When Duke and Boston College met last year, the Eagles narrowly escaped Wallace Wade Stadium with a 21-16 victory. Led by a stout defense, Boston College ended up losing in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl and finished the season 7-6.
This Saturday Duke travels to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for its ACC opener, where it will look for its first win against an Eagles team also facing a disappointing start to the season. After a tough loss to Northwestern, Boston College got blown out by Central Florida, 30-3.
Led by sophomore quarterback Chase Rettig, the Eagles’ offense has struggled to consistently move the ball and score in the redzone. Their offense ranks last in the ACC, averaging 10 points and 298 yards per game. Turnovers and injuries at key positions are the sources of many of its woes. Rettig has also thrown three costly interceptions and no touchdowns this season.
Accuracy has remained a weak point for Rettig, who completed just 51 percent of his passes last year and threw for six touchdowns and nine interceptions. In his first game this season, Rettig was 24-for-44 for 375 yards with one interception. Against Central Florida, he was 10-for-23 and threw for 70 yards with two picks. Duke generated pressure in the first half last week, recording two sacks against a strong Stanford front line, and it will look to do more of the same this week.
“As you saw last week, we put pressure on Stanford’s offensive line and quarterback Andrew Luck,” defensive end Kenny Anunike said. “It shouldn’t be anything different this week. If anything, we’ll amp it up.”
If Anunike and the Blue Devil pass rush can hit Rettig, receivers Colin Larmond, Bobby Swigert and Alex Amidon will have to make plays. Receiver and co-captain Ifeanyi Momah, who will miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, will be difficult to replace. In the opener, Momah had eight catches for 157 yards.
Rettig may receive some support, though, if ACC preseason player of the year Montel Harris is able to return this week. After sitting out for two weeks with a knee injury, his return would be a much-needed injection of offense. Duke head coach David Cutcliffe praises Harris as “the best back in the conference.”
Harris is only 1,002 yards away from being the all-time ACC leader in rushing yards. After breaking out as a sophomore with 1,457 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, he had another great year in 2010, rushing for 1,243 yards and eight touchdowns despite nagging injuries during the season. Cutcliffe conceded that the Eagles are “more effective running the football if they’re more balanced.”
Boston College’s strength lies in its defense. The Eagles’ defense, 2010’s best in the nation against the run, has underperformed, largely due to injuries to both the secondary and defensive line. Boston College should benefit from the return of senior safety and captain Donnie Fletcher, a member of the Bednarik watch list.
“Certainly they’re going to be a top-10 defense,” Duke quarterback Sean Renfree said. “They’re one of the best defenses I’ve seen.”
He and his coach went on to praise linebacker Luke Kuechly as “probably the best in the country.”
Kuechly led the nation in total and solo tackles as a sophomore and is a unanimous first-team All-American this year. He picked up where he left off in 2010 during the Eagles’ opener, earning ACC linebacker of the week honors. If the Blue Devils are going to move the ball effectively, their offensive line will have to know where Kuechly is at all times.
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