It was looking to be a competitive and hopeful Boston College Football season with two impressive victories to Pitt and Georgia Tech. However that hope has quickly evaporated following two straight losses to Duke and Florida St, the former of which they lost by 45 points. And it doesn’t look to get any easier with fifth ranked Notre Dame awaiting them this weekend.
Despite being back to square one, there have been some lone bright spots this year, many of them on the defensive side of the ball.
Anthony
Palano’s impact on defense
One of the team’s captains, and largely the leader of the defense is none other than linebacker Anthony Palano. This season, the standout sophomore is up to 76 tackles, which ranks fourth in the ACC. His breakout performance came in the second game of the season versus Rutgers, where he earned himself two interceptions and a sack. He’s earned ACC player of the week (Week 2), and been the heartbeat of the Eagles defense.
The tandem of Demetrius Ballard and E’Lla Boykin
The defensive line duo of Ballard and Boykin has been another bright spot for the Eagles defense this season. Both have generated serious pressure in their contests, where each have earned 4.5 sacks this year. The two both rank tied for 15th in the ACC for sacks.
The secondary has been strong
For what it’s worth, the Eagles secondary has been very good, by ACC standards. They’ve allowed the second fewest passing yards in the conference (1,686), and on a per game stature they allow 187.3, which also ranks second. Granted, their opponents haven’t been elite, which often correlates to higher talent, but for the sake of the argument they’re holding up in the secondary. KP Price, Marcus Upton, Charlie Comella, and Carter Davis have played very strongly.
