Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Thursday 9/1/18
Boston College Eagles vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons Preview and Predictions
NCAAF Previews 11th September 2018 by Gracenote
by Gracenote on 09/11/2018
Boston College and Wake Forest will try to squeeze in an intriguing ACC opener amid the onset of Hurricane Florence when they meet in North Carolina on Thursday night. The storm, a Category 4 hurricane as the week begins, is expected to start impacting the Winston-Salem area as early as Thursday morning, prompting the teams to move the kickoff up two hours to 5:30 p.m. ET.
"Wake Forest University and the Atlantic Coast Conference office continue to monitor the progress of all weather-related issues as they pertain to athletic events this week," the school said in a statement. "Our top priority is the safety and well being of our student-athletes, coaches, fans and the lives of those in the path of this storm." Both teams will be trying to stay perfect on the young season, and the Eagles are vying for their first 3-0 start since 2007 after routing Massachusetts and Holy Cross by a combined score of 117-35. Star running back AJ Dillon has picked up where he left off from a stellar freshman campaign, rushing for 247 yards and three touchdowns on just 26 carries through the first two games. The Demon Deacons, who won 34-10 at Boston College last year in the conference opener for both teams, rolled past Towson 51-20 last week and is aiming for its third straight 3-0 start.
TV: 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Boston College -5
ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (2-0): Preparing a football team for a long trip into the path of a hurricane and a Thursday night game can make for a different week, but coach Steve Addazio is doing his best to keep his Eagles focused on football. "All these things are in discussion at this point," Addazio said at his weekly press conference while discussing the storm threat. "I'm not exactly privy to the details, but in my mind, I'm going to play a game on Thursday and prepared for anything that may come our way." The rout of Holy Cross last week allowed Addazio to rest many of his starters (Dillon's 149 yards came in less than a quarter), with quarterback Anthony Brown completing his only two passes before giving way to backups.
ABOUT WAKE FOREST (2-0): Wide receiver Greg Dortch was the team's leading receiver as a freshman last year despite playing in just eight games, and he has lit up opponents early in his sophomore campaign, first hauling in 12 catches for 149 yards in a win at Tulane and then scoring three times - twice on punt returns - last week. "I may be biased, I think he's the most exciting player in college football," fellow wide receiver Alex Bachman told reporters. "Every time he touches the ball there's a chance something spectacular is going to happen." The 5-9, 170-pound Dortch has 981 all-purpose yards over his last four games dating back to last season.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Demon Deacons freshman QB Sam Hartman has 620 passing yards, four TDs and three interceptions through the first two games.
2. The Eagles produced 598 total yards in the win over Massachusetts and 610 against Holy Cross. Those are the top two total yardage outputs for the team under Addazio.
3. Boston College has won four of its last five games at Wake Forest.
PREDICTION: Boston College 31, Wake Forest 28
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Thursday’s games
Road team won last four Boston College-Wake Forest games, with average total of 29.5 in those games; Eagles won last two visits here, 17-14/23-17. BC scored 117 points in beating couple of stiffs to open season; they’ve goto 10 starters back on offense. Under Addazio, Eagles are 4-5 as road favorites. Deacons won first two games; they needed OT to win at Tulane- they’re -3 in turnovers this year. Under Clawson, Wake is 8-4-1 as a home underdog. Both teams have lot of experience on OL. This is last game of 3-game suspension for Wake QB Hinton. Unsure if weather will be a factor with tropical storm looming; kickoff was moved up two hours.
Old Dominion beat Charlotte last three years, 6-0/52-17/37-34; since going I-A, Monarchs are 5-2 vs spread as road favorites. OSU lost its first two games this year, giving up 1,080 yards in losses to Liberty (52-10), FIU (28-20). Charlotte got waxed 45-9 at home by Appalachian State LW; ASU outgained them, 343-203. Since going I-A, 49ers are 5-8-1 as home underdogs. Both teams are in early stages of building a I-A program.
Boston College at Wake Forest
September 11, 2018
By Joe Nelson
The second ACC game of the season kicks off Thursday night as Boston College and Wake Forest meet in a battle of Atlantic Division squads that both made bowl games last season.
Clemson is the clear favorite in the Atlantic but the rest of the division looks wide open as the opportunity to compete is there for both squads. The ACC is going to be heavily impacted by Hurricane Florence this weekend and this game has been moved up two hours.
Here is a look at the opening game of the next college football week.
Matchup: Boston College Eagles at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Venue: BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Time/TV: Thursday, Sep. 13, 5:30 PM ET ESPN
Line: Boston College -7, Over/Under 52½
Last Meeting: 2017, Wake Forest (PK) 34, at Boston College 10
Anthony Brown had a nice freshman season at quarterback for Boston College although he was injured late in the season and missed the final three games. His worst performance of the season wasn’t vs. Clemson or Notre Dame or any of the other formidable defenses in the ACC; it was a September contest at home vs. Wake Forest.
