Virginia Tech @ Boston College preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 17, 2016 ) Boston College 0, Virginia Tech 49

No. 19 Virginia Tech has a good opportunity to rebound from its first loss of the season when it visits Boston College for an ACC tilt Saturday night. The Hokies were outclassed by No. 2 Clemson 31-17 last weekend, outgaining the Tigers by 10 yards but committing each of the game's three turnovers.

"We were prepping to play a good team and practicing hard, we all expected to execute," sophomore defensive tackle Tim Settle told reporters. "And the fact we didn't is kind of a low blow. Our motto is the next game, 1-0. So we've just got to move forward." The Hokies could draw upon their recent meetings with the Eagles, including a 49-0 rout at home last year and a 26-10 win at Chestnut Hill in 2015. Boston College lost 34-7 to Clemson two weeks ago to finish a difficult stretch of games before returning home to knock off Central Michigan by a 28-8 margin last week. Jon Hilliman scored three times for the Eagles, who are playing under the lights on a Saturday night at home for the first time since 2014.

TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Virginia Tech -16.5

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (4-1, 0-1 ACC): Freshman Josh Jackson threw multiple interceptions for the first time in his young career against Clemson but he did manage to complete at least 65 percent of his passes for the third straight game. Jackson is one of five rushers to amass between 133 and 191 yards and one of seven to find the end zone for the ACC's fifth-ranked ground attack (192.6 yards). Senior Cam Phillips is second in the conference in receiving yards (597) and needs five catches to surpass Isaiah Ford (210) and establish a school record.

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (2-3, 0-2): Hilliman did find the end zone three times but often was outshined by rising freshman AJ Dillon, who broke out for a personal-best 120 yards on 25 carries. Coach Steve Addazio said that Dillon "is doing really great" after he was forced from the Central Michigan game due to a big hit. The Eagles are 12th in the ACC in yards per carry (3.6) and could use some improvement to assist redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Brown, who has totaled just 218 yards on 51 passes over the last two weeks.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Hokies K Joey Slye is 8-for-14 on field goals this year but needs seven points to overtake K Shayne Graham (371) as the program's all-time leading scorer.

2. Eagles FS Lukas Denis is tied for the FBS lead with five interceptions after recording two last week.

3. Boston College was held to 124 total yards and completed 9-of-29 passes in last year's blowout loss at Virginia Tech.

PREDICTION: Virginia Tech 27, Boston College 14