Senior center Danny McGrath did a nice job summing up the importance of the Boston College game in an interview on Tuesday, "I think the common thought around here is that this one decides whether we're going to Boise or Georgia. And, of course, we're still in the race for the title. So the better thought is that we still have everything to play for. We've made a lot of great memories here for us and the fans over the last two years, and we haven't been undefeated for any of those. So hopefully we can get us a win at Boston College and set ourselves up for great October to put us right back in the thick of things."

The ESPN Thursday night game this week could not be any more important for both Virginia Tech and Boston College. Either team's season could change dramatically with a win or loss after this game, so expect a hard-hitting, aggressive game. The Hokies need to rebound from a stunning 38-27 loss to Georgia Tech, and another loss would all but put Virginia Tech out of the Coastal Division race. Boston College looked to be in good shape in the Atlantic Division after defeating Clemson 34-33 in double overtime, but a last second loss to N.C. State means the Eagles cannot afford a loss either. Two highly motivated squads will face off tonight in Chestnut Hill.

Virginia Tech has a couple of interesting streaks on the line tonight, with an amazing nine straight conference road victories since joining the ACC in 2004. Also, the Hokies have won 12 straight Thursday night games on ESPN. Tech's only loss on Thursday night came in 1995 against Boston College in Jim Druckenmiller's debut. The "intangibles” seem to be pointing to a Virginia Tech victory, but Boston College has plenty of motivation as well, seeking revenge for a 30-10 loss on Thursday night last year in Blacksburg. The Hokies dominated the line-of-scrimmage in that game, and the Eagle linemen are looking for redemption.

Boston College is led by quarterback Matt Ryan (#12, 6-5 218, r-Jr.) who leads the ACC in passing yardage, followed closely by Sean Glennon. Both Boston College and Virginia Tech have had difficulty this season in establishing a consistent running game, so both teams are going to the air more this season. The Eagles have a solid receiving corps led by wideout Tony Gonzalez (#26, 5-10 202, r-Sr.), but they lack a big-play receiver that opposing defenses must prepare for specifically. When BC does run, the Eagles have a pair of quality running backs in L.V. Whitworth (#30, 5-11 216, r-Jr.) and Andre Callender (#32, 5-11 204, r-Jr.). The offensive line is solid, as always, led by second-team All-ACC guard Josh Beekman (#75, 6-1 321, r-Sr.) who is a tremendous drive blocker, and massive tackles James Marten (#70, 6-8 307, r-Sr.) and Gosder Cherilus (#77, 6-7 318, r-Jr.).

Defensively, Boston College has a huge defensive line, averaging over 300 pounds a man, so running the ball on the Eagles will be difficult. B.J. Raji (#90, 6-1 340, Jr.) is a force in the middle and Nick Larkin (#57, 6-4 250, r-Jr.) is a solid defensive end. The linebackers are athletic and aggressive, led by Brian Toal (#16, 6-0 232, Jr.) who is nursing two sore shoulders, but should play tonight, and former running back Jolonn Dunbar (#40, 6-0 233, r-Jr.). The secondary is physical and is led by honorable mention All-ACC safety Jamie Silva (#44, 5-11 208, r-Jr.). DeJuan Tribble (#27, 5-9 190, r-Jr.) is the best cover man in the secondary.

Tribble is also a very good punt returner and Boston College has one of the most dangerous kickoff return specialists in the nation in true freshman Jeff Smith (#6, 5-9 190). Smith runs a 4.3 40 and is a former high school sprint champion, so Jared Develli needs to keep the ball out of his hands tonight. Boston College is also replacing their field goal kicker, as starter Ryan Ohlinger is suspended. He will be replaced by walk-on sophomore Steve Aponavicius (#83, 5-10 175) who has virtually no experience. Special teams are almost always a factor when Virginia Tech meets Boston College, and this game will be no exception.

These teams seem very evenly matched and both have a great deal of motivation for this game. Boston College has a knack for playing close games and I see this one being similar. However, I believe the kicking game may be the difference, with Virginia Tech pulling out the win on a late Brandon Pace field goal. Virginia Tech wins 20-17.

