CFB SATURDAY SELECTION
Army +28 over BOSTON COLLEGE
After kicking off their season with a road win at BYU, #19 Boston College returns home to take on an Army that will make its 2005 debut. Bobby Ross took over as coach for the Black Knights last year and made much better strides with the program than their 2-9 SU record would indicate, and they are clearly now heading in the right direction.
Boston College looks to have another strong season, their first in the ACC, and got off to a nice start with a 20-3 decision at BYU last Saturday. The Golden Eagles are eager to prove that they belong with the likes of Virginia Tech, Florida State and Miami in their new conference surroundings and will get their first ACC test next week when they host Florida State.
Army's offense be stronger in the second year of Ross’s system, as they continue to improve under the guidance of QB Zac Dahman. He’s already in position to rewrite the school's record books, as he is the only player in program history to throw for more than 5,000 yards, and owns the record for completions and attempts as well. While Dahman leads the passing attack, his team will continue to rely heavily on the ground game to move the ball and score points. Carlton Jones was tremendous as a junior, rushing for 1,269 yards and a record 17 touchdowns.
BC will counter with QB Quinton Porter and a strong offense of their own, including a strong stable of running backs. The problem for the Eagles here will be complacency, as they are in a “sandwich†situation. A classic college football sandwich situation exists with a home team is a heavy favorite against a non-conference opponent, off a solid win last week, and have a big conference game next week. The game at hand can easily be regarded as a break, or breather, between those 2 big games. Boston College comes off a long trip to the mountains of Utah and hosts the Seminoles next week. That game is one of the most anticipated contests in recent memory for this team, and it only got bigger with both teams winning last week.
Army plays hard for coach Ross, and while BC is clearly the better team in this matchup, the Black Knights should make a competitive showing. Army is 3-0 ATS at Boston College, so they have given the Golden Eagles a tussle before. In fact, BC has struggled to put away military teams, going 1-7 ATS as a 7+ favorite vs. Army and Navy combined since 1995. Going back to ’84 they are 0-9 ATS as a home favorite of more than 5 points vs. Army/Navy when they aren’t rested and coming off a bye. Additionally, we note that the Eagles were 0-2 ATS as a home double-digit favorite last season. Boston College will certainly hold back here, get their starters off the field as soon as possible, and save their best effort for next week’s visitors, as Army stays at least within 3 TDs.
PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: BOSTON COLLEGE 38 ARMY 17