Boston College to Face Big Challenge In NC State's Rushing Defense

It's strength against strength this weekend in Chestnut Hill.

Boston College has faced numerous challenges through the first half of the year. Two weekends ago they lost their quarterback Anthony Brown to a lower leg injury, while their defense ranks near the bottom of the league, and yet they have been two plays away from sitting at 5-1. But, this Saturday they are going to face something that haven't faced all year, an elite defense. 

"They have a great front seven" explained wide receiver Ben Glines after Wednesday's practice. In the first six games of the season, the Wolfpack have dominated in multiple facets of defense. With 26 sacks, good for 5th in the country they have pressured quarterbacks extremely well.  Whille against the run they are allowing a paltry 66 yards a game, also putting them at 5th in the country. "They have big, strong, thick powerful defensive linemen." said head coach Steve Addazio "They're hard to move. That usually is what equates to stopping the run. That's what they have, 320-pounders and they're good. And I think they have got an outstanding set of linebackers that run to the ball really well"

Boston College strength this year is their rushing attack which is top in the ACC averaging 253 yards per game. But some of that success could be because they also have been fortunate to not face a defense that has cracked the Top 50 against the run. Bud Foster's Virginia Tech defense fared the best against the Eagles holding them to 157 yards, while keeping AJ Dillon in check for most of the game. NC State's rushing defense is going to be a whole different beast, they bring a much more stout defense, one that hasn't allowed more than 173 yards yet. But that number may be an outlier as they have held all other opponents to less than 80 yards a game.

So what does BC do against a team like this? "It's a physical day every day around this joint. We just got off the practice field." We got a big physical offensive line and we run the ball pretty good. I think it's number one in the conference. So it's like that every day honestly, which is a good thing." With arguably the nation's best offensive line in terms of pass protection, leading the nation in sacks allowed, BC has the talent up front to battle NC State. Their play will be critical as they need to keep new starting quarterback Dennis Grosel on his feet against a strong and relentless defensive attack, while also creating gaps for AJ Dillon and David Bailey.

In what has become a must win game for Boston College , they will have a strong defense staring them down on the other side of the ball, one that has won the past two games by less than a touchdown both times. Obviously BC's defense will be a major question mark as well, but in Saturday's showdown it may be NC State's defense that becomes the difference between a win and a loss.