Miami vs. Boston College Football: Betting Preview & Prediction

Boston College Football wraps up its regular season slate against a good Miami squad on Friday. Both teams are in the midst of losing streaks and want to end the season on the right note before bowl season, and both teams feature 6-5 records. However, while BC fell to lowly Pitt last week in embarrassing fashion, Miami pushed both FSU and Louisville in only losing by a score — quite different types of losses.

Miami’s offense will be led by veteran QB Tyler Van Dyke, who was benched before freshman Emory Williams went down for the season due to injury. Van Dyke has thrown for 2,413 yards and 17 TDs on the season, but has a penchant for turning the ball over with 12 picks. He is aided by a stable of effective RBs in Henry Parrish Jr., Mark Fletcher Jr., and Donald Chaney Jr., who all have over 460 rushing yards on the season and have combined for 10 TDs. Moreover, the Miami offense features speedy slot man Xavier Restrepo (876 yards, 5 TDs), deep threat Jacolby George (762 yards, 7 TDs) and big X receiver Colbie Young (529 yards, 4 TDs). There really isn’t one standout stud in this Miami offense — I’d say with Miami’s Air-Raid tendencies and Restrepo’s chemistry with Van Dyke, he’s probably the closest to that guy — but there are playmakers all over the field. Against BC’s depleted secondary — who knows what happened to Elijah Jones or if Cole Batson will get healthy — I am very scared. I think Miami's offense will move the ball at will against a BC team that frankly looked disinterested last week.

Defensively, Miami has been pretty inconsistent, but they have also played some very high-powered offenses in UNC, FSU, and Louisville. The Hurricane defense is led by stud safety Kamren Kinchens, who has NFL potential and is a ballhawk with 5 interceptions on the season. Te’Cory Couch has also collected 3 picks, and with Castellanos’ propensity for throwing ill-advised deep balls that will be something to watch come Friday. In addition, the duo of Reuben Bain Jr. and Francisco Mauigoa have anchored a dangerous Miami pass rush with 6.5 sacks each and leading a very solid run defense unit, allowing less than 100 rushing yards per contest.

In short, I think Miami’s strengths (passing game, rush defense and creating turnovers) line up with what BC is struggling with at the moment. With most students home for Thanksgiving break, my expectations are not high.