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Virginia versus Boston College — a breakdown

<p>Junior tailback Jordan Ellis will look to help establish Virginia's running game against Boston College Saturday.&nbsp;</p>

Junior tailback Jordan Ellis will look to help establish Virginia's running game against Boston College Saturday. 

The Virginia football team has a shot at earning a bowl berth this weekend as they get set to take on Boston College. With it being a home game during Homecomings weekend, there is certainly plenty of excitement surrounding the team. Only a year after finishing 2-10, Virginia will be looking to secure its first bowl berth since 2011. Here are some players and keys to watch out for this weekend, as Virginia looks to come away with a win and a bowl berth.

Players to watch 

Senior free safety Quin Blanding

Blanding has been superb for the Cavaliers this season and has been a big reason Virginia’s defense has been so good. Blanding is coming off of his second-straight ACC Defensive Back of the Week award and continues to tally up tackles. As one of the ACC’s leading tacklers the last couple of years, Blanding picked up another 10 this past weekend against North Carolina and has now recorded double-digit tackles in more than half of his games at Virginia. This type of play on the field is a reason why North Carolina struggled throwing the ball, only picking up 46 passing yards this past weekend. 

Blanding’s leadership in the locker room has also been instrumental, as Virginia’s defense as a whole has performed very well this season. It will be interesting to see if Blanding can continue his stellar play and help Virginia slow down a Boston College offense that put up 45 points this past weekend on Louisville.

Senior quarterback Kurt Benkert and Virginia will look to take down Boston College and secure their first bowl berth since 2011. 

Senior quarterback Kurt Benkert

The last couple weeks have given Benkert some challenges in the passing game, as both Duke and North Carolina were able to generate some pressure on him and take away his go-to deep balls. The senior adjusted well in both games, passing for three touchdowns after two early picks against Duke and completing over 60 percent of his passes against North Carolina. The tough stretch doesn’t get easier against Boston College, who boasts one of the best secondaries in the FBS. The Golden Eagles have allowed opposing quarterbacks to pass for only 203.4 yards per game — a figure which was inflated by Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson’s 322 yard performance last week — and have intercepted nine passes, tied with Virginia for No. 12 in the FBS.

Benkert will once again have to exercise great care this week — he can’t expect to make the early mistakes he did against Duke and come out scot-free again. He has been very successful in the short passing game in the last two weeks, so look for offensive coordinator Robert Anae to employ a West Coast offense again to pick apart and wear down Boston College’s secondary.

The Keys

Keeping composure on defense

For the most part, the Virginia defense continued this season’s dominant play against North Carolina last week, shutting the Tar Heels out in the first half and completely neutralizing their passing game. However, it only took two poor plays — resulting in runs by freshman running back Michael Carter — to get the Tar Heels back into the game. The runs were similarly designed and both occurred in the third quarter, so the defense didn’t seem to adjust as effectively as it has this season. Boston College will be similar to North Carolina in that the team relies heavily on its run game, devoid of a consistent quarterback. 

Freshman running back A.J. Dillon ran a track meet in Boston College’s upset at Louisville — putting up a whopping 272 yards and four touchdowns — suggesting the Golden Eagles may have found a way to revitalize their offense. Virginia needs to limit chunk runs from Dillon to prevent Boston College from finding a rhythm — but more importantly, if he does turn loose on a big run, the defense has to show the composure to tighten up immediately. 

If the defense can roll with the punches and keep up enough stamina to make some big run stops, Boston College will be forced to test the stout Cavalier secondary — a battle that doesn’t bode well for the Golden Eagles.

Staying Focused

Virginia has played way beyond any expectations coming into the season. Coming off of a 2-10 season, most thought Virginia would have showed significant improvement in the Mendenhall era had they won four or five games all season. But the Cavaliers sit at a surprising 5-1 with a chance to clinch a bowl game. The excitement surrounding football at the school hasn’t been higher the last couple of years, so it can be easy to lose sight that there is still football to be played against a good team like Boston College. Virginia has been able to stay focused and continue picking up wins this season, as evident by their four-game winning streak. It will be interesting to see if they can continue that pattern this weekend with a bowl game on the line.

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