The UNC football program seems to have righted the ship after a tumultuous four-game losing streak. The Tar Heels are relatively healthy and are playing so much better than they were in September and early October. There's just one more road game to go before coming home for the season finale against NC State.
But before the Tar Heels get to see if they can finally stop losing to the Wolfpack, they need to sort out Boston College. The Eagles are 5-5 on the season and are in a bit of a tailspin. They've lost four of their last five games and benched their starting quarterback, Thomas Castellanos, who promptly left the program. Back-up Grayson James came in and sparked the Eagles to a win over Syracuse but lost at SMU last weekend.
Boston College's 10-point loss isn't as bad as it looked, as the Eagles were only down three late in the game, and a pick-six in the closing moments stretched the margin. Boston College is tough, and fortunately for the Tar Heels, they have some more film on the new quarterback to study. As Wake Forest reminded us, backup quarterbacks have been something of a nuisance for North Carolina in recent years.
More worrisome than Grayson James is BC running back Kye Robichaux. He leads the team in rushing with 561 yards, a paltry sum when compared to Omarion Hampton, but he has only played in five games this season. And he ran for 198 yards against Syracuse. And he's scored two touchdowns in each of BC's last two games. Robichaux is one to watch.
Boston College's losses have all seen opposing offenses score more than their season average. The Eagles have the No. 65-ranked scoring defense in FBS, surrendering just 24.5 points per game, but their average is skewed by a shutout against Duquesne and wins over historically poor Florida State and Michigan State. If North Carolina's offense produces the way it has over the recent three-game winning streak, the Tar Heels should win. Should. If only, it should mean well.