2011 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Football: Wake Forest @ Boston College

Wake Forest visits Chestnut Hill for an Atlantic division game against Boston College. The Demon Deacons have been a bit of a surprise early in the season, playing Syracuse to OT before succumbing, and then beating North Carolina State and Gardner-Webb. Jim Grobe’s squad appears to have at least somewhat rebounded from a disastrous season last year where they beat only Presbyterian, Duke and Vanderbilt. A win over Boston College would ensure the Demon Deacons of a better season than the 2010 campaign, when they finished last in the division.

Boston College, on the other hand, is trending in the other direction. The Eagles dropped their opening game at home to Northwestern before getting destroyed in Orlando by UCF. A missed last-minute field goal sealed a home-field loss to Duke, the longstanding ACC doormat, in what might be BC’s most likely chance for a win over an FBS opponent. The Eagles did manage to beat FCS UMass last week to ensure they will not go winless this season, but if they can’t beat Wake Forest at home, there don’t appear to be many more winnable games in this already-forgettable campaign.

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Nothing has been working for Boston College this season. The passing game has been mediocre, with Chase Rettig averaging just a little over 200 yards per game and a completion percentage barely over 50 percent, with a 4 to 3 TD/INT ratio. The Eagles haven’t had much production on the ground, either, averaging just over 100 yards per game rushing, the bulk of which belong to Andre Williams since Montel Harris didn’t see action until the UMass game. Williams has 324 yards on 67 carries and 3 TDs. Harris had 9 carries for only 27 yards against UMass, which has to be considered an underwhelming debut for the highly-regarded star.

The defensive side of the ball might be an even bigger concern for BC. The Eagles have built their reputation on being stingy on the defensive side of the ball, but this year’s defense is giving up over 400 yards per game. Luke Keuchly, who already has a mind-blowing 69 tackles, is a lock to lead the nation in tackles, barring injury, and his fellow linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis has been excellent as well, but as a unit, the defense has been unable to put the team in a good position to win.

The Wake Forest offense appears to be back on track after a poor season a year ago. Grobe’s misdirection offenses have been built to succeed without blue chip talent, and Tanner Price’s sharp passes and Josh Harris’ counters will attempt to exploit the Boston College defense. While Keuchly and Pierre-Louis will get their tackles, Price will dink and dunk his way down the field with relative ease. If he cannot do so, it will be a long day for the Demon Deacons. And if Wake Forest, the popular pick to finish last in the division, does win, the possibility of a winless season against FBS opponents will be increasingly likely, with Clemson, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Florida State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame and Miami to close out the season.

Wake Forest @ Boston College Football Preview