Florida State Rush Offense vs Boston College Rush Defense
Florida State has had a lot of success early this season running the ball ranking 3rd in the country with a 7.2 yards per carry average. Devonta Freeman has established himself as a reliable runner averaging 91 yards a game on a mind boggling 9.8 yards per carry. James Wilder Jr. has continued his battering ram ways as well though he has a much less, but still respectable, 6.6 yards per carry. The spark has been Karlos Williams after his switch two games ago to running back. In two games he has shown natural ability and explosiveness in averaging 11.4 yards per carry. None of that would be possible without a quality offensive line that has done an excellent job of opening holes. The Boston College defense, on the other hand, ranks 75th in the nation giving up 4.31 yards per carry. Against USC two weeks ago, the BC defense allowed 257 yards on the ground and 6.0 yards a carry.
Advantage: FSU
Florida State Pass Offense vs Boston College Pass Defense
Florida State had their first struggles of the season in the passing game last week against Bethune Cookman. Of particular note was numerous drops by the wide receivers after being perfect the first two contests of the year. There were still plenty of big plays and wide receivers open, however. The Noles are among the tops in the nation in completion percentage (3rd), yards per attempt (5th), and quarterback rating (6th). Jameis Winston passed his first road test in the opener at Pitt, but will be playing on the road for the first time since that opening game. The Noles feature a trio of dependable wide receivers in Rashad Greene, Kelvin Benjamin and Kenny Shaw, each with big play potential. Shaw in particular has emerged as a play maker this season after being more of possession receiver the last couple season. BC ranks 91st in Pass Efficiency Defense and 96th in yards per attempt allowed at 8.2 yards. BC has gotten to the quarterback a little bit better this season with 9 sacks early on – already surpassing their worst in the nation total of 6 sacks in 2012.
Advantage: FSU
Boston College Rush Offense vs Florida State Rush Defense
Boston College has a quality running back in Andre Williams who leads the ACC with 118.67 rushing yards per game. That is in large part due to his 25 carries per game which is just under the nation leader. He is a workhorse back without a lot of breakaway potential, but someone who will pound away at a defense. He has right at 75% of the carries at running back for the Eagles. BC has a good size line averaging just over 300 lbs, but for BC standards, it’s not quite as large or dominating as they’ve had in the past. It should be noted that when BC faced USC, they were held to 3.9 yards per carry and struggled establishing anything on offense. Florida State’s run defense has been the biggest question mark this season, despite ranking at 29th in the nation giving up 3.36 yards per carry. The Noles have been susceptible to big gains up the middle, a stark contrast to the run defense of the last couple of years in Tallahassee. Boston College will be a big test for the Seminoles run defense this week and give Nole fans a better idea of what level of defense they can expect this year. This should be a Seminole advantage, but based on their play so far I don’t see a clear edge to either team.
Advantage: Push
Boston College Pass Offense vs Florida State Pass Defense
Boston College quarterback Chase Rettig has loads of experience making his 37th start this weekend. He has been solid, if unspectacular in leading a Boston College passing attack that ranks near the middle of the pack in most statistical categories. He has taken care of the ball so far this year, though, with only 1 interception after throwing 13 a year ago. His go to target is Alex Amidon, who has almost half of BC’s 41 receptions on the season. Amidon doesn’t wow you with his size or his speed, but he is a quality wide receiver who knows how to get open and is sure handed. Florida State leads the nation giving up just 115.7 yards per game. That is in large part to facing two run oriented offenses in the first 3 games, though. When you look at pass effeciency defense and yards per attempt, however, FSU still ranks among the top 15 teams in the nation. The Seminoles boast a very deep and very talented secondary that should have little problem matching up with the BC receivers.
Advantage: FSU
Score Prediction: FSU 45-13