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> > carry) and posted 10 rushing TDs. He's the ACC's third-leading rusher heading into the postseason. Freshman RB Jon Hilliman is the Eagles' second-leading rusher with 712 yards on 186 carries (3.8 YPC) and 12 TDs. Sophomore Myles Willis is listed as the team's starter at running back, but he gained only 481 yards on 84 carries during the regular season. Boston College likes to run the ball 65 to 70 percent of the time. The Eagles do it behind a seasoned o?ensive line that fea- tures >ve senior starters. The key matchup here will pit BC senior o?ensive guards Bobby Vardaro and Aaron Kramer against starting defensive tackles Anthony Zettel and Austin Johnson. Zettel and Johnson can't let Vardaro and Kramer get to the second level and block Penn State's two leading tacklers, senior MLB Mike Hull and sophomore OLB Nyeem Wartman. EDGE PENN STATE BOSTON COLLEGE PASSING GAME 132.0 YPG, 12.8 YPC PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE 185.0 YPG, 10.9 YPC THE LOWDOWN It might not be fair to call Boston College's of- fense one-dimensional, but the Eagles did >nish last in the ACC in passing during the regular season. Murphy completed 56.9 percent of his attempts for 1,562 yards and 11 TDs with 10 interceptions. Despite throwing the ball on less than 40 per- cent of its plays, the Eagles still ran a three-wideout set. Boston College's leading pass-catcher is senior WR Josh Bordner with 26 receptions for 342 yards. Its sec- ond-leading receiver is junior Dan Crimmins with 23 catches for 297 yards. The Eagles' big-play threat is senior Shakim Phillips, who averaged 24.2 yards on his 10 catches in BC's >rst 12 games. Penn State is >elding its best pass defense in nearly a decade. The Lions rank third in the Big Ten in yards allowed and >rst in pass-e@ciency defense with a rating of 99.7. They have allowed only eight touch- downs, fewest in the conference. The key matchup here will pit Zettel against Kramer. Zettel leads Penn State with eight sacks. EDGE PENN STATE THE LOWDOWN The one advantage Penn State has on special teams is with PK Sam Ficken. The experienced senior has converted 23 of 28 >eld goal attempts this season, more than any kicker in the Big Ten. Boston College has one of the top punters in the ACC in senior Alex Howell, who averaged 42.9 yards per attempt. Howell doubles as the Eagles' primary place- kicker, but he hit only 5 of 11 >eld goal tries, with his longest being 44 yards. The Eagles have one of the country's better kicko? returners in Willis, who averages 24.9 yards per attempt. EDGE EVEN THE LOWDOWN Boston College has won the past three meetings in this series, but Penn State's current players were in elementary school when the teams last played in 2004. If the Lions have a motivational edge, it springs not from the series history but from the fact that they are coming o? an NCAA-imposed bowl ban that prevented them from playing in the postsea- son in 2012 and '13. EDGE PENN STATE THE LOWDOWN Since he was hired in December 2012, Steve Addazio has produced two winning seasons for Boston College: a 7-6 >nish in 2013 and this year's 7-5 regular-season showing. The Eagles have quali>ed for bowl games both years. This will be the >rst meeting between James Franklin and Addazio. However, Franklin has coached with two members of Ad- dazio's sta? at BC, having worked with defensive coordinator Don Brown at Maryland and tight ends coach Frank Leonard at Kansas State. EDGE EVEN O T H E R M A T C H U P S BOSTON COLLEGE PASSING GAME vs. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE COACHING STAFF SPECIAL TEAMS THIS 'N' THAT FLY, EAGLE, FLY Murphy had only one season of eli- gibility remaining when he trans- ferred from Flori- da, but he has made that season count, setting an ACC single-sea- son record for most rushing yards by a quar- terback with 1,079. Photo by Ken Babbitt

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