Boston College is starting over with a new head coach in Jeff Hafley and while it’s not an ideal situation because of the pandemic, his recruiting already paid dividends early.
Hafley has never been a head coach, but he’s served numerous roles in the NFL and served as Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator last season.
The Eagles aren’t expected to challenge Clemson right away, but they should compete in the ACC’s second tier most of the season.
They had early 750/1 preseason odds to win the National Championship, placing them near the bottom of the ACC Atlantic with an over/under of 5 wins at 5 dimes and betonline.
New QB Could be Notre Dame Transfer
Under experienced offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., BC will have to decide its new starting quarterback, which could be a process.
Dennis Grosel has experience after getting time last season, but Phil Jurkovec transferred from Notre Dame and is more likely to give some upside to the offense.
Either way, there are questions surrounding the quarterback. David Bailey is set to be the new exclusive running back, though playmaker Travis Levy will undoubtedly get touches in the new offense.
The rushing attack will be aided by an offensive line that is filtered with experience after leading the way to 5.0 yards per carry last year.
Even under Cignetti, the offense could again be run heavy. Still, receivers are needed to catch passes and that’s where Kobay White (460 yards, 5 TDs) and tight end Hunter Long (509 yards) step in.
Boston College’s offense may again lack potency, but a new coordinator should mix things up and the line should lead the way to surpass last year’s 29 points per game.
Defense May Continue to be a Problem
Defense is another issue after the Eagles were one of the worst in the country, allowing 480.3 yards and 31.7 points per game.
New coordinator Tem Lukabu has never called plays and comes over after serving as the LBs coach with the Cincinnati Bengals last year.
Given the numbers, improvement is almost a given, so that’s good news for the Eagles. That’s possible because linebacker Max Richardson is back for his senior season after earning All-ACC honors last year.
While there are questions surrounding him, there’s plenty of experience to go around and that’s at least a positive Hafley and Lukabu have to work with. This group may not overwhelm opponents, but they should get better, assuming last year’s starters improve.
Early Season Matchups Key
If BC plans on doing better than last year’s Birmingham Bowl, it’ll need to win early home games, namely the ones against Syracuse and Purdue. The Eagles have a shot to start 4-0 before the October matchup against Clemson.
Otherwise, reaching six wins will be far from easy, mainly because a lot of their home games are against the best teams in the ACC and they also have to travel to the likes of Virginia Tech, NC State and FSU.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Boston College was sitting on five wins ahead of the final two games against UNC and Wake.
While Hafley brings optimism, he didn’t have much of a real offseason and there could be questions about quarterback all year. If that doesn’t get figured out early, the Eagles will be headed for around six wins again.
2020 Boston College Eagles Schedule
Sept. 4 vs. Syracuse
Sept. 12 vs. Ohio
Sept. 19 at Kansas
Sept. 26 vs. Purdue
Oct. 2 vs. Clemson
Oct. 10 vs. Louisville
Oct. 22 at Virginia Tech
Oct. 31 vs. Holy Cross
Nov. 7 at NC State
Nov. 14 at Florida State
Nov. 21 vs. North Carolina
Nov. 28 at Wake Forest