ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

Until last week, Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski didn't think his team could turn the ball over five times and still beat Virginia Tech.

"No," he said, "no, I didn't."

And then, last weekend, his team defied that logic.

It hasn't always been pretty, but Boston College has played well enough consistently to be in a four-way tie for first place in the Atlantic Division heading into Saturday's game at North Carolina. It's an impressive feat considering the Eagles are in their first season without Matt Ryan and had to replace a plethora of other talented seniors who graduated. They've done it with one of the best defenses in the country as the offense has worked through the transition of a new quarterback and new running backs.

Saturday's 28-23 win over Virginia Tech was a sloppy game, but it was also the Eagles' fourth straight win, and arguably their biggest. It's hard not to wonder, though, how much better could Boston College be if it eliminated the mistakes?

"You eliminate those turnovers," Jagodzinski said, "obviously your offensive output is going to be a lot better."

Not that it has been bad to begin with.

The Eagles are third in the ACC in scoring offense (29.8 points per game) behind Florida State and Miami, third in total offense and third in rushing offense.

The Eagles are still ahead of the turnover battle, having won 16 and lost 15. First-year starting quarterback Chris Crane accounted for four of his team's turnovers against Virginia Tech (three interceptions, one fumble). Two of the interceptions resulted in touchdowns.

"It's not always just one guy," Jagodzinski said. "Matt Ryan, how many picks did he have against Virginia Tech last year? He had 'em, too. You don't remember those. You just remember what he did good. But it takes all 11 guys. Protection wasn't great. We had some drops. We dropped two touchdown passes. And we don't turn that ball over it's 28-3 in the first half. I don't think we'd even be talking about it then."

Crane is third in the league with 184.5 passing yards per game, and Jagodzinski is quick to point out that Crane is a rookie.

"I didn't really know what we had," he said. "The thing is, Chris has played seven games in his college career. He made some mistakes like a guy that has played seven games in a college career. We just have to keep those to a minimum."

If they do, the Eagles have as good a chance as anybody at playing in the ACC championship.

"I think it's up for anybody," Jagodzinski said. "I think the games are going to be very even, and it's going to be a good race down the stretch. The team that can stay the healthiest is the team that may come out on top. But we're three points away from being undefeated."