This is it for Penn State football, a meeting with Boston College in Yankee Stadium at the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.
A win would push Penn State’s record above .500 in every season under sanctions and end an up and down year on a high note.
Boston College won’t make it easy for the Nittany Lions though as a talented quarterback and a potent rushing attack will challenge the Nittany Lions’ top ranked rush defense.
But if predictions were easy and the analysts were never wrong, they wouldn’t have to play the game.
This Season:
Much like the Nittany Lions it has been an up and down year for Boston College who enter Saturday’s game with a 7-5 record and no shortage of heartbreaking losses to go along with the victories. Boston College has a solid resume of wins with an impressive upset of No. 9 USC as well as victories against Virginia Tech and NC State.
In many ways, Boston College’s losses are more noteworthy as the Eagles took then No. 1 Florida State to the wire, losing on a last second field goal 20-17. Boston College also fell 17-14 to then No. 24 Clemson in another close contest.
The Good:
Florida transfer Tyler Murphy is the kind of quarterback that nearly any program in the nation would take. He’s Boston College’s leading rusher with 1,079 yards and 10 touchdowns. Couple that with a respectable 1,526 passing yards and 11 scores and Murphy’s dual-threat ability makes him a player not quite like any Penn State’s defense has faced this year.
The Eagles are 19th in the nation in points against per game with 20.5 on average and 14th in yards on the ground per game with 251. Boston College’s ability to hang on to the ball limits how many possessions their opponents get and that has been a key in nearly all of their close upsets. Against Florida State, Boston College had the ball for seven more minutes than the Seminoles which kept everything well within reach as the game continued on.
The Bad:
For as good as Murphy is as a runner, his passing stats are not exactly the result of big games through the air. Boston College’s 123rd ranked pass attack only averages 132 passing yards. Jon Hillman gives the Eagles a secondary option in the running game with just over 700 yards of his own on the ground, but beyond that the Eagles aren’t a threatening offense in the conventional sense. They’re a physical hard running team, but that’s about it.
The Player To Watch:
Tyler Murphy will be the reason this game is won or lost for either team. If Penn State’s No. 1 rated rush defense can hold Murphy in check then it could be an ugly day for Boston College.
That being said, the unit to watch this week is going to be Boston College’s defense. If the Eagles hold on to the ball on offense and keep Penn State’s often self-defeating offense off the field it should only be a matter of time before Boston College gets enough points to win. If Penn State’s home field advantage and weeks of results in a refocused team, then it’s going to be a Nittany Lion win. So for as much as Murphy might make the game winning plays, Boston College’s defense will be the unknown factor to watch.
Prediction:
In nearly every situation it’s smart to pick the team with the better defense. In this case that’s Penn State. If Penn State’s offense struggles to move the ball and is limited in possessions then this could be just like nearly every Nittany Lion loss this season: a win that could have been.
Even with a struggling offense, Penn State is the better team on paper and has its best unit going up against Boston College’s best player. The Nittany Lions will win, but it’ll be ugly. A few Sam Ficken field goals to close out his career would be a nice storybook ending for him and the team. It would be an especially circular ending as well if you figure Penn State won on a field goal in a Gaelic stadium and could win on a kick in a baseball stadium.
Penn State 21-14
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