Countdown to Kickoff - Louisville - Boston College Athletics

In search of their first ACC win of the season, the Eagles (2-4, 0-3) face off against Louisville at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium for a 12:20 p.m. EST showdown.

Boston College enters the tussle with the nation's 21^st ranked pass defense, but all aspects on the defensive side of the ball with have their hands full with reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.

On his way to collecting the nation's highest honor for a college football player last year, the Louisville dual-threat quarterback beat the Eagles for 231 yards and four touchdowns through the air, and 185 and three scores on the ground.

"He's the Heisman winner, so he's definitely one of the top players, if not the top player in the country," said BC junior defensive end Zach Allen. "He does it all. It's not just with his legs, he can also throw it and he's really smart, you see he makes really good decisions on the field...It's a good challenge for us. We're excited to face the challenge."

Entering Saturday's matchup, Jackson sits fourth in the nation with 1,990 passing yards and is 30^th in the country with 513 rushing yards on 100 carries.

"He's fast on his feet, so you have to account for basically another running back," freshman linebacker Jon Lamot said. "He's carried the ball 90-plus times."

The Eagles have allowed an average of just 182 yards against them through the air, but their 234 yards per game on the ground against them is the worst in the ACC, so they will need to sure up that end of the defensive to try to fully contain on the country's top offensive threats.

ACC Network will carry the television broadcast of the afternoon's showdown, with Tom Werme (play-by-play), Dave Archer (color) and D.J. Shockley (sideline) on the call.

The BC IMG Sports Network has your radio broadcast locally on WEEI 850 AM and nationally on Sirius channel 119 and XM channel 203, as Jon Meterparel calls the plays, accompanied by Pete Cronan (color).

What they're saying

"Going down on playing on the road against Louisville, Louisville Cardinals. Start with their quarterback. Doesn't need a lot of introduction, Heisman Trophy winner, Lamar Jackson, phenomenal athlete. Makes things happen with his arm, with his legs. He's electric. He's probably one of the fastest guys in all of college football and certainly a great player. Their running backs, Reggie Bonnafon and Malik Williams, really good players. They got some really good wide receivers, good skill players. And they're obviously very explosive and have the capability of doing a lot of things. Anytime you have a quarterback like that, you're different." – BC head coach Steve Addazzio

"They've got two really good defensive ends. Again, we played against the same guys last year. One of them is a real speed rusher and a great athlete. He did get hurt at the end of the game last week, so I'm not exactly sure where he is health wise. The other guy's a big physical guy that plays the run inside, and then comes outside and rushes the quarterback. It's something if you can run the ball on him and run the ball at him, then it makes it easier to protect him in the passing game." – Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino

"It's the ACC, you're going to face the best quarterbacks in the county. Especially with the dual threat, week-to-week, that's really the trend of time a little. On our team we have some really athletic quarterbacks that give us some great looks. Just building off of that." – BC defensive end Zach Allen

Countdown to kickoff

10…This will be the 10th meeting between the two programs. The Cardinals lead the series, 6-3.

9…Louisville kicker Blanton Creque is a perfect 9-for-9 on field goal attempts this season and is one of only four place-kickers in the nation with a perfect field goal percentage.

8…Through six games the Eagles have picked off eight passes, the second most in the ACC and tied for fourth most in the country.

7…Though redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Brown has thrown seven interceptions on the year, he has gone two straight games - against Central Michigan and No. 16 Virginia Tech - without throwing a pick.

6…It's the halfway point in the season for the Eagles, with six-game having been played and today marking the start of the final six games of the season.

5…The BC offensive line has only allowed five sacks on the season, the least of any team in the ACC.

4…The Cardinals enter with a four-game win streak over the Eagles, including a 52-7 win at Alumni Stadium last year.

3…Senior defensive end Harold Landry is third in the ACC with five sacks. Junior defensive end Zach Allen is fourth with four sacks, and senior linebacker Ty Schwab is sixth with three.

2…Junior Jon Hilliman (347 rushing yards) and freshman A.J. Dillon (333 yards) have punched in two touchdowns apiece on the ground.

1…With five interceptions, junior free safety Lukas Denis is tied atop the national leaderboard in that category, alongside three other players.

Boston College Athletics

Countdown to Kickoff - Louisville

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Players Mentioned

Zach Allen

Anthony Brown

Lukas Denis

Jon Hilliman

Harold Landry

Ty Schwab

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