Boston College @ NC State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 12, 2011 ) North Carolina State 10, Boston College 14

It has been all or nothing for North Carolina State lately. Coming off a rough week on the road, the Wolfpack have a chance to swing the pendulum once again when they host struggling Boston College on Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams. After losing by 27 points to an ordinary Virginia team at home on Nov. 10, N.C. State routed Wake Forest to become bowl eligible before it went on the road and got crushed by Clemson last Saturday. The final margin was 62-48 but the Wolfpack trailed by 31 points late in the third quarter. The Eagles had a chance for a rare win last weekend against Virginia Tech but lost a 10-point halftime lead and fell in overtime 30-23.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, ESPN3.com. LINE: North Carolina State -14

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (2-9, 1-6 ACC): Coach Frank Spaziani's crew will finish with its worst record since the late-1980s, when the Eagles were an independent team mired in a post-Doug Flutie swoon. Boston College was 2-9 in 1989 and 3-8 the year before that. At the very least, the Eagles have been a tiny bit more competitive of late. Against the Hokies, they had a rare rushing attack as Rolandan Finch ran for a season-high 133 yards. Finch also had 53 receiving yards on five catches. Chase Rettig threw for only 129 yards but enters this one needing 58 to become the fourth BC quarterback to throw for 3,000 in a season.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (6-5, 3-4): The Wolfpack had no issues moving the ball last weekend. They gained 597 yards from scrimmage and wide receiver Tobais Palmer set an ACC record with 496 all-purpose yards. Mike Glennon threw for 493 yards and five touchdowns. However, they did nothing to slow down the Tigers, who amassed an eye-popping 754 total yards. Contrast that with the prior week, when N.C. State held Wake Forest to 185 total yards. On the same token, the Wolfpack have allowed an average of 43.4 points in their five losses but 11.3 in their six wins.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Spaziani and Wolfpack coach Tom O'Brien were on the same staffs at Navy, Virginia and Boston College for a total of 26 years. Spaziani was an assistant while O'Brien went 75-48 with the Eagles from 1997-2006.

2. BC owns a 6-3 series advantage, including a 14-10 win at home last season.

3. Glennon has thrown for 13 touchdowns in his last four games.

PREDICTION: North Carolina State 38, Boston College 23