Head To Head Matchup: Receivers

The leading yardage receiver for Boston College is 5-10/198 pound senior wide receiver Brandon Robinson. For the season, Robinson has 29 catches for 470 reception yards and 3 TDs. He will more than likely not reach the reception yards he had in 2007 when he had 793 yards and 5 TDs. His best game of this season was when he caught 7 passes for 109 yards and a TD against UCF. He is averaging 16.2 yards a catch. Against Notre Dame last Saturday, Robinson had two catches for 26 yards and 1 TD.

Next in line in reception yards and leading the team in number of catches is 5-11/196 pound junior Rich Gunnell with 30 catches, 270 yards and 1 TD. Gunnell had his best performance against North Carolina State in October when he caught 11 passes for 123 yards and 1 TD. Against Notre Dame, he caught 4 passes for 34 yards. For the season, he is averaging 9 yards a catch.

6-5/196 pound junior Justin Jarvis has 13 catches for 152 yards and 2 TDs. Tight end senior Ryan Purvis has 19 catches for 141 yards. Hopefully the Noles will know to cover the tight end in the game. Mickey Andrews was not happy last Saturday when his unit gave up another touchdown to a tight end when Michael Palmer put Clemson ahead 17-13 in the first half. Says Andrews, "We gave up a touchdown again by not covering the tight end. We're still trying to get that corrected. We've seen it three times this year for three scores." Enough said.

6-6/225 pound sophomore Ifeanyi Momah has only caught 10 catches for 138 yards but shares the most TDs with Brandon Robinson with 3. Boston College has 12 players who have caught at least one ball on the year. In addition, six receivers have double digit receptions.

Boston College is ranked #10 in the ACC in passing offense averaging 173 yards a game resulting in 10 TDs through the air. Brandon Robinson is ranked #7 in the ACC in receiving and averages a little over 3 catches a game.

Defensive matchup: The Eagles will be facing a Nole defense that is ranked #1 in the ACC in pass defense allowing 163 yards a game and giving up 10 TDs through the air. The Noles also have 6 interceptions which puts them next to last in the ACC.

In passes defended, the Noles are #2. Defensive back Korey Mangum has 7 passes broken up while defensive back Myron Rolle has 5 break ups. Opponents are only completing 50% of their passes against the Noles.

The Nole secondary is probably the one area on defense that is clearly under performing. There has been a lack of playmakers in the secondary as evidenced by the small number of interceptions although Myron Rolle and Tony Carter seem to get a lot of publicity. As a point of reference, the Noles have six interceptions on the season while Boston College has three times that total with 18 interceptions.

For the Noles, the receiving leader in yards is still Greg Carr with 24 catches for 380 yards and 2 TDs. Against Clemson, Carr had no catches in the game. On the season, he is averaging 15.8 yards a catch.

Freshman wide receiver Taiwan Easterling has been impressive and leads the Noles in receptions with 26 catches for 286 yards and 1 TD. Against Clemson last Saturday, Easterling had 4 catches for 43 yards. Preston Parker seems to be getting back into the groove as he is tied with Carr with the second most catches on the season with 24.He has 239 yards and 1 TD. And you can't forget Bert Reed and Corey Surrency.

Reed was looking to be a go to guy but he has now been suspended twice for violating team rules so you have to question his commitment to the team. Corey Surrency lately has been quiet but against Clemson he had two catches for 52 yards and a TD. He is the TD reception leader with 4 TDs on the season. For the season, there are six receivers who have double digit catches and Ponder has thrown to 17 different players who have at least one catch on the year.

The Noles are ranked #8 in the ACC in passing offense averaging almost 191 yards a game and throwing 14 TDs through the air. Carr is ranked #11 in the ACC in reception yards and is averaging almost 3 catches a game.

Defensive matchup: The Noles will be facing a Boston College defense that is ranked #4 in the ACC allowing 175 yards a game and giving up only 5 TDs through the air which is the lowest number in the ACC. In passes defended, BC is ranked #6 with 40 passes defended. BC's defensive back Paul Anderson is ranked #5 in the ACC in passes defended.

The big story is that the Eagles have 18 interceptions on the season which ties them with North Carolina for the most in the ACC. BC is averaging 2 interceptions a game and have returned 2 for touchdowns. Senior defensive back Paul Anderson is ranked #3 in the ACC in interceptions with 5 on the year with one run back for a TD.

In addition, linebacker Mark Herzlich has 3 interceptions with one taken back for a TD. BC has three defensive backs other than Anderson with two interceptions each on the season. Compare that with the Nole's Tony Carter who leads FSU with 2 while Rolle has none.

Needless to say, Ponder will be tested big time against this BC Secondary and he will have to play smart and make the proper reads to his receivers in order to avoid the picks.

Quick Stats: BC's leading receiver Brandon Robinson has 29 catches, 470 yards, and 3 TDs. The Nole's leading receiver Greg Carr has 24 catches for 380 yards and 2 TDs.

BC is number #1 in the ACC in interceptions with 18 on the year and 2 returned for a TD. Interception yards for BC is 420 yards. FSU is ranked #11 in the ACC with 6 interceptions and one returned for a TD. Interception yards for the Noles is 22.