PREMIUM
Rogers' Early Coach's Clinic - Smashing 70% Start in CFB (7-3-1)
(NCAAF) Boston College vs. Massachusetts,
09/10/2016 8:00 AM, Score: 26 - 7
Point Spread: 16.50 | -110.00 Massachusetts (Home)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: 16.50 | -110.00 Massachusetts (Home)
Result: Loss
Boston College: The Eagles return from Ireland (a long way back) off a 17-14 loss to Ga. Tech. Kentucky transfer Patrick Towles won the starting QB job during the off-season and there was hope that the BC offense would improve on the 17.2 PPG it averaged in 2015. However, he did very little in his BC debut, completing 11 of 17 for 137 yards with zero TD passes and one INT. The good news was the return to health of RB Jon Hilliman, who ran for 102 yards (including a 73-yard TD run) in his first game since last September 26. Boston College ran for 176 yards on 37 carries overall. As expected, the BC defense which allowed just 15.3 PPG in 2015, held the Yellow Jackets to 17 points on 238 yards (12 FDs).
Massachusetts: The Minutemen suffered through back-to-back 1-11 seasons in 2011 and 2012. However, former head coach Mark Whipple returned to Amherst in 2014. He had coached the Minutemen when the school was an FCS member from 1998-2003. Whipple led the school to a national championship in 1998 but left after 2003 to be an NFL assistant. UMass has gone 3-9 in each of the last two seasons under Whipple, running a pass-oriented attack behind QB Blake Frohnapfel. This year's offense features a dual-threat QB in sophomore Ross Comis. Comis threw for 141 yards and ran for a touchdown in a challenging first career start. The Minutemen were outgained 363-187 against the Gators in a 24-7 los but.remember, UMass was five-TD underdogs and its defense held Florida to a modest 24 points, after allowing six Power-5 schools to average 43.8 PPG the last two seasons.
The pick: Boston College missed two FGs, turned it over three times and lost on a last-minute TD to Ga. Tech and will take a nine-game losing streak dating to last season into this contest (six of those losses have come by three points or fewer). Eagles head coach Steve Addazio knows his team needs a win and badly but laying points with such a poor offense is tricky. The "Battle of the Bay State" at Gillette Stadium will likely go to BC but not by the margin suggesteed by the pointspread. UMass is an 8* play.
Massachusetts: The Minutemen suffered through back-to-back 1-11 seasons in 2011 and 2012. However, former head coach Mark Whipple returned to Amherst in 2014. He had coached the Minutemen when the school was an FCS member from 1998-2003. Whipple led the school to a national championship in 1998 but left after 2003 to be an NFL assistant. UMass has gone 3-9 in each of the last two seasons under Whipple, running a pass-oriented attack behind QB Blake Frohnapfel. This year's offense features a dual-threat QB in sophomore Ross Comis. Comis threw for 141 yards and ran for a touchdown in a challenging first career start. The Minutemen were outgained 363-187 against the Gators in a 24-7 los but.remember, UMass was five-TD underdogs and its defense held Florida to a modest 24 points, after allowing six Power-5 schools to average 43.8 PPG the last two seasons.
The pick: Boston College missed two FGs, turned it over three times and lost on a last-minute TD to Ga. Tech and will take a nine-game losing streak dating to last season into this contest (six of those losses have come by three points or fewer). Eagles head coach Steve Addazio knows his team needs a win and badly but laying points with such a poor offense is tricky. The "Battle of the Bay State" at Gillette Stadium will likely go to BC but not by the margin suggesteed by the pointspread. UMass is an 8* play.
