Boston College needs victory over Holy Cross to recover from opening loss to Northern Illinois

2023-09-08 01:27

Boston College needs to beat the lone FCS team on its schedule if it has any hope of returning to bowl eligibility in its 125th season of football

Holy Cross (1-0) at Boston College (0-1), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Line: No line, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Series record: Boston College leads 49-31-3

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Boston College needs to beat the lone FCS team on its schedule if it has any hope of returning to bowl eligibility in its 125th season of football. The Eagles have already lost one game outside the Power 5, falling 27-24 in overtime to Northern Illinois in the opener. Holy Cross is No. 5 in FCS and looking for its 19th straight regular-season win. It would be the Crusaders’ third straight victory over an FBS opponent, having beaten UConn two years ago and Buffalo last season.

KEY MATCHUP

The restored BC offensive line helped BC gain 5.1 yards per rush against Northern Illinois. The Eagles averaged 2.1 yards per carry in 2022, when they didn’t have a single 100-yard rushing game for the first time since 1990. The Holy Cross defense held Merrimack to 3.6 yards per carry in Week 1.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Holy Cross: RB Jordan Fuller’s five touchdowns (4 rushing, 1 receiving) in the 42-20 victory over Merrimack was the most scored by a Crusader in a single game since Gordie Lockbaum had six against Dartmouth in 1986, the year before he was a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Boston College: QB Thomas Castellanos. While much of the talk heading into the opener was on QB Emmett Morehead, who finished last season as the starter, Castellanos came in after two series and moved the offense more effectively. He drove the Eagles to a pair of fourth quarter scores to erase a 14-point deficit and force overtime.

FACTS & FIGURES

The Massachusetts schools played every year but one from 1944-86. The 1969 Holy Cross season was canceled because of a hepatitis outbreak. But they have only played once since then, when BC won 56-26 in 2018. … BC has won nine straight matchups. … Holy Cross last won in 1978. ... BC is 33-3 since the NCAA was first subdivided in 1978, with all three losses coming that year.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll