W2WF: Virginia

Overall, the year of 2020 feels like the longest decade of our lives, but the end of the college football season still feels shocking. The long road began almost six months ago when teams returned to their respective campuses, and the scheduling and reconfiguring of conferences generated sprawling headlines over the subsequent weeks. Every headline felt interminable, which is why conversation of the future felt so far away.

Boston College's calendar started with those other teams, but the path always felt longer and slower for the Eagles. It reached back further than the return to play in late June and stretched through the cancellation of spring practice to the date last December when Jeff Hafley coached Ohio State's defense into the College Football Playoff.

Nearly one year later to the day, Hafley's first year at Boston College should close with the final game at Virginia, but that talk isn't real to the coach. He knows there's still time to review the film on Sunday and more days remaining for improvements. There isn't a game, but the work won't end.

In short, the end of the season doesn't mean the season has to end.

"We've talked about coming to practice doing the very best that we can," Hafley said, "and every day, (we are) doing the best we can. If we do that every day, we get to Saturday, we'll go let it rip and play our game and be fearless and have fun and hopefully get a win and improve. That's how we're going to stick with it for this week, and then we're going to come in on Sunday. We're going to watch the film, just like we always do."

It's difficult to project what happens with the Eagles after Saturday. They are an attractive option for a postseason bowl game, and a clinching, 7-4 win over the Cavaliers would push BC into the conversation with both North Carolina and NC State, a tier just below the elites like Notre Dame, Clemson and Miami. It would, in a normal season, elevate the team through the ACC choice pecking order as a fourth or fifth place team and subsequently offer a more favorable projection.

But there are no mandated minimum winning percentages, and the Sun Bowl, BC's most-projected game last week, canceled this week like the Fenway Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl and Holiday Bowl did. It's much more difficult to understand the postseason dynamic, which is why Hafley isn't looking too far into the crystal ball. He's instead focusing on the present and proceeding as if there's a game on Saturday to ensure the team continues its steady improvement even after the games are technically complete.

"Monday is the players' day off," Hafley said. "(I'll) probably give the coaches the day off Monday to rest and be with their families a bit. Then we'll get some extra practice and continue to get better. We'll give the vets some time off and work with the young guys who haven't played. We will use every practice that we're allowed to get working up to a bowl game to get better. We really missed spring ball, (and) we missed training camp. So let's take advantage of the time that we're going to have and try to get better and better and better."

Here's what to watch for the Eagles visit Charlottesville on Saturday:

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Weekly Storylines (Invincible Edition)

Dick Vermeil: A team with better character can beat a team with better talent. I believe that. You guys are not the team that is short on talent here today, and I swear you will never be the team short on character.

BC entered this season in search of a new identity. The Eagles loved their rugged, hard-nosed reputation but sought a new take on their style, and Jeff Hafley melded and blended it right into his vision. The defense transformed into an edgy, aggressive unit capable of building physical havoc, and the offense caught lightning with its brutal big play ability.

Dual threat quarterbacks were the only players able to truly disrupt the synergy between those two styles. Their explosive plays derailed BC against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, and Malik Cunningham kept the Eagles honest last week. This week, Brennan Armstrong and the fluid, shifting Virginia offense is the final test of BC's ability to learn and apply lessons from its losses.

"We've got to really prepare and make sure we're on top of everything," Jeff Hafley said. "Their one tight end (Tony Poljan) looks like a giant. He's about 6'7" so he's definitely a mismatch. We don't have many defenders that are 6'7", and (Lavel Davis) is a really good receiver. I think (Terrell Jana) has good speed (and) is a good deep threat."

Stopping those players requires BC to attack Armstrong and force him into mistakes. His interception numbers dropped over the past four weeks, but there's inspiration in those earlier games when he threw two picks apiece against Duke, Clemson and NC State.

"We're going to have to be physical because they like to throw them the ball," Hafley said. "The (offensive line) looks like they're all over 300 pounds. They do a lot of stuff. They have some explosive playmakers. We're definitely going to have our hands full defensively."

Wade Chambers: People don't want heart, Dick. They want wins.

