Duke vs Boston College Thoughts & Game Notes
Duke heads up to Chestnut Hill to play Boston College tomorrow for a 7:00 PM kickoff that will be televised on ESPN 2. Duke fans finally have a game again that is not on the local RSN networks which has given many of us difficulty finding the game that don't subscribe to your satellite tv subscriptions. That in itself is a victory for fans who have been trying to watch the games. Duke is coming off a bye week and is 5 - 3 with one win away from becoming bowl eligible. Boston College hit a new low losing to UConn last week. That was UConn’s first win over a Power Five opponent since the Huskies beat Virginia in September 2016. Duke is coming off a bye week and Vegas had the current line at -9.5 in Duke’s favor with the Over/Under at 48.5. Sometimes a team can be a little rusty coming off a bye week. One also has to take into account that Boston College is looking for a win after that upset last week and have a home game on a Friday night when I think more fans would be more likely to come out for a Friday night lights game instead of say a 12:30 PM kickoff day game. Even with all of that said… I think Coach Elko has this team ready for an away night game and Duke covers the spread and I am going with the Over as well.
My score prediction
Duke 41
Boston College 13
I recently gave some quick thoughts about the game and my score prediction to my friend over at Bull City Coordinators. Check out his site here to see his game preview.
https://bullcitycoordinators.com/2022/11/02/2022-game-previews-duke-travels-to-bc/
Keep reading below for Game Notes from Duke Sports Information
Duke heads to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for a Friday night contest with Boston College. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Boston College leads the all-time series between the two schools, 5-3. In the last meeting on Sept. 19, 2020, the Blue Devils dropped a 26-6 decision to the Eagles at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. Duke's last win over Boston College came on Oct. 3, 2015, when senior kicker Ross Martin accounted for all nine of Duke's points to lead the Blue Devils to a 9-7 victory on a rainy afternoon at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. After finishing the 2021 season last in the ACC and tied for 108th nationally in turnover margin, the Blue Devils are first in the league and second nationally this season in the category with +1.75 turnovers per game. They trail Southern California's +2.00 mark. Duke is first in the country with 15 fumble recoveries on the year. Duke has recorded 200-plus rushing yards on five different occasions this year and ranks second in the ACC and 21st nationally with 205.13 yards per contest. Friday's ESPN2 broadcast will feature Clay Matvick, Rocky Boiman and Dawn Davenport on the call. The game can also be heard on the Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD through the Varsity app or goduke.com.
HOW TO FOLLOW Duke (5-3, 2-2 ACC) vs. Boston College (2-6, 1-4 ACC) Friday, November 4, 2022 • 7 p.m. Chestnut Hill, Mass. • Alumni Stadium (44,500) TELEVISION • ESPN2 RADIO • Blue Devils Sports Network from LEARFIELD GAME NOTES • Duke Notes (PDF) • Boston College Notes LIVE STATS • BCEagles.com TWITTER • @DukeFOOTBALL
GAME NOTES This season, sophomore quarterback Riley Leonard is 143-of-223 (.641) passing for 1,693 yards with 10 touchdowns. He ranks tied for third in the ACC in pass completion percentage with Miami's Tyler Van Dyke, and the pair trail North Carolina's Drake Maye (.713), and Syracuse's Garrett Shrader (.670). The Blue Devils registered a program-high eight turnovers (three interceptions and five fumbles) against Miami during their last outing, marking the most by a Power 5 team since Iowa State forced Nebraska into eight (three interceptions and five fumbles) on Oct. 24, 2009. One week after Duke achieved this feat, Louisville forced Wake Forest into eight turnovers during their contest on Oct. 29. For the second straight game, redshirt junior defensive tackle DeWayne Carter forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in the same game. He is tied for first nationally in fumble recoveries (3) and tied for fifth in caused fumbles (3). Against Miami, redshirt senior linebacker Shaka Heyward became the 21st player in Duke history to record 300-plus tackles in their Blue Devil career and first since Joe Giles-Harris, current Buffalo Bills linebacker, did so with 312 tackles from 2016-18. Heyward sits with 301 in his career. WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE In seven of Duke's eight games, the Blue Devils have won the turnover battle. The lone blemish was at Georgia Tech on Oct. 8. On three occasions, Duke has failed to turn the ball over during the game (Temple, Kansas and Virginia). MARGIN OF DEFEAT Duke has three losses on the year by a combined 14 points. Of the 14 Power 5 schools with three losses, the Blue Devils' 14-point margin is the second lowest, trailing Texas' mark of 11. Duke is followed by Florida State (18), Notre Dame (18), Purdue (18), and Baylor (20). RILEY'S RANKINGS In Riley Leonard's first year as Duke's starter, the Fairhope, Ala., native ranks fifth in the ACC in total offense, with a mark of 271.75 yards per outing after compiling 1,693 passing and 481 rushing yards on the season. He sits behind North Carolina's Drake Maye (388.75), Wake Forest's Sam Hartman (296.14), Florida State's Jordan Travis (284.00), and Virginia's Brennan Armstrong (272.38). Leonard is 19 rushing yards and 307 passing yards shy of becoming the first Duke QB since 2019 to rush for 500-plus and throw for 2,000-plus yards (Quentin Harris). 500 & 5 Riley Leonard is 19 rushing yards away from becoming the first Duke QB since Quentin Harris in 2019 to record 500-plus rushing yards and five-plus rushing touchdowns in a single season. OFFENSIVE NUMBERS Duke ranks fifth in the ACC in total offense, averaging 422.13 yards per outing. Its 3,377 offensive yards on the year also rank fifth, while its 6.31 yards per play place the Blue Devils third in the league. FOURTH DOWN DEFENSE The Blue Devil fourth down defense has limited opponents to just 7-of-15 conversions for a .467 percentage. That mark ranks sixth in the league, which is up from their .692 percent mark in 2021 (9-of-13). POINTS OFF TURNOVERS Throughout Duke's eight games, it has scored 51 points off of nine opponent turnovers. Most recently, Duke scored 31 points off of five Miami turnovers. FUMBLE RECOVERIES Duke leads the nation with 15 fumble recoveries on the year. 11 different Blue Devils have accounted for those recoveries. Redshirt junior DeWayne Carter (3), redshirt senior Shaka Heyward (2) and sophomore Brandon Johnson (2) make Duke the only school in the ACC with three players with two-plus recoveries on the year. PELINO STEPPING UP Freshman K Todd Pelino saw action in his first career game during Duke's last outing against Miami. He converted on a 28-yard field goal and six PATs to help Duke to a 45-21 road victory. For those efforts, he earned his first career ACC Specialist of the Week honors. The Cornelius, N.C. native finished a perfect 6-of-6 on PAT attempts to tie for third in program history for PATs by a freshman for a single game. In addition, Pelino become the first freshman to score in his first collegiate game since teammate Eric Weatherly did so earlier this year.