Scouting Boston College

This week has been billed as strength versus strength between NC State and Boston College at 12 p.m. Saturday.

The Eagles have allowed just three sacks, average 253.2 rushing yards per contest and have eight interceptions en route to being 3-3. Conversely, NC State has 26 sacks, is allowing only 66.7 rushing yards per game and thrown just three interceptions.

Here is a full scouting report on Boston College.

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Junior running back AJ Dillon — The powerful, 6-0, 250-pound Dillon emerged during his freshman year as the latest contender to possibly challenge legendary NC State running back Ted Brown’s career ACC rushing yards record (4,602). Dillon rushed for 1,589 yards and 14 touchdowns his rookie year, and then added another 1,108 yards and 10 scores last year. He did miss the NC State game in 2018 with an injury. He has 3,442 career rushing yards and 30 touchdowns, plus another two receiving scores. Dillon would have to average 165.7 rushing yards a game for remainder of 2019 season (plus a bowl game) to top Brown.

Redshirt junior linebacker John Lamot — The 6-0, 240-pounder from Mebane (N.C.) Eastern Alamance played quarterback in high school. The former Rivals.com two-star prospect has emerged this season as a leader on defense and ranks third on the team with 38 tackles, plus he has three passes broken up and 2.5 tackles for loss. He had an astonishing 17 tackles and half a sack in the loss against Wake Forest Sept. 28.

Redshirt sophomore free safety Mike Palmer — The 6-1, 195-pound Palmer is second on the squad with 47 tackles and has two interceptions this season. Palmer had a pick against both Wake Forest and Rutgers, and had nine tackles versus Virginia Tech in the season opener. He had a career-high 10 tackles, broke up a pass and blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown in last year’s loss at NC State.

Redshirt junior weakside linebacker Max Richardson— The 6-0, 230-pounder leads the ACC and ranks 11th in the country with 10.5 tackles per game. He has 63 tackles, 41 solo stops and eight tackles for loss this season. The 41 solo tackles ranks fifth in the country, and he had a career-high 14 tackles against both Louisville and Rutgers.

Redshirt freshman left tackle Tyler Vrabel — He is the son of former longtime NFL player and current Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. The 6-5, 310-pounder hasn’t allowed a sack or a quarterback hit this season, and just three hurries against the BC signal-callers. PFF ranks him third in the ACC with a pass block efficiency of 98.9. The Rivals.com three-star prospect has gained 55 pounds since his senior year at St. Pius X High in Houston.

1. Run, run and run some more. The Eagles are second in the ACC with 253.2 rushing yards per game, and it isn’t just due to Dillon. Backup sophomore running back David Bailey has 329 yards and two scores, and is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. That is right there with Dillon’s 5.2 yards an attempt.

The 6-1, 240-pound Bailey had 97 yards against Richmond and added 82 yards and a touchdown at Rutgers. Another sneaky factor has been freshman wide receiver Zay Flowers. The speedy 5-11, 170-pounder is third on the team with 16 carries for 162 yards and a touchdown, which covered 46 yards against the Spiders.

2. Breaking in a new quarterback. Redshirt junior quarterback Anthony Brown suffered a season-ending lower leg injury against Louisville Oct. 5. Redshirt sophomore Dennis Grosel is taking over for Brown, but doesn’t have much game experience nor was a touted prep recruit. The Ohio native passed for 1,959 yards and 18 touchdowns, and added 469 rushing yards and 11 scores his senior year at St. Ignatius High in Cleveland.

The 6-1, 220-pounder proved efficient at Louisville, throwing for three touchdowns on nine completions. Grosel completed 9 of 24 passes for 111 yards with the three scores and an interception, and he rushed six times for 47 yards. He has connected on just 12 of 31 throws for 132 yards with three touchdowns and a pick on the season.

3. Special teams has been better, but unproven. Fifth-year senior and graduate transfer kicker Aaron Boumerhi was recruited to take care of the Eagles’ kicking woes from a year ago — when the Eagles went 6 of 9 on field goals with a long of 38 yards and was 46 of 51 on extra points. Bournerhi went 31 of 43 on field goals in his career at Temple, including twice making a 52-yarder. He has made 5 of 7 field goals this season for BC, but has missed from 31 and 38 yards.

Redshirt junior punter Grant Carlson has averaged 42.2 yards on 25 punts this season, and has landed six inside the 20-yard line and six fair catches. Junior Travis Levy has taken care of business in the return game, averaging 24.0 yards on 21 kickoff returns with a long of 45, and he averaged 8.7 yards on nine punt returns with a long of 20.

1. NC State backs have career days. It’s no secret that Boston College has struggled to stop the run, but then the Wolfpack hasn’t established a viable passing attack yet. Do the Eagles load up the box or play the NCSU offense honestly? BC has allowed an astonishing 191.8 rushing yards per game.

NC State probably won’t have the services of sophomore running back Ricky Person Jr., which means the running game will rest on the legs and feet of three freshmen backs for the second straight game. Zonovan Knight had 15 carries for 61 yards and Jordan Houston added 13 rushing attempts for 54 in the 16-10 win over Syracuse. Redshirt freshman Trent Pennix caught a 32-yard touchdown off a trick play.

2. Handle playing on the road. NC State has lost both road contest it has played this season, falling 44-27 at West Virginia Sept. 14 and 31-13 at Florida State Sept. 28. The Wolfpack struggled to build momentum in the second half of either road contest. The Mountaineers outscored the Wolfpack 23-6 in the second half, and the Seminoles won the second half 14-7.

Boston College drew 35,213 fans for the home opener against Virginia Tech, and 39,352 fans for the Wake Forest contest Sept. 28. The other two contests were less than 33,000.

3. Cornerbacks hold up. NC State corners have been battling some injuries this season. Senior Nick McCloud isn’t expected to play against the Eagles and junior Chris Ingram's status is unknown, leaving senior Kishawn Miller and sophomore Teshaun Smith likely to fill the void.

Boston College has improved its passing attack, but will have a new quarterback and are still 11th in the ACC in 235.0 passing yards per game. What has been sneaky good about the Eagles’ offense is that there have been five passing players of 50-plus yards this season, which is tied for eighth nationally. BC has five different players who have caught passes of at least 42 yards, including tight end Hunter Long snagging a 72-yard touchdown against Louisville Oct. 5.

5 Sacks for Boston College’s defense, which is part of the Eagles’ troubles defending the pass this season — 13th in the ACC with 284.3 passing yards allowed per game.

16 Career 100-yard games for junior running back AJ Dillon in 29 games played. He enters Saturday’s game with four consecutive 100-yard contests.

19 Plays of 30-plus yards — dubbed “explosive plays” — this season for the Eagles’ offense, which is second only to Louisville in the ACC.

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