The underlying storyline of the 2020 college football season, of course, has been and continues to be COVID-19. After all, entering Championship Week, 137 games have been postponed or canceled this season because of the virus, according to CBS Sports.
For Boston College, first-year head coach Jeff Hafley remarked that preventing a COVID-19 outbreak was probably the Eagles’ “biggest victory” of the 2020 campaign. Unlike the virus itself, though, BC’s handling of COVID-19 measures had a positive ripple effect on the program.
Zoom meetings in the spring, preseason quarantine, socially-distanced locker room rotations, and late nights of “Call of Duty” and “The Mandalorian” brought the team together, and it showed on the field. It was a chaotic, exhausting, but fun and encouraging season for the Eagles, who far surpassed the expectations of many.
While there were certainly ups and downs—as is the case for most rookie head coaches—the first year of the Hafley era revitalized the program’s fan base.
Here are the season’s top-10 storylines, some more cherishable than others.
1. Phil Jurkovec helped transform the Eagles’ aerial attack in a heartbeat
Before this year, quarterback Phil Jurkovec hadn’t started a game since his senior season at Pine-Richland. He really hadn’t taken snaps under center or huddled up since middle school. And he didn’t have a complete spring ball or a normal training camp. That said, after sitting behind Ian Book at Notre Dame, Jurkovec was eager to rewrite his script at BC. Once he received his immediate-eligibility waiver, he took the opportunity and ran with it. Jurkovec turned in four 300-yard passing games in his first five starts, posting a 10:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the process. He effectively executed Frank Cignetti Jr.’s motion-based, pro-style offense, giving BC a refreshing makeover, particularly through the air. Jurkovec rounded out the year with 2,558 passing yards, the fourth most in the ACC.
2. Under Hafley, BC’s defense took an immediate step in the right direction
BC’s defense was historically bad in 2019. The Eagles allowed the most points per game (32.2) in single-season program history and reset their single-game record for most yards allowed twice. Out went Steve Addazio, Bill Sheridan, and the rest of BC’s staff, and in came the Hafley regime. In just one year, the Eagles climbed from 125th to 71st in total defense (416.8 yards per game allowed) and 101st to 60th in scoring defense (28.4 points per game allowed). BC also posted 21 takeaways, tied for the sixth most nationally. Perhaps most noticeably, however, the Eagles’ pass defense—the ninth-worst in the FBS last year—clocked out 82nd in 2020.
3. The Eagles’ defense still struggled against mobile QBs, especially down the stretch
Albeit improved, BC’s defense still has a lot of work to do, particularly against mobile quarterbacks. Over the final seven games of the season, signal callers rushed for an average of 83.4 yards per game. Three (Virginia Tech’s Hendon Hooker, Louisville’s Malik Cunningham, and Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong) reached or eclipsed 130 yards on the ground. At times, BC was slow to adjust on the zone-read, and using a quarterback spy was only so effective because, often, the already accelerating gunslinger had them beat.
4. Penalties were a thorn in BC’s side for most of the season
The Eagles currently rank 108th in the country in penalties per game. BC averaged 7.6 per game, the sixth most of any ACC team. In the beginning of the year, false starts were a problem up front. And while there were the expected pass interference and holding calls throughout the season, it was the personal fouls that really shot BC in the foot. But all infractions were consequential. A roughing the passer call on what would be Clemson’s game-winning drive, an illegal block that brought back a first-half onside kick recovery against Notre Dame—BC, notably, averaged 9.7 penalties per game against ranked opponents. Those were games in which the Eagles needed to play their cleanest to pull an upset.
5. Jurkovec’s injuries, Dennis Grosel’s heroics
Following BC’s 45-31 loss to Notre Dame, Hafley revealed that Jurkovec had separated his throwing shoulder two weeks earlier at Clemson. The redshirt sophomore had trouble lifting his right arm and didn’t practice leading up to the Syracuse game but still completed 20-of-29 passes in a win over the Orange. He wasn’t 100% for his Notre Dame reunion, yet he played valiantly against his former team, making things happen with his legs and launching gutsy throws downfield. Still, Jurkovec said postgame that his throwing mechanics were affected a bit, which showed on the stat sheet (he completed a season-low 45% of his attempts).
After healing up during the Eagles’ bye week, Jurkovec was healthy again for BC’s home finale against Louisville. He was stitching together quite the performance before going down with a non-contact knee injury midway through the third quarter. Backup quarterback Dennis Grosel—who started the final seven games of 2019 after filling in for an injured Anthony Brown—took over and tossed a pair of touchdowns to fend off a Cardinals comeback. The next week at UVA, Grosel tied Doug Flutie’s single-game passing record with a whopping 520 yards through the air. He threw four scores, as well as three picks, in a losing effort, however, his gritty performance was hardly forgettable.
