A couple of teams that prefer to mix in a lot of running plays, Head Coach Willie Taggart and the Florida State Seminoles (+2) are set to pay a visit to their ACC nemesis Boston College Eagles (-2) at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff for this matchup is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET and ACC Network has the TV rights.
Betting Preview: Boston College Eagles vs. Florida State Seminoles
In this Saturday Atlantic Coast game, Boston College has been tabbed as the favorite and the team’s currently giving up 2 points. The Seminoles are also receiving +100 moneyline odds while the Eagles are -120. Oddsmakers have placed the over/under (O/U) at 62 points, and if one team can create a bunch of points early, it’ll likely lead to a reasonable in-game betting opportunity.
This matchup’s betting odds have moved slightly from where they were initially posted. The line opened at -1 and the game’s O/U was originally set at 61.5.
The Seminoles are 3-5-1 against the spread (ATS) and are down 3.6 units so far. They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an O/U record of 3-6.
The Eagles have been a disappointment to moneyline bettors this season, losing 13.3 units. They’re 6-3 ATS and seven of their games have gone over the total.
The Seminoles have gone 4-5 straight up (SU), including 3-4 SU against ACC opponents. The Eagles are 5-4 SU overall and 3-3 SU in conference play.
The Noles lost to Miami (FL) 27-10 in a blowout where their secondary allowed the Hurricanes to air it out for 313 yards and two touchdowns. DeeJay Dallas had a productive day for the Hurricanes in that one with 61 rushing yards and a score on 18 attempts, along with 44 yards on two catches. On the offensive side of the ball, Alex Hornibrook completed 17 passes on 24 attempts for just 135 yards, as well as a score and a pick. Cam Akers (66 yards on 22 rush attempts) and the signal-caller Hornibrook (-51 yards on 10 carries) led the ground attack in the loss. Tamorrion Terry (four receptions, 40 yards) and D.J. Matthews (four catches, 24 yards) shared the receiving duties.
Boston College just earned a 58-27 win over Syracuse. The defense let the Orange rush for 159 yards on 42 attempts. Trishton Jackson was a bright spot in the loss for Syracuse, accounting for 148 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches. For Boston College, Dennis Grosel completed eight-of-10 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns. AJ Dillon (242 rushing yards on 35 attempts, three TDs) and David Bailey (172 yards on 16 carries, two TDs) mounted the ground game in the win while Kobay White (two receptions, 83 yards, one TD) and Zay Flowers (two catches, 59 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching corps.
Florida State’s run the ball on 51.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Boston College has an overall rush percentage of 68.1 percent. The Seminoles have produced 127.8 rush yards/game (including 118.9 per game against Atlantic Coast opponents) and have 15 scores via handoffs this year. The Eagles are logging 282.3 rush yards per game (281.7 in conference) and have 23 total rushing TDs.
If the numbers so far this season can translate to this game, then it seems like the Eagles might have the more disruptive lines up front. Their offensive line has given up just five sacks while the D-line has logged 11 sacks. The Seminoles O-line has allowed 34 sacks and their defense has sacked opposing QBs on just 26 occasions.
The Noles offensive scheme has logged 265.4 yards/contest through the air overall (254.3 per game versus conference opposition) and has 18 passing scores so far. The Eagles have produced 198.7 pass yards per outing (206 against ACC competition) and have 17 total pass TDs.
Florida State appears to hold an advantage in both defensive facets. The team’s allowed opponents to rush for an average of 154.7 yards and pass for 279.4 yards per game. The Boston College defense has allowed 297.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 185.3 yards per game on the ground. The Noles are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 6.29 to opponents, while the Eagles have given up an 8.11 ANY/A.
Offensively, Hornibrook has put up 790 passing yards on the year. The signal-caller has completed 69-of-96 attempts with seven scores through the air and only two interceptions. He has a 6.37 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 3.87 over the last two games.
The Seminoles have tried to control tempo by pounding the defense with their running backs. Along with Tamorrion Terry (562 yards, six TDs), Cam Akers (839 rush yards, eight rush TDs, four receiving TDs) and Khalan Laborn (174 rush yards, one rush TD, 37 receiving yards) have really been focal points in the offensive game scripts for Florida State.
For the home team, Dennis Grosel has completed 26-of-56 passes for 430 yards, six TDs and one INT. Grosel’s ANY/A sits at 9.02 for the year and 11.08 across his past two outings.
The Eagles will also try to control the game’s pace by turning to their backfield. Zay Flowers (306 receiving yards, three TDs) has gotten involved lately, but AJ Dillon (1,210 rush yards, 12 rush TDs, one receiving TD) and David Bailey (682 rush yards, six rush TDs, one receiving TD) have gotten plenty of touches lately.
When these two teams met last year, Florida State earned the win 22-21.
Florida State Seminoles at Boston College Eagles Betting Pick
SU Winner: Boston College, ATS Winner: Boston College, O/U: Under
Betting Notes
- The Over/Under for Florida State’s last game was 50. The under cashed in the team’s 27-10 defeat to Miami (FL).
- As a team, Florida State has produced 3.3 yards per carry across its past three games and 3.1 over its last two.
- Boston College has averaged 6.0 yards per carry over its last three contests and 5.4 over its past two.
- Boston College has lost four fumbles this season while Florida State has let five get away.
- In its last three matchups, Florida State is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in each of those three.
- The O/U for Boston College’s last match was 59.5. The over cashed in that 58-27 win over Syracuse.
- Over its last three contests, Boston College is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in each of those three.
- Both teams have produced 10 pass plays of 40+ yards. The Seminoles have have made 13 pass plays of 30+ yards while the Eagles have accounted for 15 such plays.
- The Florida State defense has allowed six pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Boston College has given up eight such plays.
- The Florida State offense has created nine rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Boston College has created 23 such runs.
- The Seminoles defense has allowed eight rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Eagles have given up 16 such runs.
- The Florida State D has sacked opposing QBs 26 times this season. Boston College has produced just 11 sacks.
