2016-17 Football Previews – (ACC) – Eagles
Looking for 2016 Boston College Eagles predictions? BC is looking to bounce back strong after the Eagles went a miserable 0-8 in conference play last season. 2013 and 2014 saw head coach Steve Addazio put together a respectable pair of seven-win campaigns, but injuries, lack of experience and awful quarterbacking led to BC being winless in the ACC. Boston College is definitely improved this season.
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2016-17 College Football Preview – Boston College Eagles
Head Coach: Steve Addazio
2015 Record: 3-9
Boston College Eagles Odds to win 2017 FBS Championship: +50000
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Boston College Eagles Predictions: Team Strengths
The Eagles had a solid little defense last year despite all the losing; with so many returning players this season, it will be the bright spot in Chestnut Hill once again.
The standouts are senior LB Matt Milano (6.5 sacks, 11 TFLs in 2015) junior MLB Connor Strachan, 2015’s second-leading tackler on the Eagles, junior DE Harold Landry and the creatively named FS John Johnson.
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Rather surprisingly with Florida State and Clemson in their division, the Eagles only allowed just over 15 points per game last season, fourth-best in the country.
Expect them to be a crack unit.
On offense, the dual threat of Jeff Smith can be a weapon; he had some time under center for BC but he moves to WR for 2016.
There also is some potential in change-of-pace back Tyler Rouse, who found the end-zone seven times last year.
The attack will be better just by virtue of being more experienced, but this still won’t be a team that lights the scoreboard on fire on a weekly basis.
It will help that Smith, Rouse and the gang are running behind a battle-hardened offensive line, that adds in OT Jimmy Lowery from FCS Eastern Illinois. Lowery was All-Conference last year and has 31 career starts.
Boston College Eagles Predictions: Team Weaknesses
The point scoring still could be rather impotent for the Eagles this season. The leading receiver from 2015, Thadd Smith, had only 17 grabs, and no one in the WR group had more than two TDs.
Perhaps a large part of that was due to shoddy QB play, so the Eagles hope that Kentucky transfer Patrick Towles is the answer under center – although he has a career 24 TDs and 24 picks.
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He can’t be any worse than the ragtag bunch Addazio ran out there last year, including Troy Flutie, campus legend Doug’s nephew.
The aforementioned Lowery and junior C Jon Baker should be good on the O-line, but there could be some questions with senior OG Jim Cashman and sophomore OT Aaron Monteiro.
They are both huge (6″7, 300+lbs) but are they mobile enough?
Don’t get me wrong, the Eagles will be a vastly improved offense. But they were so bad last year, that they could be far better and still only be just average.
If BC didn’t play FCS opponents last year, the Eagles would averaged just over nine points per game.
Truly dreadful.
Boston College Eagles 2016 Prediction: 7-6
The Eagles are a lot better this time around, and they should at least double their win output from 2015.
The schedule to begin the year is pretty unrelenting, as the Eagles must travel across the Atlantic for the season opener in Dublin against the Yellow Jackets, and then play back-to-back road games back on U.S. soil against rival Massachusetts and tough customer Virginia Tech.
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With Clemson looming a few weeks later on a week of short rest, there isn’t much let-up.
Boston College will naturally be better this year, and if the offense can make profound strides with Towles slinging the football, they could raise a few eyebrows in the ACC Atlantic division.
Still, don’t expect the Eagles to be displacing FSU or Clemson anytime soon.
2016 Boston College Eagles Football Schedule
- 09/03/2016 vs. Georgia Tech (in Dublin, Ireland) 7:30 am
- 09/10/2016 at UMass Noon
- 09/17/2016 at Virginia Tech 3:30 pm
- 09/24/2016 vs. Wagner TBA
- 10/01/2016 vs. Buffalo TBA
- 10/07/2016 vs. Clemson 7:30 pm
- 10/15/2016 BYE
- 10/22/2016 vs. Syracuse TBA
- 10/29/2016 at NC State TBA
- 11/05/2016 vs. Louisville TBA
- 11/11/2016 at Florida St. 7:30 pm
- 11/19/2016 vs. Connecticut TBA
- 11/26/2016 at Wake Forest TBA
What do you think about our 2016 Boston College Eagles predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2016!
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