6. Led by Zay Flowers and Hunter Long, BC’s receivers finally got the chance to shine
The Eagles are the only ACC team to have five players register at least 28 receptions this season. BC’s receiving corps flourished in Cignetti’s offense. Zay Flowers racked up seven catches of 40-plus yards—tied for the fourth most in the country—and became the first BC player to win ACC Wide Receiver of the Week twice in the same season. Tight end Hunter Long shattered his career highs with 57 receptions and 685 receiving yards, both tops in the country among all tight ends in 2020. Ohio State transfer Jaelen Gill reeled in 29 catches and recorded a pair of 100-yard games. CJ Lewis broke out, hauling in nearly every ball that came his way, even making a one-handed touchdown snag in BC’s season finale. And running back Travis Levy tallied 35 receptions, emerging as a trusty safety valve for Jurkovec.
7. BC was significantly more competitive against ranked opponents
During the final four years of the Steve Addazio era, the Eagles lost to AP-ranked opponents by an average of 30 points. It was that bad. BC averaged a lowly 10.6 points in those games and mustered seven points on six different occasions. Hafley took over a program that hadn’t topped a ranked foe since 2014. While the drought continued this year, the Eagles were on the doorstep of a few potential program-defining upsets. BC was a two-point conversion away from forcing overtime against a 12th-ranked North Carolina team. Most notably, the Eagles staked themselves to an 18-point lead in Death Valley before going scoreless in the second half and falling to then-No. 1 Clemson. BC also played No. 2 Notre Dame tough, turning over a sound Irish offense three times. The blemish on the Eagles’ competitive resume was a 40-14 blowout loss to then-No. 23 Virginia Tech. Still, BC’s margin of defeat against AP Top 25 opponents dipped to a much more respectable 12.5 points.
8. The Eagles played No. 1 and No. 2 in the span of three weeks
For just the third time in program history, BC played both the No. 1 and No. 2 team in the country in the same season. The last time that happened was 1991, when the Eagles lost to No. 2 Michigan and No. 1 Miami. Those games were separated by two and a half months. This time around, BC suited up against a No. 1 Clemson team and the second-ranked Irish in the span of three weeks, with the latter being the Eagles’ ninth straight game without a bye. BC more than held its own, giving the top-ranked Tigers a Halloween scare and jumping out to an early 13-10 lead over the Irish, at which point BC almost recovered a second quarter onside kick (if it wasn’t for the aforementioned illegal block). Ultimately, the Eagles failed to notch their first top-five win since 2002. BC’s offense went silent in the second half at Clemson and struggled to turn field goals into touchdowns against the Irish.
9. The O-Line was more of a project than most expected
Entering this season, BC’s offensive line, which returned four All-ACC honorees, was considered by many as one of the best units in not only the league but the entire country. But a shakeup in the trenches resulted in growing pains up front. Zion Johnson moved from left guard to left tackle. Tyler Vrabel switched from the blind side to right tackle. Ben Petrula shifted from right tackle to right guard. And redshirt freshman Christian Mahogany filled in at left guard. After allowing 13 sacks all last season, BC gave up 17 in its first four games—granted, that was partially because the Eagles were dropping back to pass significantly more than they had been, and Jurkovec was extending plays. The Eagles, who boasted the eighth-ranked rushing attack in 2019, also accounted for a total of just 241 yards on the ground in that span. Fortunately for BC, as the season progressed, its O-Line made strides in the new scheme. In three of the Eagles’ final six games, BC allowed zero sacks and rushed for 180 or more yards.
10. BC masterfully steered away from a COVID-19 outbreak
Nationally renowned for their COVID-19 prevention efforts, the Eagles had only two positive cases all year—one before preseason workouts even began and the other in the final week of the regular season. In between, BC strung together months of negative tests. The Eagles didn’t have a single practice or game canceled mid-season because of the virus. Their lone postponement simply resulted in a one-day shift, moving the Louisville game from a Friday to a Saturday. And that was a byproduct of COVID-19 complications at Miami and Wake Forest. Hafley was frequently asked for advice from both pro and college coaches about how his team dodged the spread. The rookie head coach routinely credited his players for buying in and ultimately rewarded them with a holiday vacation with their families, as the Eagles became the first bowl-eligible team to opt out of the postseason this year.
