Boston College Football 2016 Preseason Roundtable: Who Could BC Upset?

As BCI continues its coverage of BC preseason football, we look at the upset. Now given what happened last year, any win could be perceived as an upset, but let’s use the expectation that BC should be a bowl eligible team this year. If they were just a run of the mill .500 team, who could they knock off that should be a better team? Let’s see our responses.

Joe: Virginia Tech: This is a tough one. I’d be inclined to think Florida State, but on the road in Tallahassee, that’s going to be difficult. And I can’t see BC beating Clemson. So I don’t think BC has a realistic chance of winning either of the big “marquee” games on the schedule. I don’t know if anyone would consider a win at Lane Stadium to be a monumental upset or anything like that, but it would be surprising, and I could see it happen. It would be a nice early signal that this team is ready to show some serious improvement over last year.

Brian: Louisville: I want to say Clemson or Florida State, given how close BC has played these two over the last few years under Addazio, though I’m not sure how realistic that is this year. Maybe Clemson (Friday night … at home?), though I tend to doubt it. How about Louisville? This is a team that’s getting top 25ish love but I’m not exactly sure why. I’m guessing they’ll once again be solid, but given the placement on the schedule (early November, at home) and how close this game was last year despite no semblance of an offense out of BC, I think the Eagles have a decent shot of springing the upset.

Arthur: Clemson: If this game were in South Carolina, I don’t think my choice would be Clemson. But a couple of factors lead me here. First, Clemson has a difficult schedule preceding this game. While SC State and Troy will hardly be difficult games, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Louisville will be tougher games. On a Friday night, in Chestnut Hill, with BC being as poor as they were last year, this could very well be a trap game for the Tigers. If the offense is strong, BC could take advantage of an unexpecting Clemson team.

Hoff: Georgia Tech: Vegas has the Yellow Jackets favored by 3.5 so this could be called a legitimate upset. The Eagles have had all summer to prepare for the triple option and have even spent time in scrimmages practicing for it. BC has legitimate top end speed at linebacker and in the secondary and when you match this was intelligence of the BC defense I think it equals them shutting down GT. Addazio will throw everything he has into this game to get off to a good start and take the heat off a little bit.

AJ: Louisville: Flashback to 2015 for a moment. A BC team that struggled mightily on offense went down to Louisville, lost their starting QB in the game, gave up a defensive TD and still only lost by three points. This year BC will have a QB (albeit one who has struggled against the Cardinals in the past), and hopefully an offense that can move the ball. Combine that with playing at BC and I feel this could be a game BC could sneak an upset win.

Agree with our answers? Don’t? Leave your thoughts in the comments.