College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Boston College Eagles season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Boston College Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 6-7 overall, 4-4 in ACC
Head Coach: Jeff Hafley, 1st year
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 64
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 84
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 54
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Boston College Eagles Offense 3 Things To Know
– New head coach Jeff Hafley comes over as a defensive coach who worked in the NFL before helping to turn Ohio State’s D into a monster as Ryan Day’s defensive coordinator. The offensive side will be turned over to coordinator Frank Cignetti, the Green Bay Packer quarterback coach and former NFL OC with the Rams and Steelers.
He’ll want to wing the ball around and operate with a steady tempo, and he might have his quarterback in place to do it.
Anthony Brown transferred to Oregon, but Dennis Grosel is back after hitting just 48% of his passes for 983 yards and nine scores with three picks – and he ran for two scores – and five options in all are in the mix.
However, be shocked if Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec isn’t the main man right away. the 6-4, 227-pound former big-time recruit only threw 12-of-18 passes for 222 yards and two scores for the Irish, but he can run, and he’s got the arm to push the passing game deep.
CFN in 60 Video: Boston College Eagles Preview
– The receiving corps didn’t to too much in the former run-heavy offense, but the experience and talent are there. Hunter Long is one of the ACC’s most dangerous tight ends – the 6-5, 255-pound junior led the team with 509 yards and two scores, averaging over 18 yards per catch.
Also back is top WR Kobay White after a flirtation with the transfer portal, but he only caught 29 passes for 460 yards and a team-high five scores. Sophomore Zay Flowers is the only other returning receiver who caught more than three passes.
– The offensive line should be fantastic. Three starters are back with the line working around All-ACC tackle Ben Patrula and all-star center Alec Lindstrom. The line led the conference and was fourth in the nation in fewest sacks allowed, and it was even better at blasting away for the league’s top running game. However, the main part of the puzzle is gone from the ground attack.
AJ Dillon will be blasting away for the Green Bay Packers, but 6-1, 240-pound junior David Bailey has the ability to take over after helping the cause with around ten carries per game with 844 yards and seven scores, with a 181-yard, two-score day against NC State, and with 172 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse in tandem with Dillon.
Speedy Travis Levy will get a few carries, and he’ll be used as a receiver, and in the mix might be 6-0, 235-pound sophomore Javian Dayne – son of all-time NCAA leading rusher and Wisconsin legend, Ron Dayne.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Boston College Eagles Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Boston College Eagles Defense 3 Things To Know
– The defense has to be a whole lot better. The program that didn’t allow more than 5,000 yards in a season since 2013 gave up 6,223 yards, finishing last in the ACC in total defense, allowed 32 points per game, and had the league’s worst pass defense because the pass rush was among the nation’s least effective.
New head coach Jeff Hafley came up as a defensive coaching star, and Tem Lukabu is taking over the defensive coordinator role after spending the last few years as a linebacker coach for Mississippi State and then the Cincinnati Bengals.
The new coaching staff might get 16 of the top 19 tacklers back – at least there will be experience, but the production has to follow.
– The linebacking corps should be terrific with all-around playmaker and leading tackler Max Richardson on the outside, 240-pound senior John Lamot in the middle, and with plenty of other options rotating in the mix.
The pass rush only generated 19 sacks – Richardson led the way with a mere 3.5 – but ends Brandon Barlow and Marcus Valdez return after tying for second on the team in sacks with just 2.5. There isn’t a ton of beef on the inside, but 6-1, 300-pound TJ Rayam is back at one tackle job after coming up with 41 stops.
– Can the secondary stop anyone on a consistent basis? It didn’t get a whole lot of help from the pass rush, but it also didn’t do much for its own cause with just ten interceptions – five came in the first two games, and there was just one in the final six.
Three of the four starters are back around senior Mike Palmer – who finished third on the team with 76 tackles – but again, the young corners have to come up with more stops and more big plays.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Boston College Eagles Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Boston College Eagles Players
Best Boston College Eagles Offensive Player
OT Ben Petrula, Sr.
There’s a chance David Bailey blows up as the main ball carrier and becomes a statistical star, and the hope is for Phil Jurkovec to rise up into a star quarterback who makes a massive difference, but the O will work around a strong line with a few All-ACC stars.
Alec Lindstrom will be a rock at center, and the 6-5, 310-pound Petrula will be among the ACC’s best all-around blockers at one of the tackle spots. However, he’s versatile enough to work anywhere, starting out his career at center before moving to right tackle. He could end up at left tackle depending on the combination for the front five.
