FL vs. Boston College Prediction, Preview, and Odds

Two six-win ACC teams close out their regular season on Friday when the Miami Hurricanes (6-5, 5-6 ATS, 2-5 ACC) head north to take on the Boston College Eagles (6-5, 4-7 ATS, 3-4 ACC). Both teams are bowl eligible, but are in the bottom half of the ACC standings, BC is 8th and Miami is 10th. In Miami's last game, they lost to Louisville 38-31 as 1.5-point home favorites. BC just lost on the road in Pittsburgh, going down 24-16 to the Panthers as 2.5-point dogs. Miami is currently listed as 8.5-point road favorites. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 EST from Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, and can be found on ABC.

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Canes Drop Three Straight

Miami has not had their typically successful season, but their record may be slightly misleading. Over the past two weeks Miami has played two top ten teams, and only lost by seven in each contest. Miami played #4 Florida State and #10 Louisville close, but ultimately lost in one score games. Their third loss was worse, going down in NC State 20-6 as 6-point road favorites. In their most recent game against Louisville, they held a 28-23 lead going into the 4th, but could not hold on in the end.

Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is closing out his final season, he was excellent against the Cards last week, throwing for 327 yards and a touchdown. On the year he is averaging 219.4 yards per game, with a 17-12 TD-INT ratio. Turnovers have been a problem recently for Van Dyke, over the last four games he has a 1-6 TD-INT ratio. Xavier Restrepo is their best skill position player, the 5'10 receiver averages 79.6 yards per game, and has five TDs on the year. Restrepo had 193 receiving yards last week against Louisville. Jacolby Jones is another solid receiver, the 6'0 junior adds 69.3 YPG and has seven TDs. The Canes have two backs with the same exact amount of yards coming into this game, Henry Parrish Jr. and Mark Fletcher Jr. each have 468 yards and four TDs on the year.

Miami is 5th out of the 14 teams in the ACC in scoring with 30.9 points per game, and their defense ranks 6th by allowing 22.3 per game. Safety James Williams leads the team in tackles with 69 on the year, linebacker Francisco Mauigoa is right behind him with 61 tackles, and adds a team high 6.5 sacks. Safety Kamren Kinchens leads the team with five interceptions. The Canes have forced 16 turnovers in 11 games this season.

Injury Report:

Questionable: RB Ajay Allen (282 yards)

Successful Season for BC

Every team wants to compete for a National Championship, but it is not always a realistic goal. Boston College was projected to finish 13th in the conference, only ahead of Virginia. The Eagles far outplayed their expectations, and currently sit 8th in the conference. BC had solid ACC wins this season over G-Tech, Syracuse and Virginia, but not face a tougher challenge hosting Miami.

Thomas Catellanos is the starting quarterback for the Eagles, he is a dual threat that tends to run more than he passes. He is averaging 181.4 passing yards per game, and leads the team with 75.2 rushing yards per game. The 5'10 sophomore has a 14-11 TD-INT ratio this season. His top target has been Lewis Bond, he can be seen in the video above grabbing a touchdown, he averages 51.4 receiving yards per game and has six touchdowns. No other receiver has multiple touchdowns on the year. Their top running back is Kye Robichaux, he adds 62.1 rushing yards per game and has six touchdowns.

Boston College ranks 10th in the ACC in scoring with 25.5 points per game, and their defense ranks 12th by allowing 28.1 per. Linebacker Vinny DePalma leads the team in tackles with 83, and defensive back Elijah Jones leads the way with five interceptions. No player on their defense has more than two sacks. The team has 13 takeaways through 11 games this year.

Injury Report: No new injuries that will affect their depth chart.

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Best Bets for this Game

Full-Game Side Bet

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Boston College has put together a nice season, but the majority of their success was due to scheduling. Their three ACC wins were not exactly against the cream of the crop in the league, Syracuse and Virginia only combined for three conference wins so far, and G-Tech is a middle of the pack team. Miami's season has been confusing, but there is talent and big game potential there; Miami defeated #23 Texas A&M and took down Clemson in overtime. Miami will want this win to improve their bowl game, and will be able to control the game. There is one stat that will dominate this game; Miami is first in the ACC in rush defense. They only allow 92.9 yards per game on the ground, and BC relies heavily on the run, especially Castellanos on scrambles. Miami will force BC in long passing scenarios, which will not play their strengths. Miami is going to control the line of scrimmage, and finish the season with a big win on the road.

Take Miami to win and cover.

Prediction: Miami -8.5

Full-Game Total Pick

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Miami's run defense is the top ranked unit in the ACC, and will slow this game down for BC. The Eagles operate a run-heavy offense, but will be running into a brick wall defensively. The Eagles are sure to find some success, enough to keep the clock moving, but will not be able to put up big numbers offensively against the Canes. BC is only 10th in the conference in scoring and will not contribute enough to push this over the total. BC has gone under the total in three of their last four games and Miami has gone under in two of their last three. The temperatures will be in the low 40s, not terrible but also not exactly what the Miami Hurricanes are used to playing in. These two middle of the pack ACC teams will not be in a shootout the afternoon after Thanksgiving, expect low scores.

Take the under.

Prediction: Under 47.5

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