If you\u2019re looking for an exciting early game to watch on Saturday, don\u2019t sleep on Northwestern\/Boston College, which features two underrated teams. <\/p>\n
NCAAF Week 1: Northwestern vs Boston College Preview & Pick<\/strong> Northwestern Wildcats (0-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n However you feel about Northwestern\u2019s overall chances in the Big Ten this season, the Wildcats should at least be fun to watch. Dan Persa was one of the conference\u2019s best quarterbacks last season before an Achilles\u2019 tendon injury ended his season. He\u2019ll return this year to helm an above-average attack that averaged 235.2 passing yards and 157.4 rushing yards last season.<\/p>\n Problem: the latest reports suggest that Persa won\u2019t quite be ready for Saturday\u2019s opener. He\u2019s reportedly close, close enough that he\u2019s probable for Northwestern\u2019s second game, but the Wildcats won\u2019t rush him back. Kain Colter is likely to start in his place.<\/p>\n If the Wildcats offense isn\u2019t up to speed, they\u2019ll have to rely on their \u201cD,\u201d which allowed 29 points and 427.7 yards per game last season. Gulp.<\/p>\n Boston College Eagles (0-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n Boston College truly feels it can build on last season\u2019s 7-6 campaign. The Eagles had the country\u2019s top run defense and were 12th<\/sup> overall but their offense left a lot to be desired. Boston College ranked 109th<\/sup> in the FBS in total offense. [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n But the Eagles believe their \u201cO\u201d can catch up to their \u201cD\u201d this season. Their running game is in good hands thanks to Montel Harris, who ran for 1,242 yards and totalled 12 touchdowns last year. Sophomore quarterback Chase Rettig has the reins again this season. He wasn\u2019t very good at all last year, completing just 51.3 per cent of his passes for 1,238 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions. But the coaching staff firmly believes he\u2019ll improve this year.<\/p>\n The pick:<\/strong><\/p>\n Even though the matchup is even on paper, and even though BC is 1-7 against the spread over its last eight at home, I think this game looks like it could turn ugly for Northwestern.<\/p>\n Northwestern\u2019s strength is its quarterback; he likely won\u2019t play. Northwestern will have to rely on the run more; Boston College as the country\u2019s top run-stopping team last season.<\/p>\n Northwestern\u2019s biggest weakness on defense last season was stopping the run: Boston College\u2019s top offensive strength is running the ball.<\/p>\n See the trend? Boston College is an awkward matchup for the Wildcats if they don\u2019t have Persa \u2013 and I don\u2019t believe they will. Don\u2019t be surprised if Northwestern\u2019s usual high-flying attack doesn\u2019t look like itself on Saturday.<\/p>\n Northwestern vs Boston College prediction: <\/strong>Boston College 24, Northwestern 14<\/p>\n Money Line: OFF The 2011 CFB Season is finally here. Welcome to the CappersPicks.com college football weekly predictions pages! We KNOW you will find our FREE weekly college football picks<\/strong><\/a>, tips, betting advice, strategies, CFB gambling articles and more to help you become the best College football bettor on your block!! <\/p>\n On Saturday September 3rd, 2011 its the Week 1 Northwestern Wildcats vs. Boston College Eagles matchup. Odds currently have the Eagles listed as 3-point favorites, the game\u2019s total has been posted at 45. Here is a betting preview and matchup handicapping tips\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":24708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[28750,324,1485,548,763,18232,51868,51869,51867,1323,33323,51870,51871],"class_list":["post-42724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ncaa-football","tag-28750","tag-college-football-odds","tag-football-lines","tag-handicappers-predictions","tag-ncaa-football-betting","tag-ncaa-football-preview","tag-northwestern-vs-bc-free-pick","tag-northwestern-vs-bc-pick","tag-northwestern-wildcats-vs-bc-eagles","tag-week-1","tag-week-1-free-picks","tag-wildcats-eagles-lines","tag-wildcats-vs-eagles-predictions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42724"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42730,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42724\/revisions\/42730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDate: <\/strong>Saturday, September 3, 2011
\nVenue: <\/strong>Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
\nBroadcast: <\/strong>ESPNU HD
\nNorthwestern Wildcats at Boston College Eagles Betting Lines from BetOnline.com<\/strong><\/a>
\nMoney Line: <\/strong>OFF
\nSpread: <\/strong>Boston College -3
\nOver\/Under: <\/strong>45
\nClick here for the ATS Gambling Report for this game!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
\nSpread: Boston College -3
\nOver\/Under: UNDER 45<\/p>\nCLICK HERE FOR THE BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICKS ALL SEASON LONG —–><\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"