Boston College Eagles Offensive Scouting Report

Impact Players:

QB Thomas Castellanos

RB Kye Robichaux

Boston College is on a 5 game heater right now that has featured a revived Jeff Hafley offense led by QB, Thomas Castellanos. The Central Florida transfer has turned the Boston College rushing attack into a force to be dealt with. On this 5 game win streak, the Boston College offense has gotten out to some slow starts. But, their commitment to the run game has worn out every defense they have played. They have overcome second half deficits against Army and Georgia Tech. Castellanos is the Eagle's leading rusher with 760 yards. Their passing game is predicated mostly on play action and run-pass options. Castellanos has a rifle for an arm and is accurate with it. None of Boston College's receivers jump out on film. One note, Boston college is the 5th worst team in FBS for drops.

This offense is very run heavy. This, however, does not make them one dimensional or predictable at all. Boston College has a diverse run game. They run a great variety of run schemes including RPOs, zone, read option, power, pin and pull toss sweep, misdirection, and QB draw. They have a play action look for every single run scheme as well. They have 2 good ball carriers in QB Thomas Castellanos, who has game breaking speed, and RB Kye Robichaux, who runs with power behind his pads. The Eagle offensive line also very sound. Head coach, Jeff Hafley, likes to be aggressive on 4th and short too. This puts additional stress on a defense, especially against a team that can run the ball as well as Boston College does. It is a huge advantage for the offense knowing that if they get to 4th and 2 or less, they will go for it. They know they have 3 plays to get 8 yards on 1st and 10. Forcing 3rd and long will be vitally important to put pressure on Boston College. If they are in 3rd and 6 or less, they will not be afraid to run the ball to get to 4th and short to have a shot at another 1st down. This gives the Hokie defense a lot to prepare for this week.

Boston College's last game was a victory over Syracuse 17-10. This was their lowest point total on offense throughout their current win streak. Here are a few things the Syracuse defense did to slow down the Eagle rush attack. First, they spied Castellanos. On almost every play, they had a linebacker spying the QB to make sure he did not break contain. Second, They played with a 5 man front. This allowed for 1-on-1 matchups for each defensive lineman, making it easier for them to maintain their assigned gaps. This also prevented the offensive line from getting up to the linebackers, leaving them unblocked to make tackles. Third, when Boston College got to the redzone, they stacked the box and brought disguised blitzes while playing tight man-to-man coverage. By playing this way, Syracuse was able to force more 3rd and longs than any of the previous 4 opponents Boston College had played. It's no coincidence that the Orange held Boston College to just 17. Virginia Tech should steal some of the Syracuse game plan for this game.

All stats via ESPN.com