Boston College Eagles vs. Louisville Cardinals: Can BC Stop the Slide?

Louisville has a slight edge over BC historically with the two teams coming in at 9-7 in favor of the Cardinals historically. They last played last year when Louisville put a beating on the Eagles, topping them 56-28. They aren’t the biggest rivals, but the pair of birds are both fighting for their life to have a chance at challenging the for the ACC right now which should make for an especially contentious game.

Leading up to the tough matchup turnovers were a point of emphasis for head coach Bill O’Brien stating, “We gotta stop turning the ball over and in the end too, we gotta play the run better.

But we got to adjust as coaches better too so everybody’s in it together. There’s no finger-pointing or anything like that. We talked to these guys a lot about what we’re about as a program and what we’re looking for in leadership and things like that.”

Louisville’s offense has largely been led by a familiar face to Coach O’Brien in Ja’Corey Brooks. Coach O’Brien highlighted him the press conference noting that “They’ve got Ja’Corey Brooks, who we had at Alabama while I was there,” said O’Brien. “I coached Ja’Corey for two years at Alabama. He’s a great player…”

Key Players for Boston College

Donovan Ezeiruaku – Defensive End

Donovan Ezeiruaku had a down week by his standards failing to records a sack against Tech. As in every week BC needs their star player to play like one to keep them in the ballgame. Louisville has a strong running game and Ezeiruaku is the player this team relies on to stop the run while also keeping a strong pass rush.

While it’s likely BC wishes that other players would take that step forward, the team will be content if Ezeiruaku simply takes over. Look for him to rebound and make a larger splash this week.

Tommy Castellanos – Quarterback

Tommy Castellanos might not have been the focal point alone on Bill O’Brien’s comment about turnovers, but the quote also was not not about him. While he was able to continue to avoid interceptions last week, Castellanos fumbled the ball three times, turning over two of them. That type of play is simply unacceptable.

Castellanos looked healthier last week but he needs to manage the fumbles or the Eagles will struggle to keep momentum going. As a passer he remains up and down but on a whole has been good and effective this season. He just needs to prevent the costly turnover.

If Tommy can manage to play safe but effective BC has every chance to stay in this game. Even without premier weapons he has managed to play very well, and that should continue. This offense needs to stay on schedule and allow the defense a chance to slow the game down and let them win the BC way. That starts with Tommy protecting the ball.

Key Players for Louisville

Ja’Corey Brooks – Wide Receiver

Ja’Corey Brooks might be this years surprise breakout. The 6-foot 3-inch, 195 pound wide receiver has already broken his career high in yards, and is on his way to shattering his career high in receptions and touchdowns.

After being buried on Alabama’s depth chart, Brooks has stepped up in a major way for the Cardinals leading them in all receiving categories. Brooks just lit up a superior team in Miami, with six catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns as his breakout season continued.

Fans should expect more of the same this week with a depleted BC secondary. Brooks brings a lot of speed to the field, but he has added a level of nuance and strength that he hadn’t shown before. He is a tough player to game-plan for and BC does not have the personnel to fully remove Brooks without sacrificing too much elsewhere. He is one of the most exciting players who is on the field on Friday.

Isaac Brown – Running Back

Speaking of exciting players, Isaac Brown has emerged as one of the best true freshman running backs in the nation. While he is a little bit undersized that has not stopped him from erupting this year to the tune of 564 yards, four rushing touchdowns, and an incredible 8.3 yards per carry. He also has added through the air with 20 receptions for an additional 115 yards and a touchdown. Brown has elevated this Louisville offense in a way no one thought he could entering the year.

BC might have a little bit of trouble stopping Brown after getting obliterated by Bayshul Tuten. If Brown is half as successful as Tuten was, BC probably is out of this game before half.

How Boston College Wins This Football Game

Boston College is going to have an uphill battle to keep up with the high power Cardinals offense. BC needs to find a way to limit the big plays. They must also keep Louisville off schedule if they are going to win. The Eagles simply do not have the offensive personnel to maintain pace with the Cardinals if they don’t.

Hopefully the defense shows up this week; and the offense can just avoid turning the ball over so much. The books are likely correct in assuming that BC takes another one on the chin in a rough stretch of games to kick off conference play.