Holy Cross @ Boston College preview

Boston College was expected to showcase a powerful ground game this year, but it was the aerial assault that turned some heads in the season opener. Quarterback Anthony Brown and company will try to build off an impressive performance in the first outing when they host FCS foe Holy Cross on Saturday.

Brown, returning from a knee injury that abruptly ended his freshman campaign last fall, threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns in just one half of play in a 55-21 rout of Massachusetts last Saturday. "Coming back in game one, we were real careful with him in preseason camp," coach Steve Addazio told reporters of Brown's effort. "There were no signs there was going to be an issue, but my experience tells me there can be. It's over now in terms of hesitation and not being confident. He exceeded my expectations relative to that." The Eagles will be trying to open 2-0 for the first time since 2015 before the schedule intensifies with three of the next four on the road - all against power conference opponents. The Crusaders made a second-half push in coach Bob Chesney's debut before falling 24-17 in their opener at Colgate last Saturday.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra. LINE: None

ABOUT HOLY CROSS (0-1): The Crusaders scored 17 unanswered points after falling behind 24-0 at the break last week and running backs Domenic Cozier and Miles Alexander led the charge, finishing with a combined 203 total yards. Cozier found the end zone twice, once on a 41-yard connection from Emmett Clifford, who completed 14-of-23 passes for 113 yards and helped engineer the comeback. "In the first half, when the guys came to the sideline, they were wondering if the coaches would get all over them if they made a mistake," Chesney told reporters. "We just told them it's 24-0. It can't get any worse. It's our job to build them up. Now, I think they believe. We shut them down, 17-0, in the third and fourth."

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (1-0): Even AJ Dillon, who had 1,589 rushing yards and zero receptions in last year's dominant freshman campaign, got into the act with Brown by hauling in his first two career catches - one of which went for a TD. The offense compiled 598 total yards, including 455 with Brown under center in the first half en route to a 48-7 lead. "My teammates helped a lot and supported me all the way through the journey," Brown told the media. "I was really excited. I was like an 8-year-old. There weren't any jitters at all. We prepared for this day. I put a lot of time into this so my teammates could be ready and I could be ready. There was no nervousness."

EXTRA POINTS

1. Brown has 10 TD passes and two interceptions over his last seven games after throwing for five scores and seven interceptions through his first four contests as a collegiate.

2. Crusaders LB Ryan Brady had a game-high 14 tackles - four for a loss - in the season-opening defeat.

3. The regional rivals met 82 times between 1896 and 1986 with Boston College leading the series 48-31-3, but they have not played since then.

PREDICTION: Boston College 52, Holy Cross 13