2022 Boston College Football

[Dave Stapleton]

We are on the eve of Hafley's third season with the Eagles and things have been pretty quiet from camp in the lead up.

There are a ton of open questions but I would say the leading themes for the season are:

1. This is one of the most talented WR groups BC has ever had with a legit AA candidate in Flowers, talented former Buckeye, Hill and electric second year player coming off a strong freshman season in Coleman.

2. Jurkovec has the arm and presence to get these guys the ball. He has shown the ability to keep plays alive and has sneaky mobility and running ability. Needs to show he can stay healthy for a full season.

3. OL is VERY inexperienced. The one guy coming into the season, Christian Mahogony, who was experienced and a known talent, is out with a knee injury. Conley played LT last season when Vrabel was hurt and really struggled. Huge question mark. Expect some in game rotation.

4. Lots of turnover on the offenseive coaching staff with new OC and OL coach. By all accounts Cignetti was encouraged to seek other opportunities and landed in Pitt. McNulty comes over from Notre Dame and we should expect an multi offense with pro concepts. Hafley has hinted that it will be a priority this year to get his playmakers the ball. Cignetti had a fondness for slow developing plays and going deep (see Pitt last night against WV). I expect a lot more 3 step drops, slants, screens and other shorter developing plays to ensure Flowers and Co. are given the chance to make plays.

5. RBs, led by Gwaro, remain solid if not remarkable. Would be nice to see a pass catcher emerge from this group.

6. Defense was a strength last year. Hafley has recruited well (Top 40) and we should look to see the younger guys begin to take a more significant role. DBs are extremely talented, led by second year FSU transfer Woodbey and second team All ACC DeBerry. Question marks on the DL but last year's injury may have helped in building depth. Undersized but expect lots of rotation here. BC plays 4-2-5 base D so again playing to the strenghts.

7. Beginning with Rutgers should give a good view of what this team has. Being at home against a very young NJ St. should result in a win but first games are always a mystery.

I think this team wins 8 games this year. Defense continues to step up and McNulty/Haf will make sure Flowers gets 10 touches a game.

BC Schedule:

9/3/2022	Rutgers
9/10/2022	at Virginia Tech
9/17/2022	Maine
9/24/2022	at Florida State
10/1/2022	Louisville
10/8/2022	Clemson
10/22/2022	at Wake Forest
10/29/2022	at UConn
11/4/2022	Duke
11/12/2022	at North Carolina State
11/19/2022	at Notre Dame
11/26/2022	Syracuse

 

[Ale Xander]

Important recruiting game this week. They get a significant amount of their recruits (defense and OL mainly) from the State of New Jersey.

 

[FelixMantilla]

Important recruiting game this week. They get a significant amount of their recruits (defense and OL mainly) from the State of New Jersey.

They used to, but not anymore. Only one New Jersey player each in 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes.

 

[Dave Stapleton]

I think the game is important for several reasons but especially given the current conferemce alignment discussions. BC needs to show it is above a bottom half (begin generous) Big Ten program.

 

[BigSoxFan]

They used to, but not anymore. Only one New Jersey player each in 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes.

Which is surprising given Hafley’s NJ connections. But could just be a sign of his broader, more expansive recruiting strategy.

 

[BigSoxFan]

I think the game is important for several reasons but especially given the current conferemce alignment discussions. BC needs to show it is above a bottom half (begin generous) Big Ten program.

Yup. And this is a team/program that desperately needs some momentum. We all remember 2007 when some good early performances against GT and others suggested that we had something special brewing.

I don’t expect 2007 season this year because the OL is so unproven and front 7 is undersized but there is potential for some final year Jurk/Zay magic.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Rutgers’ starting QB is out today. https://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/2022/09/rutgers-qb-noah-vedral-to-miss-season-opener-vs-boston-college-with-injury.html

 

[Ale Xander]

Way too many red shirts (more than zero) and New Jersey plates trying to park their cars on Comm Ave west of Chestnut Hill Ave.

