Boston College vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Football History
Virginia Tech has dominated the Eagles historically taking 21 of their 32 matchups. They won the last two matchups, as well. The one-sided rivalry might be a closer game this year as BC has a good group, but on a whole this has been the Hokies game to lose.
Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien addressed the challenge the Hokies pose on both sides of the ball praising Kyren Drones noting that “[H]e’s good player… he’s a very, very good player. I mean, we’ve got to do a good job of making sure that we contain them, do the best we can. He’s gonna make plays. He’s an excellent, excellent player, and we’ve got to do a really good job against him.”
Addressing the strong defensive lines Coach O’Brien stated, “They have a good pressure package. They do a good job of freeing those guys up and you have to do a great job of being ready protection wise. That’s why we practice a lot. So hopefully we can not give up the 21st and 22nd sack, but they do a great job. Like I said, it’s going to be big challenge.”
Key Players for Boston College
Donovan Ezeiruaku – Defensive End
Donovan Ezeiruaku is a one-man wrecking machine for the BC defense. Ezeiruaku already has nine sacks and 43 tackles on the year. He also did his absolute best to stop the UVA defense last time out, notching 10 tackles and a sack in that game. He is the motor of this defense and the best player on the field right now on either side of the football whenever he plays.
Facing an elite quarterback like Drones and a strong rush attack, Ezeiruaku needs to bring his A-Game to shut them down. Ezeiruaku has to lead the charge, pressuring Drones, pursuing him when he takes off, while also playing patient enough to stuff run gaps. BC needs a big game from the potential first round NFL pick.
Tommy Castellanos – Quarterback
Tommy Castellanos did not look 100 percent healthy last week, as the Eagles offense sputtered to only 14 points. BC needed their star quarterback to play like one in conference play and he simply did not.
Castellanos has to show off his versatility. While the passing improvements have been awesome, the lack of rushing when the play breaks down has been difficult to make sense of. This was arguably college footballs’ top rushing quarterback last year, an elite weapon when he had the ball in his hands. This year, he is barely on pace to crack 250 rushing yards largely due to game one. The last three games he’s played in have been a steady decline.
BC needs Castellanos to right the ship. Whether that means finding his early season passing form again or turning on his elite rushing skills the offense needs a spark. Castellanos is the only one who can ignite them.
Ashton McShane – Corner
You’d be forgiven for asking who Ashton McShane is. A true freshman from McKinney, Texas and three-star recruit on 247 sports, McShane is the guy who is stepping in for Amari Jackson. Those are big shoes to fill and most likely the Hokies are going to pepper him with targets early, challenging to young corner.
Whether he is up to the test is going to be a big factor in the outcome of this game. McShane, only 18 years old, has bright lights shining on him now. If he steps up and performs well he could help stabilize a suddenly much more vulnerable BC secondary. If not, that hole is going to loom large.
Key Players for Virginia Tech
Kyren Drones – Quarterback
The Hokies have their own dual threat quarterback at home in star Kyren Drones. Drones has been a little bit subpar as a passer this season, with already more interceptions than he threw all of last year. Drones is not the type of quarterback who is going to win a game with his arm alone though as his legs are what gives defensive coordinators nightmares going into matchups.
Last season, Drones had 818 rushing yards with five touchdowns on the ground. His ability to extend plays and stretch a defense at the line of attack are what makes him special. His efficiency is down this year, at four yards per carry from 4.9 the previous year; but he remains as much a threat as ever with 69 attempts already for 278 yards and three touchdowns, roughly similar stats to Boston College’s starting running back Treshaun Ward. Of course, Drones isn’t the only rushing threat on this run-first offense.
Bayshul Tuten – Running Back
Bayshul Tuten is now in year three at Virginia Tech and he has been the focal point of this offensive attack. Tuten already has 605 yards and a whopping nine touchdowns on the season en route to a monster campaign. He has scored a touchdown in every single game this year, and has over 100 yards in four of six games so far.
Tuten, simply put, is the Hokies offense. Drones may set the tone and get the credit, but Tuten is the guy they will lean on to win this game. Look for BC to do their best to stop him from finding the end zone this game, but with how he’s played this year this is just a tough man to stop.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland – Edge
Speaking of difficult man to stop, Antwan Powell-Ryland leads the Hokies in sacks with seven on the year so far. His disruption has led to two forced fumbles as well.
Unlike Ezeiruaku, Powell-Ryland does not rack up tackles. Yet, he causes similar issues for quarterbacks and helps lead this impressive defensive line. The second-team All-ACC edge rusher from 2023 will try and continue his momentum against Castellanos and the BC O-Line.
How Boston College Wins This Football Game
Boston College is going to have a hard time winning this game. On the road at Lane Stadium is one of the toughest assignments to draw. Enter Sandman is one of the most electric entrance songs of all time. This is just not a fun place to play on the road and on top of that Virginia Tech is a really good team.
Bill O’Brien and company have had a full week and some change to prepare while Virginia Tech is playing on a short week, which provides a massive advantage in terms of preparation. That said, BC needs to come out firing and get up early forcing Drones to try and win with his arm in order for the Eagles to win this game.
Drones is a very beatable quarterback when he needs to throw the ball; yet the Hokies are not when they can run you into submission.
Even in a back and forth matchup,the Hokies likely win. Hopefully, Castellanos can bring the offense out with a boom and the Eagles have some fun opening drives schemed to get the show rolling early. Otherwise, it might be a very long day at Lane Stadium.
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.