Jay Ballard 
Virginia players celebrate under the stadium light.
This Saturday, Virginia (3-1) will welcome the Boston College Eagles (4-1) into Scotts Stadium for a Noon kickoff. The Hoos opened up as a three point favorite, with an over/under of 50.5. Virginia is coming off a bye week, and hope to see multiple players return from injury. Boston College is coming off an uneven effort against Western Kentucky, that saw the Eagles rally late for a 21-20 win on their home turf. In that game, BC was missing starting Quarterback Thomas Castellanos, due to a lower body injury. Will he return this week? The answer to that question could determine the winner.
Now, for this weeks wrestling matchup that compares to the football game. In this game, I see Virginia as Logan Paul and Boston College as Bron Breakker. Both of these wrestlers are seemingly ascending to the top of the business however, they do things very differently. Logan is the highflyer, human highlight reel. Bron Breakker.is a physical powerhouse that can dominate most any superstar. These two have never actually had an encounter in the ring that I am aware of, yet I look forward to it. Much like this game, the result could go either way.
THE ONE: Time of possession can be one stat that is misleading. If a team is constantly hitting the home run play, it doesn’t take long to score. As mentioned above, I think Virginia will need a home run play or two to win this game. However, allowing BC to possess the ball for long chunks will eventually wear down our defense and likely lead to a BC win. If UVa can win or keep the time of possession close, it will bode well for the outcome.
THE TWO: We have two years of data on Coach Elliott’s teams coming off a bye week. If you are a UVa fan, the small sample size has to have you excited. In 2022, UVa came off a bye to defeat Georgia Tech 16-9 on the road. In 2023 off the bye, the Hoos defeated Drake Maye and UNC 31-27, also on the road. Considering those two iterations of Virginia Football each won three games total, it does appear as if Coach Elliott and staff have used the bye weeks to sure up some areas of weakness. Aside from strategic changes, improvement Saturday could come in the form of players returning from injury. Offensive Lineman, McKale Boley should play for the first time this year, and dynamic Wide Receiver, Trell Harris may return after missing the win at Coastal Carolina.
THE THREE: Saturday marks the first of three home games in October. Protecting home turf is something that Coach Elliott has spoken about often, but thus far been mostly unsuccessful at doing. Since taking over at Virginia, Coach Elliott owns a record of five wins and nine losses in Charlottesville. A win Saturday would go along way to changing the narrative about Virginia football.
THE DING, DING, DING: if you play the game of Boston College played Michigan State and won, Michigan State played Maryland and won, and Maryland beat Virginia, then this would be an easy game to pick against the Hoos. Assuming that Castellanos plays, the Hoos will have to bring their best effort of 2024 to get the win. Coming off a bye week, that’s just what they’ll do! Give me Virginia 31 Boston College 27! Go Hoos!
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