 

[scottyno]

I feel bad for college DBs any time Zay catches a ball in stride, they just have no chance

 

[BigMike]

I feel bad for college DBs any time Zay catches a ball in stride, they just have no chance

Zay is just ridiculous out there. He makes Jurk look like a halfway decent QB, despite his inaccuracy and pop gun arm.

 

[Ale Xander]

Nice pick!!!!
And 15 by their trash backup qB

 

[Ale Xander]

Need to figure out how to run

 

[Section15Box113]

Need to figure out how to run

And how to stop the run. Rutgers has 211 yards on the ground to this point.

 

[BigSoxFan]

OL complete disaster. This season is doomed.

 

[BoSoxFink]

The offensive line was absolute dogshit in this one

 

[Jeff Van GULLY]

Awful loss. This Rutgers team was not good. Not getting any Oline transfers was clearly a mistake. Team was gassed by the end on both sides of the ball.

 

[patinorange]

That was a pretty depressing game.

 

[Section15Box113]

You’re going to get the ball back for one last (pipedream) gasp, and you run into the kicker??

Fitting for this one.

What a debacle.

 

[Section15Box113]

That was a pretty depressing game.

Agreed.

 

[Ale Xander]

What a f’ing disaster

Fireable loss
Addazio-esque 2nd half

It’s Zay and 84 nobodies

I miss Coughlin so much

 

[BigMike]

Absolutely emasculating loss to a team that didn't have a QB. The last drive for Rutgers is an all time low for the BC defense.

At least the next 2 games are against a VT team who got humiliated by ODU yesterday , and Maine.

It’s Zay and 84 nobodies

Yup, no doubt about it. Never was quite sure why Zay decided to come back, as I don't think there is anything he can possibly do this year to raise his draft stock above where it was, I just hope he gets through the season healthy, he's gonna have to touch the ball (or be targeted) 25 times a game between offense and ST.

And Jurk had a rough time with the pass rush, especially in the second half. Can't hold that against him, but his first half showed what we already knew. He shouldn't be an NFL prospect. His arm strength is poor, as is his accuracy

 

[BigSoxFan]

I feel like I watched a program die today. Absolutely inexcusable L by Hafley’s ill-prepared squad.

 

[kenryanrules]

One game in and I feel like Haf is a great hype guy, but not a good coach. Oline was brutal, Jurk looked rusty at best and the D allowed a 96 yd drive all on the ground KNOWING Rutgers couldn't pass the ball.. So frustrating as an alum.

 

[BigSoxFan]

One game in and I feel like Haf is a great hype guy, but not a good coach. Oline was brutal, Jurk looked rusty at best and the D allowed a 96 yd drive all on the ground KNOWING Rutgers couldn't pass the ball.. So frustrating as an alum.

Hafley has the look. He doesn’t have the chops.

 

[RorschachsMask]

That was bad. The team has real talent, but the offensive line could be a season killer, and they looked unprepared today, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.

 

[4 6 3 DP]

Hafley is probably a good position coach and can recruit, inspire a little bit. His offenses have regressed each year, left in the hands of retread coordinators without an ounce of creativity.

The McNulty hire was absolutely awful. You see a guy who looked great two years ago at QB now look worse than grosel last year.

I have trouble believing we can get a better head coach than hafley to come here but his hires are so bad than I doubt the program can support leaving him in place.

 

[mauf]

One game in and I feel like Haf is a great hype guy, but not a good coach. Oline was brutal, Jurk looked rusty at best and the D allowed a 96 yd drive all on the ground KNOWING Rutgers couldn't pass the ball.. So frustrating as an alum.

Turning around a program takes time. The talent on hand actually gets worse in year 3 or so, as your upperclassmen are holdovers from the prior regime’s dying days. This is especially true on the line — you can’t throw a bunch of 19 and 20 year olds up against 23 year olds and expect good results. B.C.’s offensive line rotation consists of two Daz-era holdovers and a bunch of underclassmen; it’s no wonder they suck. Harbaugh had similar problems at a similar point in the Michigan rebuild.