In his second game Brown completed just 38 percent of his passes and had three interceptions as Wake Forest won easily in Boston. The 4-0 turnover margin was the difference as the production numbers were similar but an interception returned for a touchdown just before halftime put Wake Forest up 21-7 at the break. Boston College scored a field goal to get back within 11 in the third quarter but another interception late in the third quarter set up the Demon Deacons at the 2-yard-line and that score put the game out of reach.
Brown had a big first game of 2018 in Boston College’s 55-21 win over Massachusetts with four touchdown passes but he played sparingly last week in the win over FCS Holy Cross as the Eagles rested starters early with a 21-0 edge in the first quarter. This year’s team has the potential to be the best Boston College offense since perhaps the Matt Ryan years with almost everyone back from last season for Steve Addazio.
Addazio is now 33-33 at Boston College with four 7-6 campaigns and one tough season in 2015. The Eagles are poised to take a step further this season and could even contend in the Atlantic with Clemson visiting Boston in November. Tricky non-conference games at Purdue and home vs. Temple are next on the schedule and the Eagles do have a tough Coastal draw pulling both Miami and Virginia Tech however.
For Wake Forest Dave Clawson has delivered back-to-back winning seasons after going just 6-18 in his first two seasons, taking over after building a successful program at Bowling Green. Wake Forest won eight games last season for the program’s best record since 2008 and the Demon Deacons are off to a 2-0 start this season. Wake Forest survived an overtime game at Tulane in an opening week Thursday night while besting FCS Towson 51-20 last week.
The quarterback situation has revolved for Wake Forest after the graduation of John Wolford who was a very efficient 3,000 yard passer last season. Junior Kendall Hinton played in five games last season and was the expected starter but he was suspended for the first three games of the season. Sophomore Jamie Newman appeared to be in the mix but he was injured in August. Freshman Sam Hartman has started the first two games and has been effective with 620 passing yards, though he has three interceptions and a fumble already.
The Wake Forest defense has offered some reason for concern as Towson posted 410 yards last week though Wake Forest was able to pull away in the second quarter thanks to a pair of punt return touchdowns from Greg Dortch. The sophomore is on pace to being one of the top receivers in the ACC this season after leading the team in receptions last year. Wake Forest allowed more than 450 yards per game in ACC play last season as this is a team that is going to need to score to pick up wins in conference play.
Boston College allowed just 22 points per game in ACC play last season but they surrendered 386 yards per game as there was some good fortune in the lower scoring numbers. The defense has looked the part this season but as the schedule stiffens there could be challenges with a few key players from last season absent.
The stakes are high for both teams as getting to a 3-0 start would provide a great boost towards bowl hopes. It may be a more critical game for Wake Forest who is in the midst of a five-game home stand but has games vs. Notre Dame and Clemson as a loss here would mean a 3-3 start is likely heading into a road-heavy second half of the schedule.
Winston-Salem is significantly inland but appears to be right on the projected path of the hurricane which is expected to make landfall on Friday. Significant rain is not expected at game time Thursday evening but it will be humid and winds could be in the 20-25 MPH range as the passing and kicking games could face some impact. It is also might mean a subdued home field edge for Wake Forest in what might normally be one of the biggest home dates of the season with a national TV night game.
Wake Forest has covered in nine of 15 meetings since 2003 but has lost S/U in the past two home meetings in 2014 and 2016. The 34 points scored by the Demon Deacons last season was the most they have scored in those 15 meetings while Boston College hasn’t topped 27 points in any of the past 10 games in this series.
Historical Trends:
-- Wake Forest is on a 25-14 ATS run as a home underdog since 2004, going 2-0 last season including an outright upset over Louisville.
-- Since Clawson took over in 2014, Wake Forest is 9-4 ATS as a home underdog although just 3-4 ATS as a home underdog of fewer than 10 points.
-- Boston College is 22-30 ATS since 1994 as a road favorite including going 7-2 S/U but 4-5 ATS under Addazio since 2013.
-- Boston College is 1-3 ATS in that time as a road favorite vs. current ACC teams with this line being the highest ACC road favorite spread for Boston College since a 23-17 win in Winston-Salem in 2014 as a 13-point favorite.
NCAAF
Long Sheet
Thursday, September 13
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BOSTON COLLEGE (2 - 0) at WAKE FOREST (2 - 0) - 9/13/2018, 7:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WAKE FOREST is 11-2 ATS (+8.8 Units) as an underdog over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON COLLEGE is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) when playing with 6 or less days rest over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
WAKE FOREST is 1-1 against the spread versus BOSTON COLLEGE over the last 3 seasons
WAKE FOREST is 1-1 straight up against BOSTON COLLEGE over the last 3 seasons
2 of 2 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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