Ranking BC's Football Games In Order Of Difficulty
The start of preseason practices is right around the corner and following a flurry of recruiting activity we've got a lot to break down.
Eagle Action takes a look at BC's 12-game regular season schedule and makes an attempt at ranking each in order of difficulty.
12. Holy Cross (September 9th)
You've got to go with the FCS opponent in the first slot here. In an early season game the Eagles will have a lot to play for regardless of how the opener against NIU plays out. These teams have only played once since the 1980s but the Eagles won 62-14 back in 2018.
11. Connecticut (October 28th)
Last year's 13-3 loss to UConn was a devastating defeat for a program that was already reeling last year. But don't get confused. If BC has any semblance of an offense this season the Eagles will still be the clear favorite to notch this early season win. However, last season is a stark reminder that it's not just a chip shot. The Huskies were 6-7 and return most starters from both sides of the ball. This team was actually pretty solid at the end of last season, even notching a win against top-25 Liberty.
10. Northern Illinois (September 2nd)
Talk about an important tone-setting game for Jeff Hafley's program. Coming off a rougher season than anyone anticipated, NIU starts the 2023 campaign at the Heights. This is a legitimate contender in the Mid-American Conference. Quarterback Rocky Lombardi, receiver Trayvon Rudolph, and a strong offensive line on offense pair with one of the MAC's top defensive lines to make this a very competitive early season game for the Eagles.
9. Virginia (September 30th)
UVA is one of the teams that will be picked to finish toward the bottom of the ACC and for obvious reasons. Tony Elliott's first season following Bronco Mendenhall was a year of decline with the Cavaliers finishing 3-7. It could have been a 3-9 season, but for end-of-season cancellations following last year's tragic shooting. UVA is breaking in a new quarterback to follow Brennan Armstrong, whose numbers fell off a cliff in 2022. Offense had been a strength for a long time, but last year UVA averaged 17 points per game. This is a contest BC needs to win.
8. at Army (October 7th)
When you face Army you know what you're up against. The Black Knights rushed for 289 yards per game last year. This will be a relatively experienced team by a service academy's standards, but quarterback Bryson Daily is green. Army has played very solid defense under Jeff Monken. BC fans should hope last season's dip to 6-6 was more of a trend than a one-off for Monken. Typically, Monken's teams have played very well against Power Five competition but have come up short. Hafley will be game planning to slow a powerful rushing attack and preparing to face a pretty stout defense. And it's on the road. The good news is they should have BC's full attention as the Eagles have a bye after this game.
7. Virginia Tech (November 11th)
This is another game BC needs to win, being at home and against one of the league's weaker teams on paper. Like UVA, Virginia Tech fell off a cliff in the first year under a new coach. Brent Pry was just 3-8 last season. Of course, one of those wins came against Boston College early in the season, but the Hokies did lose seven consecutive contests at one point. They're very similar to UVA in terms of how much returns and the offensive struggles last year. BC is fortunate that both of these winnable games are at home.
6. at Georgia Tech (October 21st)
There are so many similar conference games for Boston College this year, in large part because the Eagles have the good fortune of facing a disproportionate number of bottom half of the league squads. Georgia Tech still falls into that category, but it's worth mentioning that Brent Key did get them moving in a better direction after the Jackets spent so much time spinning their wheels under Geoff Collins. Georgia Tech's offense was as bad as UVA's and VT's last year and the defense was a little worse. Key actually did a good job last year notching wins against Pitt and North Carolina so on the road this game will be tough, and it's one BC will have circled as a must win, too.
5. at Syracuse (November 3rd)
The Orange have been up and down under Dino Babers and that's putting it mildly. Last year was a middle of the road outcome, though. On paper, this could be one of Babers' best teams with Syracuse. It was a tale of two seasons last year, with Syracuse winning its first six games and then losing the next five before rebounding to win at BC. Garrett Shrader had a solid season at quarterback and the defense should be solid. While Syracuse has a tougher conference slate than BC the Orange could make some noise in the ACC or at least make a couple of tough games interesting.
4. at Louisville (September 23rd)
Jeff Brohm has a team that could make some noise in his first year in the conference. The home team has won the last five games in this series and that's a significant advantage for the Cardinals going into this game. UofL's defense was structured around creating havoc in the backfield last season, but the pass defense is going to have to improve. That's one reason the Eagles were able to win last year's game. Quarterback Jack Plummer could find some success and Brohm knows how to generate a passing attack.
3. Miami (November 24th)
Hurricane fans were probably expecting a lot more than 5-7 in Mario Cristobal's first year, but you have to assume this guy didn't forget how to coach after doing a good job at Oregon. If Miami can straighten out its offensive line then it should make everything look a lot better. Last year they were not good enough up front. The defense also didn't make as much of an improvement as you had to expect but that should happen this year. This should be a significantly improved team but not on the level of Florida State or Clemson at the very top of the league.
1. at Pittsburgh (November 16th)
The Panthers appear to be a prime darkhorse candidate in the ACC and so this is clearly one of BC's toughest games. You could even make the case for it as the toughest since it's on the road. Pat Narduzzi has won 20 games the last two years so he does have it rolling pretty well. The big storyline here will obviously be BC facing Phil Jurkovec, who is in line to start for the Panthers. The defense does have to replace a lot of important players but Narduzzi should have them playing at least pretty well on that side as usual.
1. Florida State (September 16th)
The Seminoles will be the trendy pick to win the ACC now that Jordan Travis is a Heisman Trophy contender. The good news is BC gets this game at home, but Mike Norvell has an explosive offense and a fast, experienced defense that took a big step forward last year. Florida State has a brutal start to the year. The Noles also face LSU and go to Clemson in September.