NC State vs. Boston College Odds, Picks: How to Bet Saturday Night’s ACC Clash (October 16)

NC State vs. Boston College Odds

NC State and Boston College will meet in prime time Saturday night for some ACC action. Both are coming into this game well-rested off of bye weeks.

Both squads also have a 4-1 record and some impressive wins on both sides. A few weeks ago, the Wolfpack beat Clemson, Giving the Tigers their second loss of the regular season for the first time since 2014.

In their last game before the bye week, the Eagles put up a solid fight against Clemson but fell just short, losing 19-13.

These teams have similar defensive-minded styles and want to dominate in the trenches, but the Wolfpack’s passing game has been explosive at times.

With the ACC now wide open following the struggles of North Carolina & Clemson, can one of these teams pull ahead and make a statement this week?

Saturday, Oct. 16

7:30 p.m. ET

ACC Network

NC State Wolfpack

Wolfpack Offense

NC State quarterback Devin Leary had his breakout game against the Eagles in 2019, throwing for a season-high 259 yards and three touchdowns. That game ended in a 21-point win by Boston College, but NC State defeated the Eagles in their previous two trips to Chestnut Hill.

The majority of the Wolfpack's offense output comes in its passing game, as it's facilitated by Leary, who's found a way to lead the Pack to wins week after week.

Leary is completing 67.4% of his passes while recording 1,283 yards passing and 12 touchdowns. He also has limited turnovers, with just two interceptions this season.

One thing to take note of is that Leary is not a mobile quarterback. He has -36 rushing yards this year and a career-best run of just eight yards.

The Wolfpack's rushing game has also been impressive when called upon, racking up 860 yards and nine touchdowns in their first five games while averaging 172 yards per contest.

Running back Zonovan "Bam" Knight has led the way with 462 yards and three touchdowns.

The Wolfpack are averaging 416 yards per game to go along with 29 points.

Wolfpack Defense

NC State has been solid all year stopping the run, ranking 13th in rushing yards allowed per game (92.3), which is terrible news for the Eagles, who will have to establish the run if they want to compete.

The Eagles' game plan has been to run right at teams behind their big, physical line.

That means a lot of action for middle linebacker Isaiah Moore. The NC State co-captain is responsible for setting up the rest of the defense, but he'll have a busy day against the Boston College backfield.

The Wolfpack allow 295.6 yards per game on 15.6 points.

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Boston College Eagles

Eagles Offense

Boston College is a top-five team in the ACC when it comes to running the football, averaging 192 yards per game. But NC State is only giving up 92 rushing yards per game.

With their experience up front, the Eagles will be able to establish the run early.

And while the run game is the focal point, Quarterback Dennis Grosel hasn't missed a beat since taking over for veteran Phil Jurkovec after he went down with an injury. Grosel has completed 61.5% of his passes for 788 yards and four touchdowns. He threw for a season-high 311 yards against Clemson.

The Eagles are averaging 377 yards per game with 31.8 points.

Eagles Defense

Boston College has struggled recently on the defensive side of the ball. In its last game, the defense allowed 231 yards rushing and 223 yards in the air against Clemson.

Now, it was Clemson, so that's something to take under consideration. However, NC State beat the Tigers just a couple of weeks prior, and this is far from the Clemson teams we've seen in the past.

Boston College doesn't have a pass rush and it doesn't dominate the time of possession battle, but this team owns third downs. The defense had issues on third down against Missouri but has been elite in every other game. Everyone else besides the Tigers has failed to convert more than 25% of their third-down attempts.

Linebacker Isaiah Graham-Mobley is a massive part of this defense and a threat to the Wolfpack. He had his best game of the season against Clemson, finishing with eight tackles, and he leads the team with 36 tackles overall through five games.

Defensively, Boston College allows 319.6 yards per game on 16.8 points.

NC State vs. Boston College Matchup Analysis

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how NC State and Boston College match up statistically:

NC State Offense vs. Boston College Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	50	29
Line Yards	16	46
Pass Success	63	35
Pass Blocking**	25	107
Big Play	59	32
Havoc	9	82
Finishing Drives	58	14
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

Boston College Offense vs. NC State Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	55	10
Line Yards	111	55
Pass Success	40	30
Pass Blocking**	10	37
Big Play	67	98
Havoc	46	63
Finishing Drives	41	35
** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.)

Pace of Play / Other

PFF Tackling	11	3
Coverage	19	10
Middle 8	34	21
SP+ Special Teams	93	6
Plays per Minute	66	79
Rush Rate	47.7% (109)	60.4% (34)

Data via College Football Data, FootballOutsiders, SP+, PFF and SportSource Analytics.

The Wolfpack are 1-6-1 ATS in their last eight meetings at Boston College and 0-3-1 ATS in their last four meetings.

NC State vs. Boston College Betting Pick

Boston College leads the all-time series, 10-7, and coming off a loss with a bye week to prepare, the Eagles won't be a pushover at home.

The Wolfpack are a 3-point favorite, which I think is primarily due to their win over Clemson. But these Eagles took that same Clemson team down to the wire a couple of weeks ago.

Both of these teams have similar styles, and that should facilitate a close game. But NC State has struggled against the spread on the road recently, and Chestnut Hill is no easy place to play.

Not to mention, the Wolfpack have covered just once in their last eight games on the road against BC.

I'll take the home dog in a game that will be a dog fight to the last minute. The Eagles can still be found at +3 at most sportsbooks. If you can find +3, I would take it.

However, I'll also be betting the Eagles to win outright and would bet them down to +120.

Pick: Boston College ML +120 or better