BC at Duke at Noon: The Eagles Are Chasing Their First Three-Game Win Streak Since 2023 Against the ACC's No. 2 Scoring Defense

Boston College (4-3, 2-2 ACC) plays at Duke (5-2, 2-2) at noon Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, on The CW, with a chance to do something the program has not done in three years: win three games in a row. A win would be BC's first three-game winning streak since 2023, according to the team's game notes.

It would also be BC's first win over Duke since Sept. 19, 2020, when the Eagles won 26-6. The last meeting was a 38-31 Duke win in Chestnut Hill on Nov. 4, 2022. BC leads the all-time series 5-4, a series that goes back to a 25-9 Duke win in 1927.

The Eagles are coming off a game that looked like a typo. They ran for 399 yards and piled up 500 yards of total offense at Georgia Tech on Oct. 24, and the 49 points they scored were the most against a Power Four opponent in the Bill O'Brien era, according to the notes. The last time BC ran for more than 399 yards was Nov. 2, 2019, when it rushed for 496 at Syracuse.

Two backs went over 100 in that game, the first time BC did that since Nov. 9, 2024. Bo MacCormack III ran for a career-best 155 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, his first multi-touchdown game. And quarterback Mason McKenzie ran for a career-best 170 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

McKenzie is the engine. The redshirt junior has 614 rushing yards, fifth in the ACC overall and best among the league's quarterbacks, and averages 87.7 rushing yards a game, third in the conference. BC averages 181 rushing yards a game as a team, fourth in the ACC.

The defense has been the real surprise. BC has 13 takeaways through seven games, 10 interceptions and three fumble recoveries, the most in the ACC in both categories. Charlie Comella had two interceptions at Georgia Tech, including a 47-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter, his first career touchdown, and his four interceptions are tied for third in the country. BC allows 182.1 passing yards a game, second in the ACC, and 9.9 yards per completion, 10th in the country. E'Lla Boykin and Demetrius Ballard have 4.5 sacks apiece, and Anthony Palano and KP Price lead the ACC with 33 solo tackles each.

Duke is the toughest defense BC has faced in a while. The Blue Devils allow 16.0 points a game, second in the ACC, and 301.3 total yards, also second, according to the conference rankings in BC's notes. They score 29.9 points a game and rush for 189.7 yards a game, third in the league. Nate Sheppard leads Duke with 875 rushing yards.

So the matchup is pretty simple on paper: BC's run game against a defense that does not give up much, and BC's ball-hawking secondary against a Duke offense that throws for 236.4 yards a game. BC's passing offense ranks 16th in the ACC at 194.7 yards a game, so if Duke takes away the run, the Eagles will need McKenzie's arm more than his legs.

There is a Durham reunion subplot, too. O'Brien was Duke's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2005 and 2006, according to his bio in the notes. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof was Duke's head coach from 2004 to 2007 after serving as its defensive coordinator. Defensive line coach Ben Albert spent six seasons on Duke's staff. Manny Diaz is 23-11 in his third season at Duke; O'Brien is 13-19 in his third at BC.

The pressure is on the offensive line as much as anybody. Running for 399 yards against Georgia Tech is one thing. Doing it against a defense that ranks fifth in the ACC against the run, allowing 107.1 yards a game, is another.

BC is on the road for the second straight week. After Saturday, the Eagles host Florida State on Nov. 7, go to Notre Dame on Nov. 14, host Syracuse and finish at Miami.

The radio call is on the BC Sports Network on WEEI 93.7 FM, with Jon Meterparel and Pete Cronan, starting 30 minutes before kickoff.

What we still don't know: whether BC can run on a defense this good, whether the takeaways keep coming against a better offense, and whether one big week at Georgia Tech was the start of something or just one big week.