Virginia Preview

A lot is riding on this game for both teams. And while the schools haven’t faced each other recently, there is enough familiarity between Golden, TOB, Spaz, both Grohs and Petercuskie to making predicting schemes and planning for each other interesting. With that, here are my often off-the-mark predictions on how BC will approach the game and what I think they should do.

Offense -- what BC will do

I have only seen bits of UVA this year, but from the looks of things, it seems like they have a few defensive challenges. Against Maryland, they didn’t seem capable of putting much pressure on Hollenbach or stopping the run. They also have allowed teams to complete a fairly high-percentage of short passes. Do you think Dana Bible is excited? Even if Porter is rusty, I think they will come out with short passes and try to dink and dunk it down the field.

Offense -- what I think BC should do

Why get cute? Virginia just allowed more than 200 yards on the ground. Our line is better than Maryland’s. So even if you assume Golden has made adjustments, I don’t think they can handle our guys upfront (who have dominated every team this season.) BC should pound the ball early. I worry about Porter in this game. I think he’ll try to do too much and prove he is back and better than ever. To me that sounds like a recipe for INTs. Keep the plan simple. Take what they give. Keep it on the ground and if Porter looks iffy, have a quick hook. Ryan proved he is capable.

Defense -- what BC will do

While none were as dynamic as Hagans, BC has faced some mobile quarterbacks the past few years. Wake’s Randolph and WVU’s Marshall were somewhat contained, but their offenses were different from UVAs. Pitt’s offense under Walt Harris with Tyler Palko is probably the closest match among our recent opponents. Against the Panther’s we played pretty conservatively. Very little blitzing, a variety of zones and tried to keep Palko in the pocket. Expect a similar scheme this weekend.

Defense -- what BC should do

Hagans has the potential to burn us, but I say go after him. We’ve had our best success this year when we were applying pressure. And Virginia’s offensive line is hurting. This is risky given the size advantage they have at wideout, but that has been a recurring theme all season. We can’t change to the corner’s height. We can try to put Hagans on his back.

Special teams -- what BC will do and what I think they should do
This part of the preview template has become monotonous. For my sake, let us hope that they play error free special teams.

Final Prediction

Although far from perfect, BC’s performance this season has been predictable. We’ve controlled games we were supposed to control, struggled against FSU and won a hard fought game at Clemson. Even if you overlook the Maryland game, UVA’s efforts have been a little less consistent. They clearly have the talent and the playmakers to beat BC. But which team will show up on Saturday? The one that controlled the Duke game or the one that should’ve put Syracuse away? I’ll go with the consistent team. I think BC wears on UVA early and builds a comfortable cushion in the second half.

Final Score: BC 27, Virginia 14