The relatively small yet fervent Twitter community that follows Boston College football is currently an emotional cocktail of confusion, disappointment and a strong taste of frustration.
The Eagles are 1-3, including 0-2 in ACC play, and they rank 110th nationally in scoring offense (20.8 points per game), tied for 128th in rushing offense (59.75 yards per game), 127th in sacks allowed (15.0) and tied for 91st in turnover margin (-2).
They've been outscored by a combined 48-3 in the opening half of their first two conference games, and their only win has come against FCS Maine, which hung around longer than it was supposed to under the lights of Alumni Stadium.
As a result, some media covering the ACC have adjusted their expectations for BC, which, after all, did finish second-to-last in the Atlantic Division in this year's ACC Preseason Poll. And several Eagles fans have taken to social media to voice their concerns for the trajectory of the program, given that it's the third year of head coach Jeff Hafley's stay—an era that, initially, ballooned with promise but has unexpectedly taken a nose dive.
Sixth-year defensive end Marcus Valdez has seen it all. He was in Chestnut Hill for the final chapter of former head coach Steve Addazio's much-maligned seven-year tenure. Now, he's a two-time captain under Hafley's watch.
"Everyone’s gonna have their opinion on what’s going on," Valdez said Tuesday. "At the end of the day, it’s the people in the building that matter. We watch the tape. We know what we’re supposed to do. You gotta try to block it out.
"It’s hard sometimes. But just gotta block it out and focus on what the problem is and get it fixed."
Hafley discussed the challenge of players tuning out the criticism in a social media-driven world.
“Some people can, some people can’t," Hafley explained. "Some people delete it and don’t go on it during the season. Some people get wrapped up in it. You can’t do that. Good or bad."
He continued: "If you have a good game and you read it, everybody’s telling you how good you are—what’s that going to do for you? And then if you have a bad game, that same person’s gonna tell you how bad you are. That’s the world we live in right now. I constantly talk to them about that. Is that hard? Yeah. … It’s hard, man. That’s why it’s hard for these guys right now. And I get it. They’re working, but you have to block out the noise and just focus on what we have right here the best that you can, or you’ll be distracted."
Left guard Finn Dirstine, a graduate student who has been with the program since 2018, is in his first year as a starter on an offensive line that has bore the brunt of the fan and media condemnation.
It's a unit that had to replace all five 2021 starters—four were lost to graduation or the NFL, and redshirt junior Christian Mahogany tore his ACL in May—and has dealt with experience and depth issues early this fall.
Dirstine believes that BC's O-Line, despite the 30-point loss at FSU this past weekend, took a step forward. He echoed Hafley's sentiment Tuesday.
“Can’t really get distracted by it," Dirstine said of the outside noise. "Gotta stay true to ourselves and have the same mentality every day."
Valdez said that you can use the hate as fuel, but "never let it get to you," he emphasized.
"The quickest way to be defeated in anything is to get distracted," Hafley said.
