Brian: BC is looking to get back to .500 and pick up a much needed win to become bowl-eligible when they travel to Durham for the first time to take on Duke. Blue Devil Nation and the rest of the Duke faithful seem to be fairly confident in the Blue Devils pulling off the upset this weekend. Is this unfounded optimism? How do you see the game going down tomorrow, and what, if any, effect will the Eagles' banged up offensive line have on the outcome of the game?
Jeff: Both BC and Duke are coming off of consecutive victories going into Saturday's game. Since the game is in Durham and BC has only won quality games where they win the turnover battle by a large margin, there is plenty of reason for Duke to think they have a great chance of winning. But at the same time, Duke has only won three in a row once in the 2000s so winning on Saturday would be a huge deal for the Blue Devils and their fans.
BC fans also have reasons to be confident Saturday. BC and Duke have played three like opponents this season where Duke went 0-3 against Wake Forest, Maryland and Virginia Teach and got outscored by 48 points in those three games combined. Meanwhile, against those same three teams, BC went 1-2 and was outscored by only 12 points in the three games combined.
Brian: I'm not really buying the Duke optimism. Even with all the injuries to the Eagles D - Albright, Wes Davis, Gause - BC is going away the best defense the Blue Devils have faced this season. Add in the unfamiliarity of the opponent (one game in last 75+ years, Cutcliffe has only faced BC three times as an assistant at Tennessee, but that was well before Spaz arrived to Chestnut Hill), and I think Spaz and McGovern will have the Duke offense's number all day.
The only way I see BC losing on Saturday is if Tranquill and the offense give the game to Duke. Of course, this has been prone to happen this year, but I think BC's D will be the big difference in this game.
I'm expecting a repeat performance of last week's game, without the Jim Grobe trickeration touchdown.
Big Finish
Brian: Through 9 games, who has a better chance right now of taking home conference Player of the Year honors -- Kuechly or Harris?
Jeff: Kuechly plays for a great defense while Harris probably won't win any POY honors because of our entire offense.
Jeff: How many touchdowns for Montel Harris this weekend (since he' been finding the endzone regularly lately)?
Brian: He won't have as many as last week with the banged up O-line, but Ninja is probably good for a TD or two.
Brian: Even without Jeremy Lin, Harvard men's basketball was picked by ESPN to win the Ivy League this year. What are the chances that the Crimson beats the Eagles for the third straight season?
Jeff: Please no.
Jeff: BC women's soccer won their first NCAA game today, coming from behind to knock off Boston University 2-1. How far can they go in the tourney?
Brian: I think they can get to the College Cup semis if they draw #3 Wake Forest (who they beat 2-1) and #1 Portland. It'll be tough though.
Brian: The Eagles ice hockey team defeated Vermont 3-2 last night. Do they pull off the weekend sweep tomorrow night?
Jeff: We are the defending national champions, right?
Jeff: Duke's win over Virginia last week was the first Blue Devil win in November since 2004. Do the Devils get another November win this season?
Brian: Not looking likely with games against BC, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
Brian: Last one. BC-Duke prediction time. Who ya got? What's the final score?
Jeff: The Eagles win 37-21.
Pick 5
For just the second time this season, both Jeff and I finished above .500 on the same week, going 4-1 and 3-2 in week 10. Jeff holds onto a slim 1 game advantage with four weeks to go.
Brian:
Boston College -3.5 at Duke
Wake Forest at N.C. State -18.5
Utah -5 at Notre Dame
South Carolina at Florida -6.5
Clemson +6 at Florida State
Jeff:
Miami -3 at Georgia Tech
Wake Forest +18.5 at N.C. State
Texas A&M -3 at Baylor
USC +4.5 at Arizona
San Diego State at TCU -27.5