BC's defense gave plenty of reasons to enjoy a renaissance season this year. Its good situational football forced five Duke turnovers and turned up heat on Texas State's Brady McBride in the second half, and it harassed Sam Howell, the quarterback who threw for 550 yards against Wake Forest in mid-November. Pittsburgh's Kenny Pickett barely completed half of his 47 passing attempts for 266 yards, and Georgia Tech's Jeff Sims struggled to convert the overwhelming majority of third down conversions. It stuffed Clemson's Travis Etienne on multiple third down short runs and crushed Syracuse.

Failures are noticed more than successes, though, so the yardage struggles against dual threat running quarterbacks stick out, especially after Malik Cunningham gained 400 yards last week.

"To get up for every single game against good opponents, I think it says even more about the season," Jeff Hafley said. "We have to have a winning record in a 10-game ACC schedule. That's even harder than if you're playing six with how well coached this conference is and all the athletes and speed. It's usually an eight-game schedule, (and) now we're playing 10 teams."

The defense's year-end gains dwarf the numbers from last year, but this week ultimately is the last measuring stick for the unit. Linebackers Isaiah McDuffie and Max Richardson are pushing 100 tackles, and Richardson is nearing 10 tackles for loss. Both have three or more sacks and trail only Max Roberts for the team lead. Roberts, a nine-game transfer from Maine, has 4.5 quarterback takedowns.

They anchor the unit up front for a secondary quickly gaining steam as a tough target. Brandon Sebastian recorded nine pass breakups over the first 10 games, and both Josh DeBerry and Elijah Jones have at least five. Deon Jones has two fumble recoveries and is tied for the team lead with defensive lineman Marcus Valdez.

"If we can finish 6-4 in the ACC, it would be a nice way to send out the seniors with good momentum going into the offseason," Hafley said. "Regardless, I'm already proud of the guys and how they've fought. I think in the last five games, we've won three and lost to the No. 1 and No. 2 (teams) in the country. The last five games, our guys are getting better and will keep repeating. I think it's going to help us down the road."

Frank Papale: When I told you not to get your hopes up, didn't mean I wasn't.

It's really hard to imagine BC's future offensive ceiling. Quarterback Phil Jurkovec is everything the system needed, and backup quarterback Dennis Grosel proved his leadership by coming off the bench for last week's win. Running back David Bailey battled through early season growing pains, and both Travis Levy and Pat Garwo supplemented him with the necessary effectiveness.

No grouping broke out more than the wide receivers. Tight end Hunter Long grew into Jurkovec's most dependable receiver early in the season, and wide receiver Zay Flowers is an explosive playmaker in space every time he touches the ball. CJ Lewis is the taller complement to Flowers and the beast in single coverage, and Jaelen Gill and Jehlani Galloway are the sure handed slot receivers the Eagles either lacked or didn't utilize in previous years.

This week, they face a 3-4 defense known for its ability to blend coverages through its linebackers while getting to the quarterback in the backfield.

"They're a 3-4 scheme," Jeff Hafley said, "and they're very active up front. The linebacker (Zane Zandier), I've seen him in a lot of crossover film. He seems like the kind of leader back there, a physical, tough kid. (Noah Taylor) jumped out on tape just watching the crossover tapes. He's a really good athlete."

The 3-4 scheme is unique among colleges because it requires equal athleticism among linebackers. The three down linemen naturally open gaps, but the fourth rusher is confusing because it comes from any location. The linebackers require speed, and the offensive blocking scheme has to watch tendencies and learn situational calls and expectations on film. It's less orthodox than the more traditional 4-3 alignment, but it's a great tool among teams utilizing it.

"On the back end, they look long," Hafley said. "They look at the corner and safety position. They play the game hard. They play with fundamentals and technique. They do all the things that we've been trying to do and preach."

