Maryland @ Boston College preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2011 ) Boston College 28, Maryland 17

Boston College coach Frank Spaziani is on the hot seat. The Eagles have lost five straight games by an average of 18 points. In that span, they’ve also allowed opponents an incredible 586.6 yards of total offense per game. They haven’t beaten an FBS team yet this season - something Spaziani and Boston College desperately needs as the team returns home for the first time since Sept. 29 to meet Maryland on Saturday. The Terrapins will be relying on their third-string quarterback after C.J. Brown was shelved in the preseason and Perry Hills was lost for the season when he tore his ACL last week. Maryland has also lost the turnover battle in six of its seven games this season. However, freshman wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been a monster, averaging 166 all-purpose yards, good for second in the ACC. Classmate Wes Brown carried the ball 25 times for 121 yards and a score against North Carolina State last week and will start against Boston College. The first-year duo will look to terrorize a drastically underperforming Boston College defense.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, ESPN3.com. LINE: Boston College -1

BOSTON COLLEGE (1-6, 0-4 ACC): The Eagles’ lone victory came on Sept. 8, a 34-3 beatdown of FCS foe Maine. Chase Rettig has been one of the few individual bright spots for Boston College, completing 56.3 percent of his passes for 1,917 yards, 13 touchdowns and only five interceptions. His favorite target, Alex Amidon, has 48 catches for 806 yards and five touchdowns. His 115.1 yards per game rank second in the league and fourth in the nation. Andre Williams leads the Eagles with 110 carries for 562 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and four scores. Defensively though, Boston College ranks 117th in total defense and has allowed opponents to score 33.3 points and convert a whopping 51 percent of third downs.

MARYLAND (4-3, 2-1): Coach Randy Edsall has done well to right the ship in College Park, Md., after a dreadful 2-10 campaign last year. The Terrapins beat Virginia 27-20 two weeks ago and their three defeats came by only 15 points combined. However, with Hills sidelined, Edsall will have to turn to an unproven signal-caller. He has yet to name a starter, but sophomore Devin Burns and freshman Caleb Rowe have both seen limited action under center this season. Diggs enters the game with a team-high 27 catches for 514 yards and three touchdowns while Brown brings a 4.7 yards per carry average, 271 rushing yards and a pair of TDs. Defensively, Maryland ranks 11th in total defense allowing 288.4 yards per game, but with only three interceptions and 20 sacks, they could be susceptible to Rettig and Boston College’s polished passing game.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Diggs is the only Maryland freshman to record back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since at least 1985, when Maryland first began recording game-by-game statistics.

2. Boston College has won five of the seven meetings since it joined the ACC and six of nine overall.

3. Eagles linebacker Nick Clancy averages 12 tackles, third in the country and tops in the ACC.

PREDICTION: Boston College 23, Maryland 21