I maintained my consistency in missing one ACC game each week, going 4-1 last week. My only loss was the East Carolina destruction of UVA in Greenville; maybe I should throw the proverbial towel in on Virginia's season like many of the Wahoo fans. My record for the season is now 35-10 in the ACC, for what it's worth. Here are the results from last week:

The hapless Owls travel to Charlotte, NC to face Clemson in the other Thursday night game involving an ACC team. This one should get ugly early, as the Tigers are just too strong up front for Temple. Al Golden has to be wondering which is worse -- coaching Temple or coaching with Al Groh? Just kidding... Clemson by 42 (42-0)

Speaking of Al Groh... The Virginia program is on a downward spiral after a devastating loss to the East Carolina Pirates, while Ralph Friedgen's Terrapins will try to rebound after losing a tough game to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Both teams desperately need a win to turn their season around. Maryland controlled the line-of-scrimmage last year and literally ran the ball down the Cavaliers' throat, so I would expect a similar game plan this year. The Terps are hurt badly by a sub-par receiving corps, so expect the Hoos to stack the line with eight or nine in-the-box to stop the run. Virginia, on the other hand, is struggling on offense, but the return of receiver Deyon Williams should help. I could easily see Maryland winning this game in a rout or Virginia rebounding behind a big defensive effort. I am going with the defense and picking the Wahoos to pick up a surprising win. Virginia by 9 (23-14)

A huge Atlantic Division contest has the surprising Demon Deacons traveling to Raleigh to face the resurgent Wolfpack. Wake Forest gave Clemson all they could handle before a late fourth quarter rally did the Deacons in, while N.C. State is coming off comeback wins over Boston College and Florida State, in effect saving Chuck Amato's job. The Pack's offense has suddenly found life behind legacy QB Daniel Evans and a rejuvenated receiving corps. Wake's defense is vastly improved, but the diversity of N.C. State's offense, behind the running of Andre Brown and Toney Baker, and receiving of Darrell Blackman, John Dunlap, and Geron James, may prove too much. The Deacons will need to control the ball behind the running of De'Angelo Bryant and short passing game of Riley Skinner, but in the end I believe State has too much talent for the scrappy Wake Forest squad. N.C. State by 9 (30-21)

Duke put a scare in Alabama last week behind a great defensive effort in the first half, so the Blue Devils are still trying. Florida State continues to struggle behind an inconsistent offense and a defense that is not playing up to the Seminoles' standards. However, FSU still has way too much team speed for Duke to provide much of a fight. Look for the Blue Devils to stay in the game for a half, but the Noles will pull away in the second half. Florida State by 21 (31-10)

The Bulls could put the nail in the coffin of John Bunting's coaching tenure at UNC with a victory in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have struggled stopping the run and, in particular, stopping the option. USF is a very good option team, so this match-up looks bad for North Carolina. South Florida is not that strong defensively, so UNC should be able to put some points on the board, but I do not believe they will be able to keep up with ground game of the Bulls in the end. The last of the UNC faithful will jump off the ship after this one. South Florida by 1 (31-30)

The struggling Hurricanes play a much-needed pansy as Don Strock's Golden Panthers invade Coral Gables. Miami's defense has looked better in the last couple of weeks in stopping Houston and North Carolina, while FIU has struggled offensively after upgrading their schedule. The Panthers will be hard-pressed to score in this game and the improving Hurricane running game will control the ball. Miami by 35 (35-0)

I was up-and-down last week hitting a couple of upsets and missing some others. Overall, I finished 12-3, missing the surprising Tennessee/Georgia game, the Texas Tech self-destruction against Missouri, and Arkansas running over Auburn. Amazingly, I recorded all three of those games because I thought something unusual might happen. My record for the season is now 90-8. Not a lot of big game this weekend, with the Florida/Auburn game looking like the best of the bunch, but I have a few upsets picked. Here are the results from last week:

