10 Stats to Know Heading into BC's 2022 Season
Boston College has been waiting for its breakout season for more than a decade now—a return to complete ACC relevance, the kind the Eagles enjoyed when they first moved to the conference in 2005.
BC fans got a tease in 2014 when the Eagles upset then-No. 9 USC in the first annual Red Bandana Game. And then once more in 2018 when BC started 7-2, rose to No. 17 in the AP Poll and hosted "College GameDay" for the first time since 2009. But both of the seasons ended with seven wins.
The Eagles are long overdue to shake the shackles of ACC mediocrity. After all, BC hasn't had a winning season in conference play since 2009. In the 12 seasons since, the Eagles have gone .500 in league competition seven times.
Here are 10 more stats to know about BC heading into the 2022 campaign.
2009 — the last time BC won at least eight games in a season. Every other ACC team has posted an eight-plus-win campaign since 2016. Yes, even Syracuse, which logged 10 victories in 2018. Duke also reached the eight-win threshold in 2018, thanks to a strong final season by quarterback Daniel Jones. After BC, Georgia Tech and Florida State are tied for the second-longest drought. Those programs last won eight or more games in a season in 2016.
23 — number of consecutive games the Eagles have lost to AP Top 25 opponents. BC's last win against an AP-ranked team was the aforementioned 2014 upset of USC. Since Jeff Hafley took over as head coach, BC has dropped three one-score games to AP-ranked opponents, including a pair to Clemson in Memorial Stadium.
7 — number of 300-yard passing games quarterback Phil Jurkovec needs this season to surpass Matt Ryan for the most all-time in program history. Jurkovec recorded four in 2020 and then two more in his injury-shortened 2021 campaign.
822 — number of receiving yards Zay Flowers needs this season to go out as BC's all-time leading receiver. He's also 70 catches and 12 touchdowns shy of the program's top marks in those respective categories. Flowers is primed to be BC's first wideout drafted since 1987.
3 — where BC ranked nationally in pass defense last season. The Eagles allowed just 173.5 yards per game through the air in 2021. They also gave up a mere 14 passing touchdowns, tied for the 16th-fewest in the country last year. That said, teams ran on the Eagles more than they passed as BC was 92nd in rush defense, conceding 170.8 yards per game on the ground.
58% — BC's percent of returning production from the 2021 season, according to ESPN's Bill Connelly. That places the Eagles 91st in that metric. Losing all five starters up front—four to the pros and Christian Mahogany to an ACL tear—weighs BC down. How the offensive line performs this season could dictate the Eagles' success.
27th — the Eagles' national ranking in opponent third down conversion rate last season. Teams moved the sticks on third down against BC just 34.7% of the time in 2021, as opposed to 40.4% of the time in 2020 (65th nationally).
76.9% — the red zone scoring percentage of BC's opponents in 2021, good for 29th in the FBS. It's a big reason why the Eagles were third in the ACC in scoring defense (22.2 points per game allowed) last season. Often, they bent but didn't break. Is that sustainable? We'll see, but BC jumped 49 spots in red zone defense last year.
126th — BC's Pro Football Focus pass rushing ranking from last season. The Eagles registered a meager 63.2 grade. As a team, BC mustered 145 total pressures, per PFF. To put that in perspective, Alabama dynamite outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. tallied 82 pressures by himself last season. What's more, the Eagles were tied for 96th in the country with 1.75 sacks per game.
17 — the number of turnovers BC forced in 2021, tied for 57th most in the FBS. It was a drop-off from 2020 when the Eagles were tied for 10th nationally with 21 forced turnovers. BC had four games where it didn't create a turnover last season. The year before that, the Eagles had only one such outing.