Boston College Goes for Three in a Row vs Connecticut Saturday

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Coming off a rather successful two-game road trip, the Boston College Eagles (4-3, 2-2) play their final non-conference game of the season this Saturday afternoon as they host the Connecticut Huskies (1-6). The Eagles will do so riding a two-game winning streak where the running game has become a major weapon on offense. Over their last two games at Army and Georgia Tech, the Eagles have been able to run for over 300 yards in each game. It is the first time BC has done this since 2017 when they ran the ball well against Syracuse and Saturday’s opponent, UConn. The running attack, which was non-existent a year ago, is now first in the ACC and 13th in the nation averaging 210 yards per game.

Last weekend vs the Yellow Jackets, the offense put up 563 yards which is a season high. It was the fourth straight game the offense has gone over 400 yards in a game. The Eagles have gone 3-1 in those games. QB Thomas Castellanos (128 yards and two scores) and RB Kyle Robichaux (165 yards and two scores) were the main threats on the ground. For Castellanos, he now leads all quarterbacks in rushing with 628 yards which ranks him 28th among all ball carriers this year. Couple that with 1,398 yards through the air and it is easy to understand the improvement in the BC offense. He ranks 26th in the nation and fourth in the ACC with 289.4 yards of total offense per game. He has become a dual-threat option.

Not to be outdone, the defense has started to pick it up as well. Last week vs GT, the unit forced three turnovers. Cornerback Elijah Jones intercepted two passes in the game and is now tied for the league lead in interceptions with five and pass break-ups with 10. Graduate student linebacker Vinny DePalma leads the team in tackles with 53. The Eagles pass defense is ranked 46th in the country allowing 209.7 yards per game. They are facing a Huskies passing attack that is 109th in the country averaging 188.3 yards through the air.

UConn heads into this game with an 0-2 record vs the ACC this season. They had losses to both North Carolina State and Duke earlier this season. All-time vs the league, the Huskies are 7-24. The Huskies offensive line may be their strength. They ranked 24th in the nation in sacks allowed with nine in seven games for an average of just 1.29 a contest. Redshirt senior Christian Haynes was named to the AP Midseason All-American team last week. He was named to the second-team offense. He has started 44 straight games at guard and has become one of the leaders of that group. The Huskies defense gives up 400.4 yards a game and they are ranked 99th in the country. Linebacker Jackson Mitchell leads the team in tackles with 70. He was named to several watch lists before the season began. This season, Mitchell has three games with 15 tackles, including their last game vs the University of South Florida.

Boston College leads the all-time series between the two schools at 12-1-2. However, it is last year’s game in Storrs that does stick out. That’s because the Huskies broke through and got one on Boston College by a 13-3 score. Mitchell was huge on defense that day finishing the game with 12 tackles, a sack, an interception, a forced fumble, and a recovered fumble. The defense only allowed three points and 76 yards on the ground. It was UConn’s first-ever win over BC at home. A big crowd should be on hand to watch these two New England schools go at it at Alumni Stadium on Saturday.