Losing to Rutgers sucks, but I think Hafley’s ability to coach up the existing talent in year 1 concealed how bad the program had gotten at the tail end of Daz’s tenure.

 

[Ale Xander]

Turning around a program takes time. The talent on hand actually gets worse in year 3 or so, as your upperclassmen are holdovers from the prior regime’s dying days. This is especially true on the line — you can’t throw a bunch of 19 and 20 year olds up against 23 year olds and expect good results. B.C.’s offensive line rotation consists of two Daz-era holdovers and a bunch of underclassmen; it’s no wonder they suck. Harbaugh had similar problems at a similar point in the Michigan rebuild.

Losing to Rutgers sucks, but I think Hafley’s ability to coach up the existing talent in year 1 concealed how bad the program had gotten at the tail end of Daz’s tenure.

Other than Conley, who’s the other Dazzy?

Two of the four other starters have extremely strong BC pedigree (Kendall and Trapilo) but yes they’re young and the latter probably didn’t even walk yet by the time his dad (RIP Steve) had the tragic heart attack.

Kendall was the #1 MA recruit across all positions in his year (top 100 nationwide)

Trapilo was top 4 MA in his year, top 25 tackle in the country.

 

[mauf]

Other than Conley, who’s the other Dazzy?

Dirstine.

Two of the four other starters have extremely strong BC pedigree (Kendall and Trapilo) but yes they’re young and the latter probably didn’t even walk yet by the time his dad (RIP Steve) had the tragic heart attack.

Kendall was the #1 MA recruit across all positions in his year (top 100 nationwide)

Trapilo was top 4 MA in his year, top 25 tackle in the country.

The young guys have pedigree, and they’ll benefit down the road from the early experience they’re getting now, but they’re going to struggle against P5 linemen who are 2-3 years older than them. It’s just a physical maturity thing. And it’s different from the skill positions, where pedigreed underclassmen are more likely to beat out less talented upperclassmen and help improve the team quickly.

 

[kenneycb]

Turning around a program takes time. The talent on hand actually gets worse in year 3 or so, as your upperclassmen are holdovers from the prior regime’s dying days. This is especially true on the line — you can’t throw a bunch of 19 and 20 year olds up against 23 year olds and expect good results. B.C.’s offensive line rotation consists of two Daz-era holdovers and a bunch of underclassmen; it’s no wonder they suck. Harbaugh had similar problems at a similar point in the Michigan rebuild.

Losing to Rutgers sucks, but I think Hafley’s ability to coach up the existing talent in year 1 concealed how bad the program had gotten at the tail end of Daz’s tenure.

That’s less true in the era of free transfers. Him not getting any other O Lineman looked bad in the off-season and criminal after today. Phil’s not gonna make it through the year again if it looks like it did today.

 

[Eagle3]

You’re going to get the ball back for one last (pipedream) gasp, and you run into the kicker??

Fitting for this one.

What a debacle.

I dont have a problem at all with the roughing the kicker penalty. Had to go for the block, that was the best chance for a miracle win at that point.

 

[BigSoxFan]

I dont have a problem at all with the roughing the kicker penalty. Had to go for the block, that was the best chance for a miracle win at that point.

Because they stupidly burned a time out to…punt the ball.

 

[Awesome Fossum]

That’s less true in the era of free transfers.

Agreed. If your strength as a coach is recruiting, this ought to be a golden age.

 

[Dave Stapleton]

So I have been in a total online blackout talking about this team since last week becasue I always respond badly to the BC fandom overreaction. I am admiditly "rose colored" but agree last week was atrocious, embarrassing and shouldn't have happened. Hafley has to find a way to win that game even playing as poorly as the team played. All that said, I am not ready to abandon ship because I think that the improvement between games 1 and 2 in college football is significant for teams in the not Alabama, Clemson world. It's why I am a huge advocate of the cream puff early schedule to be used as pre-season. This is a young and immature OL and mostly new DL and that's where we saw the issues. BC also had a ton of turnover on the offensive coaching staff and is installing a new offense as well.

