Duke will face off against Boston College in its penultimate conference game Saturday at Koskinen Stadium with a point to prove. Despite their impressive record and lofty ranking, the No. 5 Blue Devils haven’t been able to put it all together against conference foes as well as they have in recent years. In fact, a loss on Saturday would give Duke three ACC losses for the first time since 1997.
No. 19 Boston College (8-3, 1-3 in the ACC) boasts a balanced offensive attack. The Eagles join Duke (10-3, 1-2) as the only teams in the conference with three players in the league’s top 10 in points. The Blue Devils have never lost to Boston College, going 7-0 against the Eagles since their first meeting in 1997.
The Blue Devils have struggled at times during this homestand, entering their March 27 match against Virginia coming off a full week of rest after a 19-10 defeat of Navy. Duke lost a tight 8-7 game to the Cavaliers and missed a chance to build momentum going into a showdown with No. 1 Northwestern, the defending national champion. Duke fell 19-14 to the Wildcats before it managed to stop its slide by dismantling Davidson, 19-6.
The Blue Devils will try to stay on track by finishing the season strong against ranked opponents. So far, Duke has gone 5-3 against ranked teams this season.
The Blue Devils may struggle to keep from looking ahead as they try to avoid their first losing ACC season since 2002. They will have to follow a win against Boston College with a victory Wednesday over No. 3 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
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