BC Richmond Final Preview and Reasons to Watch

Boston College takes on Richmond at Alumni Stadium Saturday at 3:30pm. There might be a little rain in the forecast, but possibly only for the earliest stages of the tailgate, with a temperature in the low 60s. This FCS game comes at a nice time. After a game like Virginia Tech, it would be very BC to have a let down game, but you can’t really have that here.

A nice fun fact, defensive ends coach Jim Reid and tight ends coach Frank Leonard both spent time together at Richmond around the turn of the century. A nice connection there, and both of these coaches should have some fun playing against the Spiders.

Last Time Out:

Richmond defeated Jacksonville last week 38-19. The Spiders amassed 320 yards rushing and dominated the game from the start.

BC, of course, beat Virginia Tech in the home opener.

Reasons to Tune in:

1. The Younglings! We should see plenty of new faces in tomorrow’s game, including true freshman. Last season against Holy Cross, three quarterbacks saw action, so I would expect Grosel and Valecce to both see time. Outside of that I’m sure we should see a bevy of backs including Pat Garwo and Javian Dayne who we got a glimpse of last season.
2. Play-Calling and Effort. I would like to see the Eagles come out strong and not play as the Cavaliers did last season, trailing Richmond 10-7 early on. Whichever quarterback or other player is out on the field shouldn’t change the play calling. Play loose and let the guys shine.
3. Kicking. If Addazio wants to kick on 1st and 10 from whatever field goal range might be (roughly the 33 yard line so they say) just because, then I’m all for it. Boumerhi had some nagging injuries during camp, so might as well put him out there in whatever the conditions might be.
4. Perhaps you have monetary interests in the game (see below)
5. Love of the game and all things BC

Oddsmakers

Spread: BC -33.5

Over/Under: 57

BC is a 33.5 point favorite and the over/under is set at 57. I just want to mention I predicted -31.5 in our Richmond pre-season preview. Last week, the Eagles of course scored the “upset” despite being a four point underdog, and the teams combined for 63 points to hit the over as well.

Last season, BC beat Holy Cross 62-14, and Richmond lost to fellow ACC member Virginia 42-13. Also in 2018, Holy Cross defeated Fordham 17-13. But Richmond destroyed Fordham 52-7. Using the transitive property, we can safely say that Richmond was the better team, so expect a tighter contest. I’ll say that Richmond barely covers and the total goes below 57.

Attendance: o/u 24,501

The Holy Cross game saw attendance over 40,000, but it was Holy Cross and a beautiful day if I recall correctly. Can’t say I would be shocked if attendance was a bit low knowing all of this, so I’ll take the under here.

GIF of the Week: (s/o Grant)

Prediction: 38 BC - 13 Richmond

Stay tuned for a How to Watch post tomorrow morning!