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Countdown to Kickoff

10…Hunter Long and Zay Flowers are the first BC teammates with 500 yards receiving in a season in 10 seasons (Rich Gunnell and Colin Larmond, 2009).
9…BC receivers have more than one catch this year, and 10 receivers have at least one reception.
8…Phil Jurkovec's 205 completions are eighth-most in BC school history for a single season.
7…BC is an undefeated 7-0 all-time against Virginia.
6…BC has led both six games this year at halftime and six games after three quarters, with five wins.
5…touchdowns for receiver CJ Lewis after scoring just one in his first 20 career games.
4…Hunter Long's 49 receptions are fourth most in a single season by a BC tight end.
3…Virginia's three-game winning streak is the fourth three-game streak over the last three years.
2...first-year head coaches with at least five wins in their first season in 2020: Willie Taggart (FAU) and Jeff Hafley, whose six wins lead Taggart by one entering this week.
1…Mike Palmer is the first Jay McGillis Scholarship recipient from New York this decade.

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Dan's Homegrown Tailgate Tip of the Week

My wife and I picked up our Christmas tree last week and spent a good part of Sunday decorating it with our ornaments, lights and whatnot. It's a real tree that fills my house with the pine smell, and my wife remarked this week that the family room feels complete this time of year with the big air freshener in the corner.

I married into an Italian Catholic family, and this time of year is the absolute best for food and drink. My wife makes the best meatballs and sauce, which I hope nobody in her family reads because I almost caused a full nuclear meltdown when I said it in front of her mother one year. It's a good thing nobody knows her limoncello recipe, even though I still don't know where she finds the hundreds of necessary rinds.

My baking typically offloads the work when my wife's cooking, and I know I'll need to step my game up this year since she's expecting our first little one in April. It means I'll dig into the dark recesses of my brain for my ricotta cookies that don't usually make it to the table for dessert (oops).

Dessert is easily the best part of Christmas in their family. Our traditional Christmas morning wake up involves cinnamon buns and coffee, and lunch and dinner is flanked by homemade pizzelles. I learned how to make ricotta cookies a couple of years ago in a pinch, and they are my annual contribution to the pre-meal dessert round (if you've never had a cookie before manicotti, you're really missing out).

Her family taught me the spirit of Christmas, and their table is always full of loud laughter and shouting. We cramp around a ton of moving parts, but nobody gets in anyone's way. It's hot in the house, but the neighbors can still hear everyone through open windows.

We obviously won't have that dinner this year, but we will make the most of it in our house by enjoying a meal and those cookies. There will be Christmas music and laughter, and I might throw a potato latke into the mix even though my holiday is a few weeks earlier.

Just don't ask about the meatballs.

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Scoreboard Watching

Seven games dot the ACC's schedule this week with two games impacting the race to the championship game. Both kick off at night with No. 3 Clemson visiting Virginia Tech at 7:30 p.m. and No. 10 Miami at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium at 8 p.m, and each is contending for spot after No. 2 Notre Dame clinched its appearance in the ACC Championship last week.

Both Notre Dame and Clemson are in the College Football Playoff as of this week, but Miami needs help from a number of teams. Both No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 6 Florida are in a better position to capitalize if anyone falters, but the Aggies trail No. 1 Alabama in the SEC West.

The more interesting team is No. 7 Cincinnati, the CFP selection committee never previously favored Group of Five programs over power conference entries. Brigham Young, for example, is undefeated and ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25, but the committee put the Cougars at No. 13. They play No. 18 Coastal Carolina this week after Liberty paused its program due to positive coronavirus results. The Bearcats, meanwhile, only have one game left against Tulsa before the conference championship on December 19. Like the ACC, the AAC is one division this year, and its two title participants clinch based on winning percentage.

All of this is contingent on No. 4 Ohio State and its undefeated, 4-0 record. The Buckeyes' cancellation against Illinois was their second in three weeks, and Big Ten rules stipulate a team can't qualify for the conference championship if it played less than six games or two less than the average number of total games. That puts a premium on actually playing the next two weeks and finishing the season with wins against both Michigan State and Michigan.

"I don't know how many teams have played 11 games or will play 11 games," BC head coach Jeff Hafley said. "I don't know how many teams have played 10 games right now in the Power Five. We finished (10 games) before some teams played four or five. It's wild, right? I'm just hopeful that college football season can go on. I'm hopeful that these teams with (COVID-19) cases will get better and finish.

"I'm hopeful that the Big Ten and Pac-12 and all these conferences can finish their season," he stressed, "and there can be a College Football Playoff so we can play in bowl games, and everyone stays healthy."

