Preview & Prediction: Boston College Football vs Holy Cross

On Saturday afternoon, the Boston College Eagles will host the Holy Cross Crusaders for week 2 of the 2023 college football season. BC is coming off of a disappointing loss at home to the Northern Illinois Huskies, in which they rallied in the 4th quarter to tie the game, but were unable to pull out the victory in overtime. Holy Cross meanwhile had a comeback of their own, scoring 28 unanswered points over Merrimack in the second half to take the 42-20 victory.

These teams have a longstanding history. Boston College and Holy Cross football have met 83 times and are one of New England’s longest standing sports rivalries. While the days of these two competing against each other for national accolades are long over, plenty of people still enjoy the rivalry between the two and Alumni Stadium could likely be seeing a lot of purple in the stands, especially when HC has a good shot at victory.

What to Watch For

• Quarterback, obviously. While Emmett Morehead was technically the starter for the Eagles this season, he only saw 3 drives of action last week and Thomas Castellanos, a transfer from UCF, did most of the work behind center. Castellanos provides a lot of flexibility in the rushing game, but Morehead is the better passer, so it will be interesting to see who gets more time on the field this week and how good they look as BC ramps up for conference play starting next week.
• Can BC’s receivers get open and catch the ball? The WR group for the Eagles struggled last week, dropping multiple passes and suffering a lot of communication issues that stalled out their offensive drives. It will be an encouraging sign if they can get back on track for week 2.
• Keep the Crusaders low-scoring. NIU only managed 7 points in the first half last week and still pulled out the victory. If BC’s offense is going to struggle at the beginning of the season, then the defense will have to step up to pick up the slack. If Holy Cross is scoring any more than 14 points or so in the first half, it will be a bad sign for the Eagles.

Tailgate Treat of the Week

As a Central MA native, there’s a whole host of things I could’ve picked for a match-up with Holy Cross. But the tried and true Worcester brewery of Wormtown is hard to beat. Their Be Hoppy IPA is one of their most popular beers for good reason, but I also encourage you to check out their other beers, too.

Prediction: Boston College 24 Holy Cross 21

I gotta roll with my Eagles in this one, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Holy Cross continues to be one of the best teams in the FCS and I’m willing to bet they’ve had this game circled on their calendar for a while. The Crusaders are going to come into Chestnut Hill with a well-developed gameplan by their great head coach Bob Chesney, and Jeff Hafley’s squad had better be prepared. The loss to NIU last week should be the wake up call that they needed.