The Gators appear to be in the driver's seat in the SEC race with their big victory over LSU and Arkansas' upset of Auburn last week. Florida's defense shut down the LSU running game and the Gators will need a similar effort against Auburn. Tim Tebow is emerging as a star of the future and Florida fans are thinking about the national title game. Auburn's normally strong defense could not slow down the running game of Arkansas, but Florida does not provide the same type of threat, with the Gators' best running threat possibly being Tebow. I see a much better effort from the Tiger defense this week, and the key for Auburn is the running game behind Kenny Irons. I believe this game will be a typical SEC slugfest with Auburn rebounding from last week and pulling off the upset. Auburn by 1 (17-16)

The Nittany Lions are looking for revenge for last year's last second loss to the Wolverines that knocked Penn State out of the national title picture. This game reminds me of last year's "white out” game with Ohio State that created an incredible environment in State College. Michigan has looked strong in all aspects this year, while Penn State is breaking in a new secondary and the offense is inconsistent behind first-year starter Anthony Morelli at quarterback. However, the Nittany Lions have shown steady improvement after the Notre Dame debacle and I believe this game is set up to have huge upset potential. I see Penn State making enough big plays in the passing game and Michigan, playing without their big-play receiver Mario Manningham, struggling to move the ball consistently on Penn State. I am going with Penn State in one of the bigger upsets of this season. Penn State by 1 (24-23)

The best Pac-10 contest has the Bruins traveling to Eugene to play the Ducks. Oregon needs to rebound from the thumping they took from California, while UCLA has yet to be really tested. I believe the Oregon ground game behind Jonathan Stewart will be too tough for UCLA and the Bruins will struggle on offense with the loss of quarterback Ben Olsen to a knee injury. Oregon by 14 (27-13)

The best Big 12 game sees the surprising Tigers traveling to College Station to face the Aggies. In the past couple of weeks Texas Tech defeated A&M in College Station and Missouri beat the Red Raiders in Lubbock, so naturally Missouri should be able to defeat Texas A&M, right? Logic seldom applies to college football, and Missouri is ready to have their bubble burst. The Tigers win over Texas Tech was more of a result of mistakes by the Red Raiders (two interceptions returned for TDs) than dominance by Missouri, so I am predicting the Aggies to break the Tigers' winning streak. Texas A&M by 2 (26-24)

The Scarlet Knights resurgence has been a great story, but Rutgers has some weaknesses that can be exploited, particularly their defense against the run. Navy, of course, has a tremendous option running game and should be able to control the ball against the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers will need a huge game from Ray Rice and Brian Leonard to overtake the Midshipmen, but I see the Naval Academy pulling off the big upset and giving the team from New Jersey their first loss. Navy by 7 (31-24)

• Ohio State over Michigan State by 16 (33-17)
• USC over Arizona State by 29 (49-20)
• West Virginia over Syracuse by 22 (35-13)
• Texas over Baylor by 38 (45-7)
• Louisville over Cincinnati by 29 (35-6)
• California over Washington State by 8 (31-23)
• Iowa over Indiana by 19 (28-9)
• Georgia over Vanderbilt by 17 (27-10)
• LSU over Kentucky by 32 (42-10)
• Boise State over New Mexico State by 28 (42-14)
• Nebraska over Kansas State by 11 (28-17)
• Oklahoma over Iowa State by 21 (31-10)
• Arkansas over Southeast Missouri State by 53 (56-3)

For the 1-AA schools in the state of Virginia, I was 6-0 in my predictions for last week which makes me 28-4 for the season. In all honesty, last week's games didn't have many close contests, but this week should be much tougher. Here are the results from last week:

James Madison and Richmond get to trade opponents from last week as the Dukes will test the #1 ranked 1-AA team, New Hampshire. By the way, I have New Hampshire rated higher than UVA right now. Hopefully, JMU can give the Wildcats a game.

• New Hampshire over James Madison by 9 (30-21)
• Richmond over Rhode Island by 16 (23-7)
• William & Mary over Liberty by 18 (38-20)
• Hampton over Norfolk State by 26 (42-16)
• Coastal Carolina over VMI by 17 (31-14)

Come to Champs to watch the BC game if you are in the 'burg!