When considering the landscape of the ACC, Friday night's showdown on Chestnut Hill is as crucial as any. Miami makes the trip to Boston College with both teams carrying just one loss in conference play. If either has hopes of reaching Charlotte for the title game next month, it must avoid a second loss to a conference foe.

Miami entered the season ranked in the top 10, got beat up in its season-opener against LSU and now finds itself at 5-2 after losing to Virginia two weeks ago. Boston College was a popular choice as a 2018 dark horse, but after starting the season 3-0, the Eagles have lost two of their last four.

This is the first time these teams have met since the 2012 season when Miami won 41-32 in Chestnut Hill. The Hurricanes have dominated the series historically, winning 24 of the 29 meetings.

Viewing information

Date: Friday, Oct. 26 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Alumni Stadium -- Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
TV: ESPN | Live stream: WatchESPN

Storylines

Boston College: While all conference games are important, this one carries a bit more weight for Boston College than most do. It's the Red Bandana Game. The annual event in which fans and the team wear red bandanas to honor the memory of Welles Crowther. Crowther was a Boston College alum who helped numerous people escape the World Trade Center on 9/11. Crowther helped victims get out of the building while wearing a red bandana over his nose and mouth to help himself breathe. When the South Tower collapsed, Crowther was still inside trying to help others escape.

Miami: The Hurricanes' season hasn't gone to plan, but they aren't out of the running in the ACC Coastal yet. A loss to Boston College, however, would make life a lot more difficult. Also making things difficult is uncertainty at the quarterback position. Malik Rosier opened the season as the starter but was replaced by N'Kosi Perry. Perry was then replaced by Rosier during the loss to Virginia, and now Rosier is once again the starter, though Perry is expected to see snaps against Boston College, too.

Game prediction, picks

I don't know if Boston College is the better team, but I have a hard time betting against the Eagles in the Red Bandana Game. Boston College is coming off a bye so it's had extra time to prepare, and the atmosphere will be amazing and electric. All that and Miami's QB issues make me lean toward the Eagles. Pick: Boston College +3.5

What college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 9, and what title contender will go down hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams are winning more than 50 percent of simulations, all from a proven computer model that has returned over $4,000 in profit over the past three seasons.