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Around the Sports World

This year's NFL season forced me to confront a once-unthinkable reality about my New England Patriots. Their four game losing streak earlier this season dropped the team to 2-5 at the time, and their exceptionally bad outing against San Francisco exposed the possibility of the dynasty's total end. Cam Newton struggled, as did Brian Hoyer, and the overall sputtering dropped the best team of the past 20 years into the territory occupied by the New York Jets' run at the No. 1 overall draft pick.

That was before November injected a resurgent life into the season. The Pats beat Baltimore and Arizona and narrowly lost to Houston as part of a 3-1 month, and the streak sparked a charge for a playoff run. They ended the month at 5-6, one game behind Baltimore and Las Vegas and two games behind Miami for second place in the AFC East.

New England's record is ordinarily an uphill battle at this stage of the season, but the expanded postseason picture puts it right in the thick of the race. Buffalo is threatening to run away with the AFC East, but Miami and Indianapolis can't afford a loss with three teams chasing them down. Miami, especially, is in a precarious position because it closes its season with Kansas City, New England, Las Vegas and Buffalo.

The Patriots have an open road to the playoffs if they can survive their next two games against the Chargers and Rams. Both of those are in Los Angeles, and a Southern California sweep would really pressure the Dolphins before Christmas. Finishing the season with two games at home against their other AFC East rivals with playoff implications is an even juicier possibility.

This season's team isn't the same brand of dynasty, but the Patriots are very much alive. I argue that this is Bill Belichick's finest coaching performance, and I believe in the franchise's power to win late season games.

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Pregame Quote and Prediction

Talk about a dream, try to make it real. -Bruce Springsteen

I miss tailgating at Alumni Stadium. Nothing beats the pageantry and tradition of a crisp autumn afternoon at Boston College, and I recall daily the smell and sights of the leaves as the stadium crests the horizon while walking by the Mods. The drum cadence and smell of grills fills my senses, and dodging errant football throws like an acrobat is all part of the greater experience.

I realized this week that I didn't attend a game this year for the first time since the Dan Henning era. I always managed to watch at least one in-stadium event, even during years when college marooned me in a different area code, but it dawned on me how 2020 robbed me of that opportunity.

I am an eternal optimist, but that epiphany hurt me. I miss hugging random strangers after an explosive play or the melody of thousands of people singing together. I know why gathering in a stadium wasn't an option this year, but it still impacted me this week in a way I wasn't fully prepared to admit.

I'm not sure I realized the importance of Boston College's 2020 season to the greater college football zeitgeist until that moment. The Eagles sacrificed their own individual experiences to achieve a sense of normalcy on the gridiron, and they protected each other within those personal decisions. They collaborated as one fist against COVID-19 and tackled their commitment to protocols. They opened their interpersonal communication and achieved an impossibility.

They taught me a lesson about humility because their sacrifice enabled me to stay home. I wanted the stadium atmosphere with fans, but enjoying it at home still enabled me to, well, enjoy it. For a few hours, I didn't think about COVID-19. I watched football and digested it, and my appreciation for press conferences and football analysis grew weekly.

BC separately taught me how sacrifice for the greater good works. A bunch of college students lacked the normal student experience to create a season, and the collective effort of the staff, players, support personnel and everyone else reminded me how to treat situations around my own life.

It's okay to want a packed football stadium because it's one of the greatest parts of sports. Let's talk about that dream and try to make it real, together, as one fist, by knocking out this pandemic that's taken so much from us.

Boston College and Virginia will kick off at 3:30 p.m. as part of the ACC's Regional Sports Network coverage. The game will be televised locally in the Boston area on NESN with a full list of affiliates available via the ACC's website. The game can also be heard on the BC Learfield IMG Sports Network, locally in Boston on WEEI 93.7 FM with satellite radio coverage available through Sirius, XM and Online outlets.

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Players Mentioned

David Bailey

Josh DeBerry

Zay Flowers

Jehlani Galloway

Jaelen Gill

Dennis Grosel

Deon Jones

Elijah Jones

Phil Jurkovec

Travis Levy

CJ Lewis

Hunter Long

Isaiah McDuffie

Mike Palmer

Max Richardson

Brandon Sebastian

Marcus Valdez