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FACTS & STATS: Site: Alumni Stadium (44,500) -- Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Television: ESPN360. Home Record: Wake Forest 2-1, Boston College 2-0. Away Record: Wake Forest 0-0, Boston College 0-1. Neutral Record: Wake Forest 0-0, Boston College 0-0. Conference Record: Wake Forest 0-0, Boston College 0-1. Series Record: Boston College leads, 8-6-2.

GAME NOTES: ACC action will take place this Saturday when the Boston College Eagles host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill.

The Demon Deacons opened the new campaign with a 24-21 setback to Baylor, but the team has been able to rebound with back-to-back victories over Stanford (24-17) and Elon (35-7). This will be the first conference matchup of the season for Wake, which is a mere 18-38 in league openers. Next up for the Deacons will be back-to-back home contests against NC State and Maryland.

As for the Eagles, they are coming off their first setback of the season, falling at Clemson, 25-7. BC began the year with a 54-0 shellacking of Northeastern and followed that with a strong, 34-7 decision over Kent State. The Eagles have been outstanding at home since the 2004 campaign posting a 29-5 ledger in Chestnut Hill.

Boston College currently holds a slim, 8-6-2 edge over Wake Forest, and that includes victories in three of the last four matchups. Last season the Eagles squeezed out a 24-21 decision over the Demon Deacons on the road.

The Demon Deacons have proven to be a dangerous offensive unit, averaging 26.7 ppg on the season, while using a balance attack which features a devastating rushing game, along with a solid passing attack. Receiver Devon Brown is leading the team with 103 rushing yards thus far, while Josh Adams and Kevin Harris have contributed 88 and 85 yards, respectively. Mike Rinfrette is pacing the team with three rushing touchdowns, and has helped Wake average a strong 169.7 yards per contest on the ground. As for the passing attack, veteran Riley Skinner has completed an impressive 67.5 percent of his throws this season and although the signal caller does have four interceptions, he heads into this weekend with 619 yards and six touchdowns as well. In the recent win over Elon, it was Skinner and the passing attack that paved the way for the victory, as the senior threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns on 14- of-20 passing. Skinner's performance was much needed, as the team's ground game never really got going, with Wake finishing with 132 yards on just 2.9 yards per attempt.

The defense for Wake Forest has not been overpowering in the first three games of the season, but the unit has done more than enough to help the Deacons produce two wins. Wake heads into this weekend allowing just 16.0 ppg, behind 340.0 total yards per matchup. However, what has hindered this unit is its inability to make the big play, as WF has forced just three turnovers and recorded only five sacks. The Deacons did not force any miscues in the win over Elon, but the defense still managed to put forth a tremendous effort, limiting the Phoenix to just 263 total yards, including 68 rushing yards on 2.5 yards per attempt. Wake Forest held Elon to just 15 first downs in the victory, and that is due to the defense's ability to step up when it matters most, holding the Phoenix to just 8-of-19 on third down attempts.

The Eagles are currently averaging a pedestrian 281.3 total yards per matchup, but despite the lack of production the team is still managing a very strong 31.7 ppg. The rushing attack is churning out 130.3 ypg on 3.8 ypc. The passing game has been worse, as the team is posting 151.0 ypg through the air. Montel Harris has done the majority of damage on the ground, rushing for 194 yards and three scores, while Rolandan Finch has been excellent off the bench, posting 90 yards and one touchdown on 6.9 yards per attempt. However, neither Justin Tuggle or Dave Shinskie have been able to figure it out under center. Tuggle has four touchdown passes on the year, but has completed a terrible 35.1 percent of his throws and also has three interceptions. As for Shinskie, he has just 185 yards and two scores, but is completing a much better 63.0 percent of his attempts. Nothing went right for the Eagles in the recent loss to Clemson, as the team managed a pathetic 54 total yards of offense. The ground game was held to just 29 yards on 28 carries, and sadly enough Tuggle was much worse in the contest, completing an abysmal 4-of-20 passes for just 23 yards. The signal caller threw all three of his interceptions in the contest and was also sacked three times.

The main reason the Eagles head into this weekend with a winning record is due to the outstanding play of one of the top defensive units in the nation. Boston College has punished teams on the year thus far, and is currently holding opponents to just 187.7 total yards per matchup, which is fourth best in the nation. Surprisingly however, the defense has forced only six turnovers and recorded just three sacks on the season. However, a tremendous help for this unit has been its play on third downs, as opponents have been held to a meager 24 percent conversion rate in those crucial situations. Against Clemson last Saturday, the Eagles lost to the Tigers' kicker, who buried six field goals in the contest. The only touchdown surrendered by BC was a punt return by C.J. Spiller. Needless to say the loss does not rest on the shoulders of the defense, which limited Clemson to just 253 total yards, including a mere 102 passing yards.

This is lining up to be one of those tough, grueling ACC defensive battles. However, the Eagles not only possess the better defense, but the team is also more consistent offensively in terms of producing points, and along with home field advantage, Boston College should be able to grab a win.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Boston College 17, Wake Forest 7