After clinching bowl eligibility for the sixth consecutive season, North Carolina aims for a four-game win streak and its third straight road victory Saturday when it faces Atlantic Coast Conference foe Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Tar Heels (6-4, 3-3) have sandwiched a pair of three-game win streaks around a four-game skid following their 31-24 home victory over Wake Forest last week. Extending their run against the Eagles (5-5, 2-4) will take a hard-nosed effort.
The two teams rely on the run more than any other teams in the ACC, with North Carolina’s league-high 415 rushing attempts one more than that of Boston College.
“It’s going to be a fight. It’s going to be such a competitive game,” Tar Heels coach Mack Brown said. “Both teams are going to run the ball, so it’s going to be the toughest man wins on this one. And they’re both tough, so it’s going to be (who is) the toughest for the longest.”
Omarion Hampton rushed for a season-high 244 yards against Wake Forest. The junior needs only 78 more to become just the fourth ACC player in the past 20 years with 1,500 yards in back-to-back campaigns.
“Omarion is a machine,” Brown said. “He’s protected the ball, he’s caught the ball well, he’s done everything perfect for us.”
North Carolina has had a 100-yard rusher in every game between Hampton (142.2 rush yards per game) and freshman Davion Gause.
Boston College pushed then-No. 14 SMU to the final minutes of a 38-28 road loss last week, as Kye Robichaux’s second touchdown brought the Eagles within three in the fourth quarter.
After getting the ball back following a punt, though, the offense — led by Grayson James for the first time since Thomas Castellanos departed the program — was forced to turn the ball back over on downs.
Leading the Eagles’ rushing attack, Robichaux went for 288 yards and four touchdowns over the last two weeks. UCF transfer Jordan McDonald has broken out for 196.
“(McDonald is) one of the most improved players on our team — and he’s done it on the practice field,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now and we’re really counting on him.”
A win separates the Eagles from bowl eligibility for the second straight season. They beat SMU in the Fenway Bowl last December.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about North Carolina. If you take care of business, then you’ll be eligible,” O’Brien said. “We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us, so I think that’s our focus.”
North Carolina is 6-2 in the all-time series, having won five straight since Boston College claimed the 2004 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte.