2. RB David Bailey, Jr.
3. C Alec Lindstrom, Jr.
4. TE Hunter Long, Jr.
5. QB Phil Jurkovec, Soph.
Best Boston College Eagles Defensive Player
LB Max Richardson, Sr.
He got on the field as a true freshman, worked his way into a job as a sophomore and started out well before getting knocked out with a knee injury. On the plus side, it happened early enough to give him time to heal – and give him a redshirt year – and he came back roaring to finish third on the team with 76 tackles.
It all stepped up last year with a team-high 108 tackles with 3.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss in an All-ACC season. He has the size, the range, and the all-around playmaking ability to once again be the leader and star of a good-looking veteran D.
2. S Mike Palmer, Sr.
3. LB John Lamot, Sr.
4. DE Brandon Barlow, Sr.
5. DE Marcus Valdez, Jr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Boston College Eagles Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Boston College Eagles Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Boston College Eagles Offense
The passing game has to be steadier and more productive. It’s not that it didn’t work over the past few years, but it just wasn’t a priority considering how fantastic the ground game was.
However, there wasn’t any consistency whatsoever, completing fewer than 50% of the passes in the last three games and in six of the last eight games. There were a few downfield plays here and there, but considering all of the emphasis on the ground game, there should’ve been more connections for big plays.
Those stalled as the season went on.
Getting Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec should help, and the emphasis on the running game won’t entirely go away, but if the nation’s 113th ranked passing attack can average over 60% completion rate and 200 yards per game, the offense will be far more effective.
Biggest Key To The Boston College Eagles Defense
To get simple about it … be better at playing defense. The problem was that BC just didn’t make enough plays – as generic as that sounds, too.
There wasn’t a pass rush, there weren’t enough takeaways, and the defense had one of its worst yards-allowed season in the program’s history. It all tied together, and that included being miserable on third downs.
The Eagles allowed offenses to convert over 46% of their third down chances on the season, and were hammered for 50% or more in six of the last nine games, and was 0-7 on the season when allowing that many.
Going back to 2013, the program is 1-17 when the defense gives up half of of the opposing third down tries.
There’s too much experience and too much talent returning to be that bad again under the new coaching staff, but get off the field, and everything else should fall into place.
Key Boston College Eagles Player To A Successful Season
QB Phil Jurkovec, Soph.
He was supposed to be it. He was supposed to be Brian Kelly’s guy to run the Irish offense, coming in as a high-powered recruit in the 2018 class with the talent and upside to challenge for the job right away. The program was light on quarterback recruits over the previous few years – all it had in place was some three-star Ian Book guy from the 2016 class – but …
Book took the gig and hasn’t let it go, and Jurkovec will get his shot to make the Boston College program his.
It’s not a 100% lock that he gets the gig – Dennis Grosel had the job late last season, and other options will get a shot – but if he’s the prospect he was expected to be going into his time at South Bend, the Eagles have a franchise player to build around for the next few years.
Key Game To The Boston College Eagles Season
Syracuse, Sept. 4
It’s been a strange run for the series with the road team winning the last four. It’s the ACC opener – and the first game of the Jeff Hafley era – in a game that could lead to a big early run.
Yeah, the Eagles lost to Kansas last year – and badly – and now the date is on the road, but with the Jayhawks, Ohio, and Purdue to follow before welcoming Clemson to Chestnut Hill, a 4-0 run isn’t out of the question if they can beat the Orange.
– Boston College Eagles Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Boston College Fun Stats
– BC 2nd Quarter Scoring: 163 – 3rd Quarter Scoring 54
– Field Goals: Opponents 25-of-28 – Boston College 12-of-18
– Time of Possession: Opponents 32:11 – Boston College 27:49
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Boston College Eagles Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Boston College Eagles Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
CFN in 60 Video: Boston College Eagles Preview
Seven-Win Steve Addazio became Six-Win Steve last year, and now he’s the head coach at Colorado State.
Boston College will be interesting. The team is going to be better, there’s a ton of experience in place, and even when it was a big bag of meh last year, it still got to six wins and a bowl game.
The program has made it to a bowl six times in the last seven seasons, so even with a whole slew of concerns, a new coaching staff, and a lot of parts that need to be way, way stronger …
Set The Boston College Eagles Regular Season Win Total At … 6
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 5
Where are the sure wins?
It’s Boston College, so like last year with its early win over Virginia Tech, and November victories over Syracuse and Pitt, it’ll come up with a few stunners as an underdog.
It’ll beat Ohio and Holy Cross, and it’ll be good enough to at least split the dates with Syracuse and on the road against Kansas, but throw in an upset against – maybe – a Louisville here, or North Carolina there, or maybe even Purdue to work its way to six wins to get the Jeff Hafley era off to a decent start.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
