It’s Boston College (6-5, 3-4) vs Pitt (7-4, 3-4) at Alumni Stadium for the last game of the (regular) season. With both teams bowl eligible, this game this will be two programs looking to end the year and fight for a slightly better bowl game, although the Pop Tart’s might be slightly out of reach based on current projections.
Expectations weren’t high for Pat Narduzzi’s team had low expectations but rattled off seven wins to start the season before dropping the last four against tougher competition, most recently Louisville and Clemson.
QB Eli Holstein missed one of those a concussion, but then was carted off in last weekend’s loss to Louisville. That means it will be junior Nate Yarnell leading the charge again. Yarnell is 2-2 as a starter over the past couple years and did best BC last season in similar circumstances. Holstein was the team’s second leading rusher so they’ll probably need Yarnell to use his legs at times too. Pitt’s offensive line has dealt with a few injuries to starters in the last week as well and with them, Yarnell has been taken down 10 times in the past two weeks.
Junior running back Desmond Reid is the Panther’s dynamic weapon. He’s fifth nationally in all purpose yards (1509) and nine total touchdowns. He’s 5-8, rushes, returns punts, and is the team’s second leading receiver. They spread the ball around quite a bit, with four different pass catchers eclipsing the century mark in a game. Senior Konate Mumpfield leads with 669 yards.
Defense
Linebacker Kyle Louis is the big name to watch. The sophomore leads the team in sacks (7), tackles for loss (15.5), and interceptions (4).
The Panthers defense as a whole is averaging 8.4 tackles for loss per game, fourth nationally. They add 37 sacks as a team as well, best in the conference. Narduzzi’s teams have historically excelled in pass rushing and this defense carries the torch. On the inside Sean Fitzsimmons is a big presence who’s third on the team in tackles and is coming off maybe his best game.
Overall though, the defense is about average in total defense. They’ve naturally done much better against the run than pass. In fact, they’re among the worst in the country allowing passing yards. Safety Donovan McMillon leads with 97 tackles, but opponents are electing to air it out.