BC's surprising run highlights ACC at midseason

Here's a team-by-team breakdown of the first half of the 2007 ACC season:

Boston College Eagles

Talk about your smooth transitions. With 16 starters returning from last year's 10-3 team, the biggest question for the Eagles heading into the season revolved around how well BC would respond to first-year coach Jeff Jagodzinski following the departure of Tom O'Brien to North Carolina State. Answer? No problem. The Eagles (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic) are off to their best start since 1942 and are ranked No. 4, the highest since Doug Flutie's Heisman Trophy-winning season in 1984.

The offense and quarterback Matt Ryan have been every bit as good as expected. The Eagles rank first in the ACC in total offense (454.8 yards per game), scoring offense (35.8 points per game) and pass offense (314.2 yards per game). The running game also has picked up lately, which has made Ryan and BC's passing attack even more difficult to defend. The defense -- which lost two key starters in linebacker Brian Toal and defensive tackle B.J. Raji before the season began -- isn't exactly suffocating, but it's been plenty good enough to win. The Eagles rank last in the ACC in pass defense, but much of that is due to opponents being forced to throw after falling behind in games.

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