Boston College (0-0) vs. Northern Illinois (0-0) Game Preview

There are certain games at certain times that you just can’t lose if you’re a head coach. When it’s the opening game of the season in the house of a good MAC program, then the pressure is really on.

Boston College head man Steve Addazio got his Eagles to a bowl game, but with the nasty ACC schedule looming with Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Clemson up next, there’s no room to whiff.

Northern Illinois is coming off a massive disappointment, but injuries were a problem after getting to the 2015 MAC title games. Win this, and all of a sudden, it might be the official signal that the team is back to form.

Lose in a dogfight, and it still might be a good sign, but for a program desperate to get more national attention and a look from the Big 12 – in a dream world – being great against a Power Five team coming to DeKalb is a must.

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One Reason Why Boston College Will Win

After years of being so sluggish offensively – and relying on the great defense to get the job done – Boston College is starting pick up the pace a little bit.

Addazio won’t name a starting quarterback until the final moments – Darius Wade and Anthony Brown might both see time – to go along with all of the other strong parts.

The top six receivers return, the top running backs are back, and four starters return to the offensive front. While the NIU secondary should be fine, the defensive front probably won’t hold up over the long haul if BC wants to go back to the ground-and-pound style.

At the very least, the Eagles will have more offensive options to play around with.

One Reason Why Northern Illinois Will Win

After two years of struggling to keep a quarterback healthy, now NIU has several in the mix – and it’s waiting until the last second before springing on BC who it’ll be.

The offensive line should be a rock, and Jordan Huff leads a solid group of running backs, and head coach Rod Carey has two veterans in Daniel Santacaterina and Ryan Graham who can play.

Once again, the Boston College defense will be a killer, but as long as NIU can be just good enough to keep the chains moving, and if it can take advantage of every opportunity and good field position – the Eagle punting game was miserable last year – it should stay alive.

What’s Going To Happen

Northern Illinois will be better after the down year, but it’s not going to have enough in the bag to hang with the Eagles.
Boston College’s offense still won’t be steady or explosive, but it’ll be just good enough to – once again – allow the defense to do the rest. Eagle DE Harold Landry will have a good first game, and the killer linebacking corps will stop the Huskie O cold.

Boston College vs. Northern Illinois Prediction


Final Score

Boston College 30, Northern Illinois 17

Line

Boston College -3.5 o/u: 51.5


ATS Confidence
5: Dustin Johnson playoff drive – 1: McGregor’s boxing skills … 5

Must See Rating
5: Logan Lucky – 1: Mayweather-McGregor rematch … 2.5

Wow. There is some hardcore disrespect. BC is not 13 points better than the Huskies in Dekalb. No way

(08-30-2017 08:59 AM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  Wow. There is some hardcore disrespect. BC is not 13 points better than the Huskies in Dekalb. No way

Carey should post this article in the locker room for the guys to see.

I think 13 points is reasonable. Last year NIU went 2 - 3 and lost to an FCS team at home. When NIU played BC in 2015 NIU only had 150 yards of total offense and that was with a seasoned QB and two WRs that are now playing in the NFL. Would it really be a shock if this happens...

"Eagle DE Harold Landry will have a good first game, and the killer linebacking corps will stop the Huskie O cold."

(08-30-2017 09:56 AM)HuskieTap22 Wrote:  I think 13 points is reasonable. Last year NIU went 2 - 3 and lost to an FCS team at home. When NIU played BC in 2015 NIU only had 150 yards of total offense and that was with a seasoned QB and two WRs that are now playing in the NFL. Would it really be a shock if this happens...

"Eagle DE Harold Landry will have a good first game, and the killer linebacking corps will stop the Huskie O cold."

+1. I think BC's defense will make our already suspect offense look bad. I hope I am wrong, but I don't see us scoring even 17 points. Carey will need to pull out all the tricks in his bag. Will he make some bold moves or stick with the conservative game plan?