Scouting Boston College's Future Opponents: Week 2

Another week of college football is complete and the Boston College Eagles are 2-0 after a pair of wins over FCS programs. We still don't really know how the Eagles measure up to ACC competition, but Friday night will provide the best measuring stick possible when Florida State comes to town. Let's take a look at how BC's upcoming opponents fared this past weekend, and how the games impacted our confidence in BC's ability to win.

Week 3 vs. #11 Florida State: Won vs. South Florida, 34-14; now 2-0

Florida State had some early struggles against USF, with the Bulls taking FSU into halftime with the score tied 7-7. FSU found another gear in the second half, blasting USF with 27 points on the back of a stellar performance by running back Dalvin Cook. Cook now is popping up on every Heisman watch list in America, and he'll provide a potent test for BC's highly-touted run defense on Friday night. Win confidence: 30% (staying even)

Week 4 vs. Northern Illinois: Won vs. Murray State, 56-27; now 2-0

NIU continued to demonstrate that it has a potent aerial attack in their dismantling of Murray State on Saturday. QB Drew Hare went 29-for-38 with 358 yards and 4 TD through the air—two of them caught by Kenny Golladay, who caught 8 passes for 144 yards himself. The strengh of NIU's passing attack continues to make me nervous about this game. I'd much rather face a team that wants to try to run on us. Win confidence: 52.5% (going down)

Week 5 at Duke: Won vs. North Carolina Central, 55-0; now 2-0

Much like the Howard game for BC, you can't take much out of Duke's big win over highly overmatched North Carolina Central. Duke QB Thomas Sirk threw for three touchdowns in the victory. This coming weekend, Duke takes on #23 Northwestern, which will give us better insight into where Duke measures up. For now, it's fair to assume this still has the potential to be a tricky game on the road for the Eagles. Win confidence: 50% (staying even)

Week 6 vs. Wake Forest: Lost vs. Syracuse, 30-17; now 1-1

Fears that Wake Forest are going to have a rough go of it this year in ACC play were not dispelled on Saturday when Syracuse upended them at the Carrier Dome, pulling away with 17 second-half points to secure the victory. Wake QB John Wolford was picked three times in the loss. At home, this really is a game BC should win if they entertain hopes of postseason play. Win confidence: 85% (going up)

Week 7 at #12 Clemson: Won vs. Appalachian State, 41-10; now 2-0

What do BC and Clemson have in common? Both have a pair of easy early-season wins against cupcakes. Clemson topped Appalachian State to follow up on their week 1 trouncing of FCS Wofford. While we haven't learned much about Clemson yet, I have no reason to believe this doesn't remain perhaps the most difficult win on BC's schedule, given that the Eagles will have to travel on the road to Death Valley. Clemson opens ACC play vs. Louisville on Thursday night. Win confidence: 10% (staying even)

Week 8 at Louisville: Lost vs. Houston, 34-31; now 0-2

Well, this was a bit of a surprise. Louisville got in to a shootout with Houston in the fourth quarter and came up empty, falling to 1-1. This was a troubling loss for Louisville, who turned the ball over four times, had two kicks blocked, and were outgained by over 100 yards. In addition, their impressive performance against Auburn the week prior looks a little bit less impressive given Auburn's struggles with Jacksonville State (Yay, transitive property). Suddenly, this game feels a lot more winnable than it did last week. Win confidence: 30% (going up)

Week 9 vs. Virginia Tech: Won vs. Furman, 42-3; now 1-1

VT bounced back from their season-opening loss to Ohio State with an easy win over Furman, their first game with Brenden Motley at starting QB. As seems to be the case for most of this past weekend's ACC games, you can't take much from it. I certainly still think BC can win this one at home. Win confidence: 55% (staying even)

Week 10 vs. NC State: Won vs. Eastern Kentucky, 35-0; now 2-0

Watch out you guys, NC State is undefeated! Total sleeper pick to win the ACC this year imo!!!!!!!! Win confidence: 65% (staying even)

Week 12 vs. #9 Notre Dame: Won vs. UVA, 34-27; now 2-0

In one of the weekend's wildest games, Notre Dame backup QB DeShone Kizer launched a last-minute touchdown pass that dug ND out of a 1-point deficit and delivered them a victory at Virginia. Most importantly, ND QB Malik Zaire was lost for the season due to a fractured ankle. Between the loss of Zaire and ND's need for a late rally to beat a middling ACC team, the Irish rolling in to Fenway as a playoff contender seems a lot less likely. Win confidence: 40% (going up)

Week 13 at Syracuse: Won vs. Wake Forest, 30-17; now 2-0

Shafer madness! The Orange improve to 1-0 and lead the entire ACC! This was pretty much a must-win game for the Orange if they want to cobble together the wins necessary to return to the postseason, and they delivered, beating Wake Forest for the fourth straight time. They played turnover-free ball behind newly-minted starter Eric Dungey, which is certainly encouraging for them. I still think BC should be favored in this one but I think it's clear Syracuse is, at the very least, not going to be painfully abysmal. Win confidence: 75% (going down)