Boston College vs. UMass: Weekly Kickoff
Boston College and UMass face off at McGwirk Stadium for another edition of the Battle of the Bay State. The Eagles have won the last ten, their previous matchup coming in 2018, a game BC dominated 55-22. But a lot has changed in the past three years, Steve Addazio and Mark Whipple the head coaches at the time are both gone, replaced by younger coaches Jeff Hafley and Walt Bell.
It has not been pretty for Bell the past three seasons, compiling a 1-16 record, and allowing 52 points a game in his first and only full season in 2019. Last year UMass only played in four games, scoring one total touchdown.
BC opens this game as five touchdown favorites on the road. Amherst is a solid college town, that features the Hanger, one of the best wings bars in the state. Let’s look at this weekend’s points of interest through their flavor of wings.
1. Jet Fuel.
Boston College has explosive speed on offense that could be a major challenge for a UMass team that lacks the athletes to cover them. Can the Minutemen figure out a way to slow down Phil Jurkovec and Zay Flowers, or will the ACC speed and talent of the Eagles be too much? BC's passing attack is about as versatile as it comes, with a mix of short, intermediate and deep routes that take discipline and solid defensive schemes to defend.
2. Cruisin Altitude
Expectations are not particularly high for the Minutemen this season, but there is reason for optimism. Featuring quarterback Tyler Lytle, a transfer from Colorado, UMass is looking to turn around an offense that struggled in their abbreviated 2020 season. They are starting four freshman on the offensive line, which struggled against Pitt, and could be a key for BC. On the defensive side of the ball, Jeff Hafley mentioned being impressed with UMass's secondary. This is a squad though that allowed 375 yards through the air against Pitt.
3. Red Alert
BC and UMass are the only two FBS football schools in the state of Massachusetts, and there is a bit of bad blood between the fan bases. While the football products seem to be world’s apart now, UMass and BC have had some classic bouts in hockey, and many in Amherst believe BC is ducking the Minutemen in basketball as the “Battle of the Bay State” has been on hiatus for years.
4. Kickin' BBQ
For Boston College this game will be all about kicking out the errors, and cleaning things up. While BC played well against Colgate, there is certainly areas of their game that Hafley and his staff will want to clean up. Limiting explosives on defense, and getting the rushing attack going will most likely be high on their priority list.
Stay tuned to BC Bulletin all week as we continue to count down to kickoff with wall to wall coverage.
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