Boston College vs. University of North Carolina Football History
UNC has a football matchup advantage going 4-2 against Boston College historically. They last played in 2020, with UNC scraping out a 26-20 win against the Eagles.
Key Players for Boston College
Donovan Ezeiruaku – Defensive End
Donovan Ezeiruaku is frustrating lately. The talent is obvious, but the impact has been hit or miss. He had two sacks against Syracuse but finished with zero last week, something he shared with all of his teammates.
It might not be fair to put all the pressure on one player to bring all the pressure each week. However, Ezeiruaku is at the talent level that he should be able to at least help his teammates get to the quarterback.
The Eagles slide is almost directly correlated to whether Ezeiruaku gets a sack. In games where he disrupts the timing of the opposing quarterback and fills running lanes the Eagles tend to win. In games where he struggles to make an impact and does not impose his will the Eagles tend to lose.
Unfortunately, Ezeiruaku is the key to the game for this defense. Hopefully he is back on track before he opts out of the season to prepare for the NFL draft.
Jordan McDonald – Running Back
Jordan McDonald went from a nobody on this team to a weapon – seemingly overnight. McDonald dominated Syracuse’s defense and slashed into SMU last week for 5.7 yards per carry. The momentum is in his favor as we go into the final few weeks of the season.
The 6-foot 1-inch, 227-pound junior out of Atlanta has never had close to this many opportunities before. He’s done the most with them so far and the Eagles need that to continue. The underrated running back has suddenly become essential to this offense with the rise of Grayson James.
Key Players for UNC
Omarion Hampton – RB
There is arguably no greater key player on this UNC team than running back Omarion Hampton. There are a few running backs in college football that are unfortunately being overshadowed due to the performance of Ashton Jeanty – Hampton is one such player.
Hampton has already amassed over 1400 yards, 14 touchdowns, at 5.7 yards per carry. He also has 31 receptions for an additional 281 yards and another touchdown. He is a remarkable prospect for NFL draft purposes as he has already proven and established himself as one of the best players in all of college football.
On top of being generally of the best running backs in college football, Hampton also finds himself facing a Boston College defense that has struggled mightily to stop top running backs. There is a real chance that Hampton finds himself over 200 total yards in this game. At worst, he should heartily shellac this defense to his average pace; 140 yards, 1-2 touchdowns and 28 yards through the air on three catches. He is the most exciting player you will see this week, even if it is at the expense of the BC Eagles.
How Boston College wins this football game
Boston College needs to find their offensive identity and shut down Hampton. Easy, right? Not so much.
Boston College does not look like the same team as it did early in the year on offense or defense. Most of that is due to massive losses in the secondary, with Castellanos struggling with consistency and turnovers before leaving the offensive problems on the shoulders of James.
The identity for the Eagles seems to be their running game, but that requires at least one of Kye Robichaux, Jordan McDonald, or the ghost of Treshaun Ward to come through. They did it against Syracuse, maybe they can do the same here.
Spencer Buckley
Hi Everyone! I'm happy you read this far to see my bio. I am a full time football and baseball enthusiast who would have "100% made the show if I didn't get injured...". Also do some Lawyer stuff in my free time.