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Boston College Football: Can Eagles stay hot against Purdue?

By Justin Heisey

CHESTNUT HILL, MA - SEPTEMBER 08: AJ Dillon #2 of the Boston College Eagles runs in a touchdown in the first quarter of the game against the Holy Cross Crusaders at Alumni Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
CHESTNUT HILL, MA - SEPTEMBER 08: AJ Dillon #2 of the Boston College Eagles runs in a touchdown in the first quarter of the game against the Holy Cross Crusaders at Alumni Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
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Suddenly-hot Boston College football is set to take to the road this week, facing Jeff Brohm and the regressing Purdue Boilermakers.

Boston College was expected to be a good team but so far they’ve looked like the second-best team in the ACC for the 2018 season. AJ Dillon continues to be an incredible football player with 432 rushing yards over the first four games (fifth nationally).

The real surprise this season is the unexpected performance from quarterback Anthony Brown who has nine touchdowns through the air last season which is two shy of his total from a season ago. The Eagles secured a strong win at home last week against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons who are led by probable ACC rookie of the year Sam Hartman.

Will the Eagles keep up their hot streak against the Boilermakers on the road?

Purdue’s 2018 start has not been the greatest. The Boilermakers have lost all three games they’ve played and all had a deficit less than one touchdown. The main issue for Purdue is their lack of defensive play.

The Boilermakers lost a ton from their stout defensive unit a year ago and are currently ranked 114th nationally in total defense and give up an average of 475 yards per game to opposing offenses. A bright note for Jeff Brohm’s offense is freshman Rondale Moore who broke the single-game record for all-purpose yards in his debut. Will we see some wild plays from the Boilermakers in an effort to win their first game of 2018?

With Week 4 among us, let’s look into what the Eagles have to do to stay perfect for a third of the season.

Date: Saturday, Sept. 22
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: West Lafayette, Ind.
Venue: Ross-Ade Stadium
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN or FuboTV

Players to Watch

Boston College

Purdue

Keys to Victory

Boston College just needs to give the ball to Aj Dillon all game long. Larry Roundtree III took off for 168 yards last week and Jeremy Larkin scored four touchdowns week one against them. Dillon is far and away better than either Roundtree or Larkin and should have an insane week against this Purdue defense. T

he defense is anchored in the back by Taj-Amir Jones and David Blough will have a long day if defensive end Wyatt Ray plays like he did last week (four sacks vs Wake Forest).

Purdue doesn’t have the best of defenses but it isn’t that far off from winning a game this season. Had the Boilermakers avoided the late penalty against Northwestern, made the field goal against Eastern Michigan, or capitalized on Drew Lock’s pick then they could easily be 3-0 going into this game.

The key thing for Purdue this weekend is to avoid the big mistake. They just have to play like they’ve been playing but avoid that monumental screw up that has costed them late in the game.

Betting Odds

Courtesy of OddsShark

Line: Boston College -7
Over/Under: 65

Next. Top 30 breakout candidates for 2018 season. dark

Prediction

This one is going to be very entertaining and will go back and forth. Two of the best young players in football, AJ Dillon and Rondale Moore are both going to have a fantastic day. After it seems as though the Boilermakers are finally going to get their first win of 2018, a weird penalty or a bad interception is going to give the Eagles the win late in the game and leave Purdue disappointed once again.

Final Score: Boston College 31, Purdue 28

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