After walloping Fordham at home on Saturday, the Boston College football team will travel to Michigan this weekend for a nationally televised game against a Big Ten opponent. BC already beat MSU last season at home in the red bandanna game, so they’re going for the series sweep on Saturday night.
Who: Boston College Eagles (1-0) @ Michigan State Spartans (1-0)
Where: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
When: Saturday September 6th, 2025
Kickoff Time: 7:30pm ET
How to Watch: This game will be broadcast live
on NBC and streamed live on Peacock here
Our staff has spent this week compiling some great content to preview this match-up. Take a look:
Weekly Kickoff: BC vs Michigan State is a Saturday Night Showdown
Sparty Offense/Defense Preview
Talking Boston College Football vs Michigan State with the Only Colors (2025 Edition)
Betting Preview and Prediction
ACC Football Power Rankings – Week 2, 2025
What to Watch For
- Lonergan’s first real test. Not only will this be Dylan Lonergan’s first career start against an FBS team, but it comes on the road in a game where BC could need a lot of passing. It’s a limited sample size, but BC’s run blocking did not look great against Fordham. MSU has a weak secondary, too, so Lonergan may be asked to pass a lot in this game. He already found a connection with his receivers Lewis Bond, Reed Harris, and Jaedn Skeete in Week 1. We’ll see if he’s up to the task in Week 2.
- Stop the run. BC has several new starters on the defensive front this season, and they’ll need a good performance to stop MSU’s dangerous rushing attack. I would love to see Sparty QB Aidan Chiles forced to throw the ball downfield and make some riskier plays in the passing game. That all starts with a good performance from BC captain Bam Crouch up at the line of scrimmage.
- Contain Nick Marsh and Jack Velling. Make Chiles uncomfortable. Sophomore WR Nick Marsh is a security blanket for Michigan State in the passing game. He’s easily their best player on offense, but with an unsteady quarterback, his impact could be limited. Tight end Jack Velling is not quite as highly-touted, but he gashed BC last year with six catches for 77 yards. If BC defensive end Quintayvious Hutchins puts some pressure on Chiles and the BC secondary presses Marsh at the line of scrimmage, we could see some bad throws or turnovers go our way. But if Marsh or Velling breaks out for a few big plays, it will be incredibly hard to cover the MSU attack in the air and on the ground.
Prediction: Boston College 28 Michigan State 21
Both of these teams struggle to kick the ball, so I am going to predict only touchdowns are scored on Saturday night. Lonergan may struggle early and take a few bad sacks, but he will bounce back and lead BC to 21 points after halftime. Meanwhile, the Eagles defense will be able to get more pressure on Chiles as the teams get tired in the fourth quarter, forcing some bad throws and perhaps a couple of turnovers that seal the game for BC late.
No game this early in the season can be defined as a “must win.” But a win on Saturday night would go a long way towards achieving bowl eligibility or even breaking the 8-win barrier. The ACC schedule is not kind to BC this year, so winning this toss-up game would set the team up for success later in the season, especially while playing in the national spotlight.
