Boston College football righted the ship—at least temporarily—Saturday against Louisville, earning its first conference win of the season. The Eagles executed their game plan the most effectively they have all season, and head coach Jeff Hafley credited that success to his team’s emerging depth and steady preparation.
Freshman wide receiver Joseph Griffin Jr. scored for the second straight game, and freshman running back Alex Broome recorded his best game yet, totaling 83 rushing yards and a 40-yard rushing touchdown.
Neither Griffin nor Broome registered any stats against Rutgers in Week One.
“I think if we can start playing more people, it gives us more depth,” Hafley said during Sunday’s press conference. “Broome deserves to play. Every time he gets on the field, he seems to make something happen. Griffin deserves to play. … I think [for] young guys, sometimes it just takes time.”
The Eagles’ rushing attack exploded Saturday in a much-needed breakout game. Along with Broome, Pat Garwo III recorded 66 rushing yards, rounding out BC’s total of 150 rushing yards.
“We ran the ball better versus a pretty good defense who loads the box—better than we had so far this year,” Hafley said. “And we did that with Jackson Ness playing his first game.”
Ness was filling in for offensive lineman Finn Dirstine, who was out with an upper body injury. BC’s offensive line played well—although it let up three sacks—allowing quarterback Phil Jurkovec to look the most comfortable in the pocket he has all season.
“They’re playing very smart,” Hafley said of the O-line. “I think [BC offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo] is doing a good job of getting them better. They’re tough kids, and they’re playing hard, and it showed yesterday because there were some holes they opened up for Broome and Pat [Garwo].”
While the Eagles’ defense allowed 33 points from the Cardinals—their second straight game giving up 30-plus points—Hafley noted that BC made much-needed improvements in tackling. Tackling was a major issue in the Eagles’ Week Four loss to Florida State, where they missed 17 tackles, per PPF.
Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham is one of the best dual threats in the Power Five and averages 91.4 rushing yards per game. The Eagles, however, contained him to 62 rushing yards, largely due to their discipline on defense and tackling.
“We talked all week about if you get a shot on him, miss violently,” Hafley said. “Like, be aggressive, knowing that your boys are gonna come in and that they’re not going to let you down.”
Hafley highlighted defensive backs Josh DeBerry, Jason Maitre, and Jaiden Woodbey along with linebacker Izaiah Henderson as players who stepped up their tackling performances. Hafley said that BC isn’t a bad tackling team—it just had a bad tackling day against Florida State.The Eagles proved what they’re capable of against Loui
Boston College football righted the ship—at least temporarily—Saturday against Louisville, earning its first conference win of the season. The Eagles executed their game plan the most effectively they have all season, and head coach Jeff Hafley credited that success to his team’s emerging depth and steady preparation.
Freshman wide receiver Joseph Griffin Jr. scored for the second straight game, and freshman running back Alex Broome recorded his best game yet, totaling 83 rushing yards and a 40-yard rushing touchdown.
Neither Griffin nor Broome registered any stats against Rutgers in Week One.
“I think if we can start playing more people, it gives us more depth,” Hafley said during Sunday’s press conference. “Broome deserves to play. Every time he gets on the field, he seems to make something happen. Griffin deserves to play. … I think [for] young guys, sometimes it just takes time.”
The Eagles’ rushing attack exploded Saturday in a much-needed breakout game. Along with Broome, Pat Garwo III recorded 66 rushing yards, rounding out BC’s total of 150 rushing yards.
“We ran the ball better versus a pretty good defense who loads the box—better than we had so far this year,” Hafley said. “And we did that with Jackson Ness playing his first game.”
Ness was filling in for offensive lineman Finn Dirstine, who was out with an upper body injury. BC’s offensive line played well—although it let up three sacks—allowing quarterback Phil Jurkovec to look the most comfortable in the pocket he has all season.
“They’re playing very smart,” Hafley said of the O-line. “I think [BC offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo] is doing a good job of getting them better. They’re tough kids, and they’re playing hard, and it showed yesterday because there were some holes they opened up for Broome and Pat [Garwo].”
While the Eagles’ defense allowed 33 points from the Cardinals—their second straight game giving up 30-plus points—Hafley noted that BC made much-needed improvements in tackling. Tackling was a major issue in the Eagles’ Week Four loss to Florida State, where they missed 17 tackles, per PPF.
Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham is one of the best dual threats in the Power Five and averages 91.4 rushing yards per game. The Eagles, however, contained him to 62 rushing yards, largely due to their discipline on defense and tackling.
“We talked all week about if you get a shot on him, miss violently,” Hafley said. “Like, be aggressive, knowing that your boys are gonna come in and that they’re not going to let you down.”
Hafley highlighted defensive backs Josh DeBerry, Jason Maitre, and Jaiden Woodbey along with linebacker Izaiah Henderson as players who stepped up their tackling performances. Hafley said that BC isn’t a bad tackling team—it just had a bad tackling day against Florida State.The Eagles proved what they’re capable of against Louisville, he said.
“We tackled really well against one of the most elusive guys that I’ve seen,” Hafley said. “So it goes back to ‘You got to work in practice.’”
sville, he said.
“We tackled really well against one of the most elusive guys that I’ve seen,” Hafley said. “So it goes back to ‘You got to work in practice.’”