I am willing to see what we get this week before I proclaim "Haf is a fraud" or "Jurk is overrated". However, based on above we should also assume VT is not as bad as they looked against Old Dominion and should also make a leap.

 

[BigSoxFan]

So I have been in a total online blackout talking about this team since last week becasue I always respond badly to the BC fandom overreaction. I am admiditly "rose colored" but agree last week was atrocious, embarrassing and shouldn't have happened. Hafley has to find a way to win that game even playing as poorly as the team played. All that said, I am not ready to abandon ship because I think that the improvement between games 1 and 2 in college football is significant for teams in the not Alabama, Clemson world. It's why I am a huge advocate of the cream puff early schedule to be used as pre-season. This is a young and immature OL and mostly new DL and that's where we saw the issues. BC also had a ton of turnover on the offensive coaching staff and is installing a new offense as well.

I am willing to see what we get this week before I proclaim "Haf is a fraud" or "Jurk is overrated". However, based on above we should also assume VT is not as bad as they looked against Old Dominion and should also make a leap.

It’s, quite frankly, a very important game. Lose this one and I don’t see a realistic path to the kind of season we were hoping to have. Too many good teams remaining on the schedule.

My biggest concern beyond the obvious OL/coaching issues is that we are just a small team up front, especially on defense. This team has good skill position talent, probably one of the best groups we’ve had in quite some time, but it doesn’t matter if you’re getting smoked in the trenches. And there isn’t much help coming via recruiting based on what I see there so far.

 

[shawnrbu]

This is a really bad start. 0 1st Downs on 4 drives and allowed a long TD run.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Hafley is looking pretty damn fraudulent at the moment. Bad OC hire. Bad OL hire. Defense, which is supposed to be his speciality, is completely crapping the bed tonight. Not much to root for on this team outside of Zay.

 

[BigJay]

This is Spaziani era bad. Absolutely pathetic.

 

[shawnrbu]

Zay doesn’t field a punt and they lose 20 yards of field position.

 

[BigSoxFan]

This is Spaziani era bad. Absolutely pathetic.

Yup. This is 2012 bad. Hafley is not the answer, sadly.

 

[scottyno]

-6 yards in 7 possessions against a team they should be roughly as good as is beyond pathetic

 

[kenneycb]

“Not one good thing has happened for Boston College tonight.” Very succinct summary by the announcer.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Zay should just start preparing for the draft right now.

 

[scottyno]

Zay is still running if Jurk had thrown that ball, he was beyond wide open

 

[BigSoxFan]

Zay is still running if Jurk had thrown that ball, he was beyond wide open

Jurk has been objectively awful this year. I never saw this coming.

 

[Ale Xander]

Somewhat expected this, so went to see St. Vincent and Chili Peppers instead. CP weren't much better.

Looking at the stats, BC had 4 rushing yards and 10 punts. That's not going to get it done.

That OL hire, woof.
The UPS driver that delivered to Scar and maybe had 2 or 3 short conversations with him would be better.


I am not sure I'd be happy if I was a VT fan either. Starting the season with 3 FCS opponents back to back to back isn't going to give enough experience for the rest of the season.

 

[4 6 3 DP]

I'm not sure which football team in Massachusetts hired a worse play caller. I guarantee there are high school teams with an oc better than McNulty.

 

[Doctor G]

change Offensive line coach. Is daz busy?

 

[kenneycb]

Looks like we struggled to put away Maine. That’s good.

 

[mauf]

Looks like we struggled to put away Maine. That’s good.

BC only outgained Maine 431-378. I didn’t watch, but it looks like it might have been a close game if Maine didn’t turn it over three times.

We’re bad this year. Looking at the remaining schedule, I see only one game where I’d expect BC to be favored (against UConn). Louisville at home in two weeks is the only one of the next four games where I wouldn’t expect BC to be a double-digit underdog. Duke and Notre Dame might be winnable games later in the year, but I think we’ll be limping into East Hartford at 1-6 or 2-5.