GAME BREAKDOWN
KEY MATCHUP: Virginia Tech is 93rd in the country, 78th against the run and allowed 485 yards on the ground against the Georgia Tech option attack in last week’s loss. AJ Dillon is one of the nation’s elite runners and Anthony Brown has the ability to run and pitch off the option. If Tech stops BC’s running game, the Hokies will win.
DRAFT SLANT
–DE Zach Allen continues to impress the pro scouts. NFLdraftscout.com has him rated as the No. 2 defensive end in the country. With All-American Harold Landry hurt for most of last season, Allen led the charge for the Eagles up front. He is an athletic DE who was able to fly through the air to pick up a fumble in the loss at Purdue. In the win over Louisville, he was in on seven tackles, three of them for loss, one a sack, and added a sack last week. His 17.0 career sacks rank seventh on BC’s all-time list.
ROSTER REPORT:
–RB AJ Dillon returned from an ankle injury last week and, even though he’s clearly not 100 percent, ran for 149 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries in the win over Miami. He is tied for third in the nation with 10 runs of 20-plus yards.
–Boston College C is 9-2 when Dillon, a sophomore, runs for 100 yards and is 11-4 and averaging 36.0 points per game in his 15 career starts.
–CB Hamp Cheevers recorded his fifth interception of the season last week, tied for second in the nation.
–WR Jeff Smith, a former quarterback, was 2-of-2 passing for 58 yards and ran for seven yards on two carries.
–LB Connor Strachan had 1.5 tackles for loss, including a sack, and is now tied for 10th place on the school’s all-time TFL list.
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