Wake Forest Football: Deacs welcome Boston College for early-season ACC tilt

The ACC grind gets underway for both Boston College and Wake Forest football this Thursday night in a pivotal early-season showdown.

Both the Eagles and Demon Deacons enter off a pair of victories in non-conference action, with three of the four combined wins being nothing but complete blowouts.

Boston College owns two of those three one-sided triumphs, as they are averaging an out-of-this-world 58.5 points per game. After thumping Massachusetts in the opener, 55-21, they destroyed Holy Cross last Saturday, 62-14.

Part of the 604-yard-per-game offense came by way of running back A.J. Dillon, who has rushed for 247 yards and scored three touchdowns. Anthony Brown has been consistent under center, completing almost 74 percent of his passes for 322 yards and four more scores.

In the rivalry win over Holy Cross, the Eagles racked up 22 first downs, 610 yards and scored eight offensive touchdowns. Brown only completed two passes, but as a collective unit, Boston College quarterbacks were 16-for-20 for 245 yards with four scores.

Wake Forest has preferred to light up the scoreboard through the air this season behind freshman Sam Hartman and his talented receiving group.

Hartman is 48-for-78 for 620 yards with four touchdowns, as sophomore Greg Dortch has recovered from an injury that sidelined him last season to haul in 19 passes for 243 yards with a score.

Cade Carney anchors the ground attack with 184 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Demon Deacons average 37 points per game and 565 yards of total offense, including 310 through the air. They are coming off a 51-20 victory over Towson that stretched their current win streak to three.

Here’s how you can watch Boston College at Wake Forest on Thursday night:

Note: This game has been moved forward due to Hurricane Florence concerns. Other games impacted this week will be updated here.

Date: Thursday, Sept. 13
Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Winson-Salem, N.C.
Venue: BB&T Field
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN | Fubo TV

Keys to Victory

If Wake Forest wants to pull the upset, they’ll need to force Boston College to try and move the ball through that air. The Eagles have been efficient when they need to be passing it, but they would prefer to ground it out with Dillon and company.

For the Demon Deacons on the other side of the ball, limiting mistakes will be important. If Hartman and Dortch can continue to grow into one of the top quarterback-wide receiver pairs in the conference, the future will be bright.

Last year, Wake Forest forced four turnovers and ran for 158 yards in scoring a 34-10 victory. That included three interceptions of Brown and a defense that limited Dillon to just 43 yards on 15 carries.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark

Point Spread: Boston College -5.5
Over/Under: 50

Prediction

The Eagles have been an offensive powerhouse through the first two weeks, but they have done so against lower-level teams and with a run-first approach. That won’t cut it on the road in the ACC, and the Demon Deacons are primed to make a big-time push behind their young core.

Final Score: Wake Forest 35, Boston College 34