Boston College @ Duke preview
Wallace Wade Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 11, 2006 ) Duke 7, Boston College 28
Two teams having tepid seasons try to keep some momentum going after rare consecutive victories.
Boston College (4-5, 2-4 ACC) retains a realistic shot at bowl eligibility, while host Duke (3-6, 1-4) holds out slim hope for a .500 season.
Duke's 55-48 victory over Virginia last Saturday ended a 20-game November losing streak and was the highest point total in David Cutcliffe's three seasons at Duke. The Blue Devils drove 91 yards in the final two minutes to beat a Virginia team that amassed 643 yards of offense but made three costly turnovers.
Boston College beat Wake Forest 23-13 last Saturday as junior Montel Harris ran for more than 100 yards for the 19th time in his career. He gained 183 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries.
Something's got to give in a matchup between Duke's porous defense and Boston College's struggling offense. Duke ranks 114th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 38.9 points per game, while BC ranks 106th in scoring offense at 19.2 ppg.
Duke relies on the passing of sophomore Sean Renfree to move the ball. He ranks third in the ACC in passing (252.2 ypg) but has 15 interceptions to go along with 12 touchdowns. Last week he was 17 of 29 for 219 yards and a touchdown.
Short-yardage quarterback Brandon Connette, a true freshman, ranks second on the team in rushing with 281 yards and leads the team with six rushing touchdowns.
Duke's leading rusher is Desmond Scott with 489 yards. After ranking last in the nation in rushing yardage last year, Duke has nearly doubled its average, from 69.3 yards to 132.8 per game.
Duke linebacker Abraham Kromah ranks second in the ACC, averaging 10.1 tackles a game, and has 7.5 tackles for loss. Cornerback Ross Cockrell leads the secondary with three interceptions and seven pass breakups.
BC's Harris leads the ACC and is 11th in the nation with 113.3 yards per game. But his six rushing touchdowns are the only ones by Boston College all season, ranking the Eagles last in that statistic.
On the other hand, the Eagles have given up only five rushing touchdowns. BC's defense ranks third nationally against the rush (82.4 ypg), 16th in total yardage (305.6) and 44th in scoring defense, allowing 22.0 ppg. But the Eagles are last in the ACC in total offense (295.8 ypg) and scoring (19.2 ppg).
Boston College has made an ACC-leading 17 interceptions, plus nine fumble recoveries, to rank third in the country in takeaways and help build a plus-7 turnover margin, second in the ACC. The Eagles intercepted four passes against Wake Forest. Linebacker Luke Kuechly leads the nation with 125 tackles and has nine tackles for loss.
Eagles true freshman quarterback Chase Rettig has continued to struggle, completing 12 of 16 for 133 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions against Wake Forest.
For the year, he has 53 completions, 625 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions. True freshman Bobby Swigert leads the Eagles with 27 catches for 375 yards and three touchdowns.