Boston College @ Louisville preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 5, 2016 ) Louisville 52, Boston College 7

While Lamar Jackson has done a reasonable job of maintaining the production that helped him earn the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore in 2016, Louisville has struggled to maintain the pace that had it in the running for a College Football Playoff spot throughout most of last season. The Cardinals attempt to brush off another loss to an ACC foe Saturday when they host Boston College.

Louisville's early aspirations to unseat Clemson as the top team in the conference were dashed with a 47-21 loss to the Tigers on Sept. 16, and whatever hopes the Cardinals had of challenging for an Atlantic Division title likely came to an end with last Thursday's 39-25 loss at North Carolina State. "We're not playing well enough defensively - certainly. … Offensively, we're doing a lot of good things, but we're not consistent enough. … It's almost like … you've got to go score every single time right now, and that's hard to do," coach Bobby Petrino said. The opposite has mostly been true for the Eagles, who have held Clemson and Virginia Tech below their season scoring averages but managed only 27 total points in three conference games - all losses. "They're going to get better, and they're going to grow. Sometimes it's never on exactly the timetable we want it on, but ... it'll come together, and it'll be beautiful," BC coach Steve Addazio told reporters after last weekend's 23-10 loss versus the Hokies.

TV: 12:20 p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: Louisville -22.

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (2-4, 0-3 ACC): The Eagles boast a wealth of talent on defense, including 2016 FBS sack leader Harold Landry, who has five sacks and became only the third player nationally since 2014 to record three in a game three times after reaching the benchmark again last weekend. Fellow defensive end Zach Allen has four sacks, is tied with Landry for the team lead in tackles for loss (eight) and paces BC with 55 tackles after setting a career high with 14 versus Virginia Tech, while safety Lukas Dennis is tied for the FBS lead with five interceptions. Michael Walker is among four Eagles with at least 15 receptions and leads the nation in combined kick-return yardage with 626.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (4-2, 1-2): Jackson ran for two touchdowns versus the Wolfpack to set the conference mark for most career rushing scores by a quarterback (39) - a mark that also moved him into a tie with Michael Bush for the second-highest total in school history regardless of position. Dez Fitzpatrick finished with career highs of 10 catches - matching Ibn Green’s freshman school record set in 1996 - and 134 receiving yards - the highest mark by a Louisville freshman since Mario Urrutia had 138 in 2005 and the fourth-highest tally by a freshman in school history. Sophomore receiver Seth Dawkins also tallied career highs with five receptions - extending his streak of catching at least three passes to six games - and 134 yards in the loss.

EXTRA POINTS

1. With 73 yards rushing last week, Jackson became only the sixth player in FBS history to run for 3,000 yards and pass for over 7,000 passing yards in a career.

2. Opposing quarterbacks have combined for an ACC-low 101.57 pass-efficiency rate against the Eagles (11th nationally), who have allowed four passing touchdowns and recorded eight interceptions.

3. The Cardinals have created a FBS-high 138 plays of at least 10 yards this season, 21 more than second-place Colorado State and nearly twice as many as the Eagles (72).

PREDICTION: Louisville 34, Boston College 20