Wake at BC: preview

Wake Forest at Boston College

Location: Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Venue: Alumni Stadium

Kickoff: Friday at 8:00 PM EST

Television: ESPN2

Records:

Wake Forest: 1-0 (Beat Presbyterian 31-7)

Boston College: 1-0 (Beat Villanova 24-14)

Series history: The Eagles have all-time 10-8-2 series edge; however, the Demon Deacons have won two in a row over BC, including a 27-19 decision in the last meeting in Chestnut Hill.

Wake is 5-5 against Boston College during the Jim Grobe era.

Quotes of the week

"PC was a good opponent to come out with, but Boston College is going to be a real physical game. Every play you're going to just have to be as physical as you can. They have a bunch of 300 pounders, from 6-3 up to 6-8, so they have big guys." - Wake Forest center Cory Helms

"Even though they have a new staff, they're the same BC. They're big guys. They run a lot of 22, 23 powers and counters, straight up the middle, hit you and drive you off the ball hard. They are really physical, but who is not physical? We just have to match their physicality, hit them harder than they hit us and be able to do it for four quarters. I think that's the biggest thing with BC. You saw the Villanova game. A lot of people watched that game and said, 'Oh, they're down,' but when it comes down to it, they're going to beat you in the third and fourth quarters because they're physical and they're not going to get tired." - Wake Forest nose guard Nikita Whitlock

"We've talked to them [freshmen] about it [first road game]. Every environment that we go into on the road is a tough environment, so one of the issues you've got is not only having young guys that can make mistakes in practice or at a home game, but when you take them on the road, the mistakes get magnified. We're just trying to get them ready for a little bit of a hostile environment, a little bit louder environment where you don't have everybody on your side. In fact, most of them are against you. You hope they're able to go up there and get focused and do a good job." - Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe

"[I] got a lot of respect for Coach Grobe. He's a great coach. His teams are always well-coached, prepared. They're a team on offense that obviously likes to run the option. On defense, they have some fine players." - Boston College head coach Steve Addazio

Keys to the game

1) Win the turnover battle

Takeaways are theme on defense for Wake, and the Deacs forced six turnovers in their win over Presbyterian. BC forced four in its win over the Wildcats, so whatever team does the best job at protecting the football on offense and taking it away on defense has the best shot to be victorious.

2) Defending Rettig

Chase Rettig picked up where he left off in 2012 after eclipsing the 3,000-yard barrier through the air last season when he completed 23-30 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns to no interceptions against Villanova to start his senior campaign.

Pressuring the California native and blanketing his targets, especially Alex Amidon and Bobby Wolford, should be a major goal for Wake Forest this game.

The Demon Deacons only registered one sack and quarterback hurries against PC, which must improve this week; however, the pass-defense appears strong after intercepting three passes.

3) Balanced offense

Wake Forest amassed a well-balanced 219 yards through the air and 189 on the ground in the season opener.

The Deacs must maintain such balance moving into conference play.

Villanova exposed BC's vulnerability to the run when it gained nearly 200 yards on the Eagles, which Wake should seek to capitalize on.

Michael Campanaro's return to the lineup will add a whole new dimension to the offense with his play-making ability as a receiver and as a runner, which should put even more pressure on the BC defense.