FACTS & STATS: Site: Alumni Stadium (44,500) -- Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Television: Raycom. Home Record: GaTech 1-0, Boston College 0-0. Away Record: GaTech 0-0, Boston College 0-0. Neutral Record: GaTech 0-0, Boston College 1-0. Conference Record: GaTech 0-0, Boston College 0-0. Series Record: Georgia Tech leads, 4-2.

GAME NOTES: Early bragging rights in the ACC are up for grabs this weekend as the Boston College Eagles entertain the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Chestnut Hill. Both programs opened their respective 2008 schedules last Saturday with victories, the Eagles taking out Kent State in Cleveland by a score of 21-0 and Tech posting a 41-14 triumph over tiny Jacksonville State in Atlanta.

Before heading back home to face the likes of Mississippi State, Duke and Gardner-Webb in three straight affairs, the Yellow Jackets will make yet another stop in enemy territory as they face off against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

As for the Eagles, they'll take some time off following this game and then prepare for the arrivals of both UCF and Rhode Island in back-to-back weeks before continuing on with their ACC slate.

As far as the all-time series is concerned, Tech holds a 4-2 edge over the Eagles, although BC has won two in a row in the series, including a 24-10 triumph last season on the road.

In his debut as the Georgia Tech head coach, Paul Johnson made his option offense run smoothly and right over the top of Jacksonville State in the process. Tech nearly doubled the yardage production of the Gamecocks on the evening, with a huge portion coming on the ground. Jonathan Dwyer and quarterback Josh Nesbitt both carried the ball 11 times for the squad, each hitting the end zone twice as they contributed heavily to the team's 349 yards and six touchdowns on the ground on 46 opportunities. Bringing over the dangerous option schemes he controlled at Navy, coach Johnson saw immediate, positive results right out of the box as the team posted almost 500 yards of total offense.

Running the ball is nothing all that new for the Yellow Jackets however, seeing as how the team ranked first in the ACC and was 24th in the nation a year ago with close to 200 yards per game on the ground as well. Placing 11th in the league and 98th nationally in terms of passing with just 185.6 ypg in 2007 is something Johnson will have to keep in the back of his mind when the competition gets a little tougher down the line.

Opening up against Jacksonville State was just what the doctor ordered for the Yellow Jackets because it gave the team a chance to get comfortable with their option offense and see how it affects the defense. In this case, the defense for Tech permitted 122 yards rushing on 31 attempts, but at least kept the Gamecocks out of the end zone on the ground. As far as the pass defense was concerned, the Jackets watched as 22 passes were completed, and yet all those connections generated a mere 136 yards and just two TDs. More importantly, the Yellow Jackets managed to not only pick off a couple of passes, they gave themselves opportunity to lay on some heavy hits that forced three fumbles, of which the home team recovered a pair.

Dominique Reese had a team-high seven tackles for the unit, but it was the play of Morgan Burnett and Derrick Morgan that was most inspiring. Burnett was responsible for both interceptions on the night and Morgan made 1 1/2 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and also recovered a fumble

With Matt Ryan now in the NFL, the Eagles may have a change in their approach on offense, because the squad sure did do a job on Kent State on the ground. Boston College, a team that ranked ninth in the ACC and was 106th in the nation a season ago with a woeful 101.1 ypg on the ground, opened up the offense on Saturday and proceeded to force the ball down the throats of the Golden Flashes, to the tune of 230 yards and all three touchdowns on 47 attempts.

Quarterback Chris Crane did do some positive things through the air when needed with his 12-of-18 effort for 106 yards, but it was his legs that carried the Eagles to a pair of touchdowns on seven carries. Heading into this his senior season, Crane rarely saw action and was limited to a grand total of just 263 yards passing and 13 yards rushing in a total of 22 games, so already his patience on the sidelines has paid big dividends.

While the passing game of the Eagles produced modest numbers, Kent State tried to keep in touch by throwing the ball, but it just wasn't meant to be. The Boston College defense limited the host team to just 13 completed passes, of which two were collected by the Eagles themselves. BC defenders also rattled KSU for three fumbles, although only one of those were recovered by the visitors.

Brian Toal led the way in tackles for the unit with his five and a half stops, while Mark Herzlich tacked on five tackles and recorded an interception for the group as well. Since the KSU passing attack wasn't exactly hitting on all cylinders last weekend the team had to opt for keeping the ball on the ground, generating 126 yards on 36 attempts, far more than the mere 75.5 ypg rushing the Eagles permitted a year ago when they ranked first in the conference and second in the nation overall in that department.

Johnson's offense will have a tougher test this weekend, but considering the Yellow Jackets will be able to make their own breaks on defense, something says Tech is ready for win number two.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Georgia Tech 23, Boston College 14

Saturday, September 6th, 12:00 p.m. (et).