One of the biggest challenge for a defense is clearly the talent of the opposing quarterback. A good quarterback can turn average receivers into dangerous weapons, while a poor QB can turn a game into a disaster quickly. Looking ahead at the schedule, BC had a handful of good opposing quarterbacks this year. For the sake of neatness, they are ranked. Let's take a look, and please be sure to leave your rankings in the comments.
5. Jacoby Brissett- N.C. State- He certainly didn't look all that impressive against BC last year when he went 14-30 for 1 touchdown and 1 interception. But I don't believe that is the true story of what Brissett can do. He was much more effective against UNC, and lit up Florida State. I am always a little hesistant to pick the Wolfpack for anything like this, bu a quarterback that finished last season with 23 touchdowns and 5 interceptions gets my attention.
4. Everett Golson- Florida State- He hasn't necessarily been handed the starting job yet (I would probably switch Sean Maguire with Brissett on this list) but he has all the tools to be very dangerous in Jimbo Fisher's system. He has had a history of turning the ball over too much (against ASU and FSU last year), but if he can keep that in control and make big plays downfield, which he is certainly capable of doing, he will give BC fits this season.
3. Drew Hare- Northern Illinois. Hare is possibly one of the best, and unknown quarterbacks in the country. Buried in the MAC as a sophomore he had a monster season in 2014, throwing for 2300 yards and an 18/2 TD/INT split. What scares me the most about Hare is his ability to take off with his feet. BC is not going to be able to blitz like they usually do, because Hare will just take off. With quarterbacks like this, you want to keep him in the pocket, but even there his accuracy is pretty good (59.5%.
2. Malik Zaire- Notre Dame- He is a relative unknown, only playing parts of 7 games last year, but what scared me was his bowl game against LSU. He is very mobile, but he's not one of those dual threat QB's that doesn't have an arm as well. If he can use his legs to stretch out plays, BC's untested secondary could lose track of coverage schemes and that could smell big problems for the Eagles.
1. Deshaun Watson- Clemson. Easily the best all around quarterback the Eagles will face in 2015. BC luckily dodged that bullet in 2014, but it just takes a look at his body of work to see what he is capable of doing. Personally I think Watson is a Heisman contender, a player that has that edge to win the big games. He is mobile, he can kill you with his arm. Just a nightmare for defenses. The only knock on him so far has been injuries, but he is healthy now, and will be giving Don Brown nightmares.