This concludes the key stretch series, thanks for reading.
Key stretch: October.
Analysis: This is going to be a season-defining month for the Eagles, and I’m not even including the home game against rival Notre Dame. BC travels to NC State on Oct. 9, followed by another road trip to FSU the following week before ending the month with back-to-back home games against Maryland and Clemson. All Atlantic Division opponents in this stretch. If they can’t survive this month, the road trip to Wake Forest on Nov. 6 will be irrelevant to the Atlantic Division standings. The back-to-back road trips are going to be among the biggest challenges for the BC defense, as they’ll face two of the best quarterbacks in the league in Christian Ponder and Russell Wilson. The Eagles were able to beat both of those teams in Chestnut Hill last year, but only won twice on the road.
Prediction: Boston College is a good football team that will be in contention for the division title, but at least right now it doesn’t appear to have as many answers or as much depth as Florida State and Clemson. Those two games in particular will determine whether or not the Eagles will prove doubters wrong for the umpteenth time. While they’re bound to rack up more than 54 yards of total offense against the Tigers this time around, that defense will still be too stifling for Dave Shinskie and Co., though it should be a terrific matchup between Clemson’s defensive line and BC’s offensive line. One of the better matchups of the season, probably. I’ll predict a 2-2 record in this stretch with wins over NC State and Maryland, but I’m not convinced the Eagles will escape Raleigh with a win.
More key stretches: