History 101: Wake Forest & Boston College

Rivalry week came early this year, and for such an historic series we’re rolling out a new recurring tidbit called History 101 giving a short update on the history of our opponent and the series. After all, they say those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it, and I don’t know too many people clamoring for another 3-0 game.

Boston College Eagles: Win-Loss Records

All-Time: 657-479-37 (.576)

Past Decade: 66-64 (.508)

Last Season: 2016: 7-6, W in Quick Lane Bowl 36-30 over Maryland

This Season: 1-0, W against Northern Illinois 23-20

Series History

Overall: BC leads 13-9-2. The schools didn’t meet between 1953 and 2003, but they have played every year since 2003 and BC narrowly leads that recent series 8-6.

Last Meeting: BC won 17-14 in Winston-Salem, securing bowl eligibility in the final game of the regular season. BC won despite being outgained 287-167. The prior year, Wake won in a 3-0 thriller in Boston, with the teams combining for 6 turnovers and 3 missed FGs. So, the latest over/under of 45.5 for this game is 11.5 points higher than the combined points scored in the past two matchups.

Trends and Significance

Wake and BC have been on very similar trajectories the past few years. Both programs hit peaks around 2006-2008, with Wake racking up 11 wins in 2006 en route to an ACC championship and BC hitting that same number in 2007. In that three year span, Wake went 28-12 thanks in large part to the work of Riley Skinner, while BC went 30-11 thanks to some scrub who is best summarized as a poor man’s Riley Skinner. In the past two years, both programs went 3-9 and then 7-6, and both teams have started this season 1-0.

Despite this being week 2 of the season, it’s a critical game for both teams because each face quite a narrow path to securing six wins and bowl eligibility. We’ve discussed on this site how the schedule is rougher for Wake than it was last year. Meanwhile, Wake is one of only seven teams BC plays this year that is not currently ranked in the top 25.

If Wake wins, BC will need to sweep its other unranked opponents or pull off at least one big upset to hit the magical 6 win mark. If BC wins, Wake will face an uphill battle the rest of the season and will be much less likely to secure a bowl bid before the last game or two of the year. While I’m sure neither team has written this game off, I expect both teams have this one circled as one of the more realistic wins en route to bowl eligibility.