NC State Hits the Road to Battle Boston College

Game Day Central | Thursday Football Notebook | TV Affiliates

	NC State (4-2, 1-1) at Boston College (3-3, 1-2)
Date	Saturday, Oct. 19
Time	12:00 p.m.
Location	Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Stadium	Alumni Stadium (44,500)
TV	ACC RSN
Streaming	WatchESPN
Radio in NC	Wolfpack Sports Network
National Radio	Tunein, Sirius 133, XM 383
Live Stats	BCEagles.com
Social Media	Twitter: @PackFootball \| Instagram: PackFootball

RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State football team's (4-2, 1-1 ACC) next challenge will be a road tilt at Boston College (3-3, 1-2) in a game that figures to pit strength against strength.

Saturday's ACC Atlantic Division showdown begins at noon from Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill. The game will be televised on ACC's RSN.

"This is one of those old school games in the trenches," said Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren. "They're good at running the football and we've been good at stopping the run. They're good at protecting the quarterback and we've been good at getting to the quarterback.

"They're really good at taking the football away and we've been good at protecting it. There are a lot of things at play in this football game where you have strength on strength."

NC State's stifling run defense, which is yielding an ACC-best 66.7 yards per game will be tested by the league's top rusher in AJ Dillon, who averages 124.2 yards per game. Dillon, a powerful 6-0, 250-pound junior, has captured ACC Running Back of the Week honors three times this season and eight times in his career.

In its 28-23 victory over the Eagles last season in Raleigh, NC State got a break when Dillon was unable to play because of an ankle injury.

"They're definitely a smash-mouth, old-school football team," said Wolfpack defensive tackle Alim McNeill. "It's going to be a war zone down there, but it's nothing we can't handle. I feel like we can step up and handle anything that's put on our plate. He is a bigger back, so it will take some gang-tackling and some wrapping up."

And while Dillon is healthy this season, Boston College starting quarterback Anthony Brown is not. It was revealed that Brown sustained a season-ending lower leg injury in the first half of a 41-39 loss at Louisville two weeks ago. In relief of Brown, redshirt sophomore Dennis Grosel tossed three touchdown passes, going 9-of-24 for 111 yards.

Making Grosel uncomfortable will certainly be a priority on Saturday. NC State's relentless pass rush has accounted for 16 sacks in consecutive games, which is a school record. With 26 total sacks through six games, the Pack ranks third in the league with an average of 4.33 per game. Tackle Larrell Murchison has become a one-man wrecking crew with 7.5 sacks over the last three games.

"This will be big boy football," said the ACC's sack leader Murchison. "They're a smash-mouth running team, but they have passing plays as well. We're going to try to be consistent and try to stop the run."

Utilizing play-action fakes off of Dillon, BC has managed to slow down opposition quarterback pressures, yielding an ACC-best three sacks through six games. Boston College also tops the league with a plus-six turnover margin.

Starting the second half of its season with a road win against a divisional opponent would certainly be a feather in NC State's cap before another open date next weekend. With losses at West Virginia and Florida State, the Wolfpack is 0-2 on the road this season.

"It's very critical," McNeill said. "It's always fun to win in someone else's house. I've heard they scheduled us for homecoming, so that would be even more fun for us if we can win. It's very critical for us to get a road win."

Boston College leads the all-time series with NC State, 9-7, although the Pack has prevailed in five of the last nine meetings. The last three games have been decided by a single score, and NC State has won its last two trips up to Chestnut Hill.

Wolfpack Sports Network coverage begins Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with the Lowe's Foods Countdown to kickoff. In the 11 p.m. hour, veteran color analyst Johnny Evans will field questions from fans on 'Ask the Analyst.' Questions to Johnny can be submitted via Twitter @packradio or by email HERE.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alim McNeill

Larrell Murchison

North Carolina State University Athletics