - stay away from this bet. Some people believe this will be a sloppy game with the tendency to go under, which is very possible. However, with the playmakers that BC has on offense, we think the Eagles offense will put up significant points in this game.
Final Score: 38-10 (BC WINS)
This will not be a close game. Getting an early lead in this game would be huge for Boston College and will allow them to continue to stay more balanced on offense and control the entire game. We think the Eagles will surprise spectators (and alleviate O-line concerns) with the ability to run the ball from the start, which will open up some big plays for Jurkovec to hit downfield. This will be a big game for Jurkovec to show his health and remind everyone that he was once considered one of the best quarterbacks in the nation for a reason (it's because he still is). The O-line will prove its competency by limiting mistakes (we are still O-line U) and most starters will be taken out by the end of the third quarter.
We expect the take away to be how impressive the offense will look with a completely new offensive line. However, the defense will show that it is in fact the strongest part of this team. We expect BC to win the turnover margin and to not let up a single touchdown pass the entire game.
Depth Chart:
How To Watch The Game:
GO TO THE GAME! There are still some tickets available here.
The game will be televised nationally on ACCN at Noon ET Saturday.
Chris Cotter (play-by-play) on the call along with former Eagle linebacker Mark Herzlich (analyst) and Lericia Harris (sideline reporter)
Follow us on Twitter!
We will be tweeting live from Alumni Stadium this Saturday!
ROLL EAGS!
Comments