Nebraska vs. Boston College Preview and Prediction
by Pete Fiutak, CollegeFootballNews.com
Oh yes, these teams will care.
It's the first year under head coach Bill O'Brien at Boston College, and the program that lost seven bowl games in eight appearances before pouncing on Southern Methodist in last year's Fenway Bowl, the Eagles have a shot to close out the year with four wins in the last five games to go into the offseason red hot.
Nebraska hasn't been to a bowl game since the 2016 Music City Bowl, and it hasn't won a bowl game since the 2015 Foster Farms Bowl against UCLA. It's been a grind to get here, and there's still more to play for.
Nebraska -- the football program that was the model of consistency for SO long -- hasn't had a winning season since 2016 and just that one since 2014. When it comes to momentum and the offseason, 7-6 would be a giant deal.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Nebraska (6-6) vs. Boston College (7-5)
Saturday, December 28 - 12:00 PM (ET) - ABC
Why Boston College Will Win
Yeah, Nebraska really, really cares about being in a bowl game again, but it's also missing a bunch of key players. Isaiah Neyor led the team with five touchdown catches. He's gone along with several parts of the defense including four starters.
As good as Husker star QB Dylan Raiola is, it's the ground game that powers the offense. Nebraska is 4-0 when running for 149 yards or more and 5-1 when coming up with 142 or more. The Boston College run defense has been a rock for most of the year, only getting powered over by Virginia Tech and Missouri for more than 140 yards.
As long as the Boston College line can get to Raiola -- it's good at generating sacks, the Huskers have problems in pass protection -- it should slow down the Husker O, but ......
Whey Nebraska Will Win
......the Huskers bring a run defense, too.
They're 11th in the nation allowing just 106 yards per game, and it just can't get gouged. Boston College is 4-0 when running for 228 yards or more, 3-5 when it can't get past 180, and there's a problem when it doesn't get to at least 4.4 yards per carry.
Nebraska allowed 3.5 yards per run and only Indiana and USC have been able to push past the 180-yard mark.
But really, this is the showcase for Raiola and the Dana Holgorsen offense. While this bowl season across the board doesn't matter much to 2025 in a transfer portal era, this might be the moment when .......
Who Will Win
Raiola will let it rip.
Again, the Huskers need to run the ball effectively to balance things out, but Boston College had big problems this season with accurate passers.
The Eagles went 0-4 when allowing teams to hit 65% of their passes, 7-1 when they don't get there, and Raiola has only failed to get to 65% four times.
Both teams will bring the fire and want-to, but Nebraska will be just a bit more effective at controlling the clock.
Prediction
Nebraska 27, Boston College 21
Spread
Nebraska is favored by 4 points
