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If you took the pulse of either fanbase neither would be all that enthused about their team. Amazingly though, both are still very much in the race for the Atlantic Division. That makes this game a must win for both. Throw in the history between the coaching staffs and you’ve got plenty of storylines to follow on Saturday.

Narrative talking point that you’ll tire of by the end of the game.
“These two staffs know each other well…” Admittedly the familiarity is a factor in the game, but it is probably overstated. Although he brought his concepts with him from Boston, Dana Bible’s offense at NC State looks very different with Russell Wilson than it did with St. Pierre, Porter et al. Plus the Mike Archer-Gary Tranquill dynamic is fresh too. Plus I get the sense that this game isn’t that big a deal for TOB. I think he wants to win, but knows that UNC is ten times more important in his new world than beating the eagles. On the other side, this game is huge for Spaz. Not necessarily because of bad blood or a need to prove himself. It’s important to Spaz because it is important to his boss.

Three Simple Keys
1. Contain T.J. Graham in special teams. He killed us last year and ran one back against Duke last week. We cannot give them easy points in special teams.
2. Yards after the catch. NC State will let guys catch balls underneath. The key is to turn those five-yarders into 10 and 15 yarders.
3. Focused play from the Safeties. Wilson will buy time with his legs and is accurate downfield. Our safeties need to be patient with their coverage and help the corners so we don’t get burned deep.

Gambling Notes
– TOB is 3-6 in ACC road games as head coach at NC State
– TOB is 4-7 on the road as head coach at NC State
– TOB had three-game losing streaks in both of his first two seasons at NC State
The current line is BC -3

Factoid
NC State has more Boston College graduates on their coaching staff (Jason Swepson, Mike Reed, Jerry Petercuskie) than BC does (Mike Siravo).

Scoreboard Watching
I’ll be watching Wake Forest–Clemson. Since they hold a tiebreaker with us it is probably better for BC if Clemson loses. But we will need Wake to drop another game at some point.

I hope to see…
Shinskie connecting on a series of short passes. That’s the way to beat NC State and Shinskie can make those throws. He just needs to remain focused and confident and put last week behind him.

BC is in trouble if…
They cannot stop Wilson early. Wilson is every bit as good as Skinner or Ponder. Both of those QBs had fourth quarter comebacks against BC. BC needs to slow NC State early and build a lead before Bible decides to scrap his gameplan and let Wilson be Wilson.

Bottom Line
Players only meetings, bickering among the staff, and a humiliating loss in Blacksburg are not the foundation for a good week of football. Yet this game means a lot to Spaz. I think the extra prep and the emotion of the team prove to be enough and BC puts together a strong effort.
Final Score: BC 38, NC State 28