CHESTNUT HILL - Chase Rettig and the Boston College Eagles return home to face the Duke Blue Devils in the ACC opener for both teams at 12:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday at Alumni Stadium (TV/Radio: ACC Network/WRKO 680 AM).
Boston College (0-2) is coming off a rough two-game stretch to open the season, losing to the Northwestern Wildcats, 24-17, in the season opener in Chestnut Hill on September 3 and then being blown out of the stadium last Saturday at Bright Hosue Networks Stadium in Florida against the Central Florida Knights, 30-3.
Fortunately, the Eagles' upcoming schedule in the next three weeks is very favorable. BC hosts Duke (0-2) on Saturday and then welcomes in-state foe UMass into Alumni Stadium on September 24 before resuming ACC play against Wake Forest the following Saturday.
BC and Duke have met a grand total of five times, with the Eagles winning four of those matchups. BC won the last meeting between the two teams last season, 21-16. Chase Rettig had two third-quarter touchdown passes for BC, which fended off the Blue Devils with a big defensive stand to end the game.
Duke has also lost its first two games of the season, falling short against Richmond, 23-21, in its season opener on September 3 before falling short against top-contender Stanford, 44-14, last Saturday. The Blue Devils trailed the Cardinal by ten (17-7) entering halftime before Stanford rattled off 27 second-half points to capture the win.
Blue Devils quarterback Sean Renfree was 19-of-27 for 179 yards in the loss and safety Matt Daniels had 13 tackles to lead the team. The play of the game was an interception of Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck by safety Lee Butler, who returned the ball 76 yards for the touchdown in the second quarter.
Renfree has completed 42-of-60 passes on the season for 380 yards and Juwan Thompson leads all Blue Devils backs with 129 rushing yards on 24 carries. Conner Vernon is the team's leading receiver, bringing in 14 catches for 176 yards. Daniels is the team's leader on defense, racking up 22 total tackles (11 solo) through two games.
For BC, they look to their sophomore quarterback, Rettig, to shoulder the load. Through two games, he has 421 passing yards and has thrown three interceptions and zero touchdowns on 34-of-67 passing. Andre Williams has led the ground attack, rushing for 173 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries.
Ifeanyi Momah, who suffered a season-ending injury in the Eagles' loss to Northwestern, still leads the team in receiving yards with 171 yards on eight catches. Bobby Swigert has eight catches for 107 yards on the season.
On defense, junior linebacker Luke Kuechly leads the way with 35 tackles (21 solo), and has the team's only interception on the season, which he returned 23 yards. Kuechly has recorded 10 or more tackles in 24 straight games, which is the longest streak in the FBS.
BC's weakness is their lack of depth and experience in the secondary, with redshirt freshman Dominique Williams and Spense Rositano making up the strong safety core. The secondary is led by junior cornerback Jim Noel, who will be looked upon to cover the opposition's top receiving threats.
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