Boston College @ New Mexico State preview

Boston College looks to follow up a big league win and move a step closer to bowl eligibility when it moves out of conference play to visit New Mexico State on Saturday. The matchup pits an Eagles team coming off a 34-27 win over Virginia Tech against Aggies head coach Doug Martin, who served as the Boston College offensive coordinator in 2012. Without Martin, the Eagles have become more of a running team, one that produced 196 yards on the ground against the Hokies.

That victory put Boston College, which won a total of six games over the last two seasons, two wins shy of its first bowl bid since 2010. New Mexico State, meanwhile, is looking to avoid its second straight one-win campaign, a tall order with the worst defense in the nation, which has allowed an average of 46.2 points. This marks the first meeting between the two programs.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: Boston College -24.5

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (4-4): The Hokies are an unranked team that had lost to Duke at home the week before, but the Eagles' win still registers as a big one for the program in Chestnut Hill. Boston College had lost its previous five games to Virginia Tech and faced deficits in the second, third and fourth quarters of the game before scoring three times in just over four minutes of the fourth. Andre Williams capped the flurry with a 62-yard scoring jaunt, helping to boost his total to 1,176 yards, second in the nation.

ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE (1-8): While the defense struggled once again to make stops, the Aggies offense nearly did enough before Martin's team fell 49-35 at Louisiana-Lafayette last Saturday. New Mexico State led 28-7 early in the second quarter before it began to stall and the Aggies porous defense allowed five unanswered touchdowns in less than 25 minutes of game action. Aggies senior quarterback Andrew McDonald had career highs of 327 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran in a score.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Boston College is the first ACC team ever to play in Aggie Memorial Stadium.

2. The Aggies have lost three previous games against BCS Conference teams by an average of 39.3 points.

3. Eagles WR Alex Amidon needs 54 receiving yards to set the school's all-time record. Current BC offensive graduate assistant coach Rich Gunnell owns the current mark with 2,459.

PREDICTION: Boston College 38, New Mexico State 14