Countdown to kickoff - Central Michigan - Boston College Athletics

The Eagles return to Alumni Stadium with sights set on putting a halt to their three-game losing streak as they face their second MAC opponent of the season in Central Michigan (2-2).

Last week, Boston College (1-3) was toe-to-toe with second-ranked Clemson, as they entered the fourth quarter tied at seven before the Tigers, and injuries began to take over.

Heading into this weekend's game it was announced that the team senior linebacker Connor Strachan will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury, and would also be without sophomore linebacker Max Richardson indefinitely after he suffered a knee injury versus Clemson.

"We wanted to drag this team into the fourth quarter, and we drug them into the fourth quarter," coach Steve Addazio said following the 34-7 loss. "We played with great heart and you can see the potential in this football team right now. The key right now, though, is having enough guys to come out of this thing and let that work for us. We're hoping we're not going to be so crippled that we're going to have a hard time with that."

The Chippewas are also in the midst of a losing streak having dropped back-to-back games to Syracuse and Miami (Ohio), respectively.

Central Michigan senior quarterback Shane Morris is 20^th in the nation with 1,165 yards and is also the team's second leading rusher with 126 yards on the ground.

"He's a talented guy," Addazio said. "Their offense looks really good to me. He can make the throws and I think that he has really good ability. I think that they have a darn good offensive football team… He's a thrower, but he has the capability to run the football for sure."

ACC Network Extra will provide broadcast coverage, with Dave Weekley (play-by-play) and Dustin Fox (color) on the call.

The BC IMG Sports Network provides the radio broadcast locally on WEEI 850 AM and nationally on Sirius channel 93 and XM channel 203, as Jon Meterparel calls the plays, accompanied by Pete Cronan (color) and Scott Mutryn (sideline).

What they're saying

"They're a physical football team and they can run the football. They're very sound, physical and fast on defense. They've got some electricity in the kicking game. We're going to have to play a lot better than we did this past Saturday if we expect to win the football game." – Central Michigan head coach John Bonamego

"They play well, they're fast, they're pretty stout on the defensive line, pretty good on the back end." – BC quarterback Anthony Brown

"Always optimism. We're always just trying to go out there and win every game. Every week is like a new week. We start off 0-0, trying to get to 1-0. Hopefully this week we can go out there and give it our best shot and get to 1-0 after this game." – BC safety Lukas Denis

Countdown to kickoff

10…The Eagles are one of just 16 teams in the country who are perfect in the red zone this season, having converted 10-of-10 opportunities; five touchdowns and five field goals.

9…Lukas Denis has a team-best nine solo tackles in last week's loss to Clemson. The safety recorded 13 total tackles, forced a fumble, and intercepted his third pass of the season.

8…AJ Dillon capped an eight-play drive versus Clemson with the team's first rushing touchdown of the season, a one-yard rumble.

7…Senior linebacker Ty Schwab has a season-high seven solo tackles versus Clemson, and a career-best 11 total tackles and 1.5 sacks.

6…Central Michigan has six players with 100-or-more yards receiving this season, led by Mark Chapman's 377 yards, 24^th most in the nation.

5…The amount of running TDs allowed a week ago. The Eagles defense has given up a combined 13 rushing touchdowns in their three loses.

4…With three interceptions, Lukas Denis is tied for fourth most picks in the country.

3…The Eagles hold a perfect 3-0 head-to-head advantage versus the Chippewas all-time.

2…BC was called for two penalties last week. They have been called for just 16 inferences on the season thus far, 13^th fewest in the nation.

1…The number of Eagles touchdowns on the ground this season. Look for them to try and establish more of a run game today, following a strong showing in the run game versus Clemson last week.

Boston College Athletics

Countdown to kickoff - Central Michigan

Related News

Players Mentioned

Anthony Brown

Lukas Denis

AJ Dillon

Max Richardson

Ty Schwab

Connor Strachan

Related Videos