Boston College Football vs. Louisville Cardinals: Betting Odds & Prediction

Boston College has a quarterback. That is just about the only thing I have any measure of faith in for Boston College Football. Through three weeks, BC has committed the most penalties in the entire FBS subdivision, while also being the only program to have all three games decided by three points or less. I don’t think anybody saw the performance BC gave against FSU coming; I saw a team with significant talent if a complete lack of discipline.

Week Four sees the Eagles on the road for the first time, against a Louisville team that is 3-0 under new head coach Jeff Brohm. With that said, they have not really faced any elite teams — their wins have come against the likes of Indiana, Georgia Tech and Murray St. They have been wildly inconsistent even over the course of games, but there is no question the talent is there. QB Jack Plummer has thrown for 732 yards and 5 TDs, but has shown a propensity for turning the ball over with 4 picks. Two names to watch for on this offense: RB Jawhar Jordan is averaging over 10 yards per carry, while Jamari Thrash has quickly become Plummer’s favorite target. BC has been decent against the run this season, especially in limiting Trey Benson this past weekend. They will need a similar performance if they want to win. The key matchup for me here is BC’s defensive line against Louisville’s pass protection. Through BC’s first 3 games, the highly-touted pass rush has mostly disappointed with only one sack and a lack of consistent pressure in the backfield. With that said, they have played against an NIU team who rushed the ball 50 times, and then back-to-back games with mobile QBs who do not want to sit in the pocket. Plummer will not do that. It’s time for Ezeiruaku and Co. to go to work.

BC is (+14) at the time of writing. I like that for the Eagles. Hafley and the leaders on the team have made it clear that they are using the close loss to FSU as an opportunity to bring the team together, and they will be excited to get back on the field. Thomas Castellanos looks more comfortable with each passing game, as does Kye Robichaux and the duo of Lewis Bond and Joe Griffin. I think BC’s offense has enough juice to keep them in the game, if not to win it. I’ll take Louisville to win but BC to cover, with O 54.