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Boston College Football: AJ Dillon needs bounce-back vs. Kansas

By Connor Muldowney

CHESTNUT HILL, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 07: AJ Dillon #2 of the Boston College Eagles carries the ball during the first half against the Richmond Spiders at Alumni Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
CHESTNUT HILL, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 07: AJ Dillon #2 of the Boston College Eagles carries the ball during the first half against the Richmond Spiders at Alumni Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /
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AJ Dillon has had a slow start to the 2019 season but he needs a bounce-back against Kansas if Boston College football plans to improve to 3-0.

It’s been a rough start to the season for AJ Dillon. Being named to basically every offensive preseason watch list and all-conference teams, the junior running back has gotten out of the gates slowly with just 167 yards and three touchdowns on a 4.2 yards per carry average.

Yet Boston College is still 2-0, averaging 40 points and over 250 rushing yards per game. Something isn’t adding up, but Dillon will get a decent test against Kansas — though the Jayhawks may be in the basement of the Big 12 — in Week 3. If he can put together his first 100-yard performance of the year, fans will start to feel better.

Kansas, on the other hand, has gotten off to a shaky start in the Les Miles era. The Jayhawks opened with a win over Indiana State but weren’t so lucky against Coastal Carolina in Week 2.

Carter Stanley needs to remain mistake-free if he plans on beating Boston College and Khalil Herbert needs to continue his effectiveness in the backfield. It will take a herculean effort to pull off this upset, though.

Here’s how you can watch Boston College vs. Kansas:

Date: Friday, Sept. 13
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Venue: Alumni Stadium
TV: ACC Network
Live Stream: getaccn.com

Keys to Victory

Dillon has to get going in the run game. If Boston College wants this offense to continue its momentum into upcoming ACC play, he needs to hit his stride and average 5.0-plus yards per carry. The running lanes are there — the Eagles are averaging 250 rushing yards per gam — so he needs to be the one to hit them. On defense, the Eagles must slow down Herbert in the Kansas run game. He’s currently the entire offense right now and without him, the Jayhawks will struggle.

For Kansas, getting Stanley going with some confidence-building passes early on will ensure the Jayhawks aren’t one-dimensional offensively. He needs to bounce back from his ugly performance against Coastal Carolina where he had zero touchdowns and two picks. Oh, and the Jayhawks need to play a near-perfect game to win this one.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of Bovada

Line: Boston College -21
Over/under: 51

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Prediction

Boston College just has too much for a team like Kansas to handle at this point in the season and you add in the fact that the Eagles are at home and this one shouldn’t be all that close. Give me Boston College and it will cover the 21-point spread.

Final Score: Kansas 10, Boston College 34

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