With Road Trip to No. 1 Clemson on Tap, Hafley Excited for Challenge

Dabo Swinney has won two of the last five national championships, claimed five consecutive ACC championships, and, in that span, earned ACC Coach of the Year twice. He’s one of the most decorated coaches in recent college football history.

His hardware collection as Clemson’s head coach started 12 years ago at Boston College. In the wake of longtime Tigers coach Tommy Bowden’s resignation, Swinney was promoted from wide receivers coach to interim head coach. On Nov. 1, 2008, he picked up his inaugural victory as Clemson’s head coach, guiding the Tigers to a 27-21 win over BC in Alumni Stadium.

The O’Rourke-McFadden Trophy, debuted that year to commemorate the longstanding series, was the first accolade that Swinney received as Clemson’s head coach.

“I’m sure it’s one he’ll never forget,” BC head coach Jeff Hafley said following Tuesday’s practice, per BC Athletics. “It seems like he’s won about 1,000 games. But it’s cool that that was his first one. Coach Swinney has done an unbelievable job there.”

Hafley is hoping the series provides him a milestone road victory of even greater proportions Saturday afternoon. It would mark the Eagles’ second-ever win over the No. 1 team in the country. Of course, the last time BC took down the nation’s frontrunner was 1993, when David Gordon famously drilled a game-winning 41-yard field goal to thwart a 22-point Notre Dame comeback. A win this weekend would also snap Clemson’s 35-game regular season win streak.

Ever since Swinney took over as the Tigers head coach, he’s practically owned the Eagles. His lone defeat to BC came in 2010, a 16-10 loss to Frank Spaziani’s Eagles. That was in Chestnut Hill. Swinney has yet to fall to BC at home as Clemson’s leading man.

His Tigers haven’t budged in Death Valley in quite some time. In fact, Clemson’s last home setback was in November 2016, when Pitt upset Deshaun Watson’s Tigers with a game-winning 48-yard field goal. Since, Swinney and Co. have rattled off 23 straight victories in Memorial Stadium.

It hasn’t mattered where the Tigers have played this season. Clemson is not only winning but doing so handily. The program has won each of its first six games this year by at least 18 points and is coming off its fifth consecutive 40-point outing. Hafley has the near impossible task of slowing down the Tigers’ offense.

He’s revisiting the tall task after falling victim to Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne in the College Football Playoff last year. Despite holding Clemson to 417 total yards and 29 points, Hafley’s Buckeyes allowed a backbreaking four-play, 94-yard game-winning touchdown drive with under three minutes remaining in the semifinal matchup. It’s a game that has given the former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator nightmares, Hafley said on Sunday.

“Well, you got to try to stop them,” he told reporters Tuesday. “That’s the name of the game on defense. They have great players. They’re really well coached. … So they have it all, and they’re actually really good at everything.”

Hafley praised offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and the Tigers’ offensive scheme. The rookie head coach highlighted the Tigers’ balanced attack and effective RPO game. He touched on Clemson’s O-Line, which has allowed just 10 sacks this season and helped the Tigers’ backfield average north over 175 rushing yards per game this fall.

Naturally, Hafley discussed Lawrence, who leads the ACC with 305.5 passing yards per contest and is tied for second nationally with 17 touchdown passes.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve seen from [Lawrence] is I think he’s greatly improved from last year,” Hafley said. “The way he plays in the pocket, I think it’s better. He sits there, he reads things. … He’s got such a live body. He’s a twitched up big guy who can run and throw.”

Then he moved on to talk about Etienne. He believes that the shifty tailback is the “most underrated football player” in the FBS. Etienne has already accumulated 816 scrimmage yards this year. Hafley noted that, when Etienne runs, it always looks like he’s on a mission. The senior returned to Clemson this offseason after turning in his second consecutive campaign with 1,600+ rushing yards and 23+ total touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, Hafley and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. will have to figure out one of the best DCs in the game: Brent Venables.

“I got to be around him a little bit last year in the playoff game,” Hafley said. “He’s got a ton of juice. He does a lot, down three, down blitzes, plays quarters, middle closed."

He went through the Clemson defense, picking out players that have caught his eye, even though he’s spent the early part of the week studying the Tigers’ offense.

Hafley talked about Clemson’s strength up front before complimenting the play of graduate linebacker James Skalski, who is tied for the team lead with 14 solo tackles. Hafley called Skalski “your old school traditional middle linebacker.” Additionally, he brought up how Venables finds creative ways to get his back end involved. Hafley shouted out a few of the Tigers DBs, including the safety pairing of Nolan Turner and Ray Thornton III.

It’s a defense that’s had BC’s number each of the past four years, allowing a combined 24 points in those matchups—the Eagles’ only touchdown in the 2018 game was a dramatic Michael Walker punt return score. Still, in that contest as well as the 2017 meeting, BC only trailed Clemson by one score at intermission.

If BC’s defense plays like that on Saturday, Hafley’s Eagles could have a shot to make history, especially with BC’s new-look offense. It’s a big “if,” though. Clemson, a 31-point favorite, is once again rolling through the ACC with no signs of stopping.

But Hafley knows what he’s up against.

“I’m excited for the challenge,” he said.