Week 2 Notes: The Texas State Game

Coming off an impressive 26-6 victory at Duke to start the season, the Eagles open the 2020 home schedule Saturday versus Texas State. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ACC Regional Sports Networks and locally on NESN+. Evan Lepler, Charles Arbuckle and Abby Labar will handle the television broadcast. Coverage on the Boston College Learfield IMG Sports Network begins at 5:30 p.m. with Jon Meterparel, Pete Cronan and Scott Mutryn. Fans can listen to the game locally on WEEI 850 AM, nationally on TuneIn and on Sirius channel 204, XM channel 207 and online via SiriusXM channel 967.

In the first game of the Jeff Hafley era at Boston College, the Eagles won 26-6 at Duke last Saturday in Durham. It was the first victory of Hafley's head coaching career. It marked the fourth straight win by a BC head coach in his first game at the Heights. The last time a BC head coach did not win his coaching debut was Tom O'Brien (28-21 loss at Temple) in 1997.

Where to Watch
• Saturday's game versus Texas State will air on regional sports networks across the country. Fans in Boston can watch the game on NESN+. The full list of affiliates carrying the game include FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Southeast, FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh Plus, FOX Sports Detroit Plus, FOX Sports North Plus, FOX Sports Wisconsin Plus, FOX Sports Southwest Plus, FOX Sports Prime Ticket and AT&T Sportsnet Vegas.

1^st and 10
• Boston College and Texas State meet for the first time in series history Saturday.
• In the first game coached by Jeff Hafley, BC set a new school record for the fewest points allowed in an ACC road game with six. The previous record was allowing seven points at Syracuse in 2010 (16-7 BC win).
• It marked just the third time since joining the ACC in 2005 Boston College allowed less than 10 points in an ACC road game.
• For the first time since 2018, the Boston College defense held an opponent under 360 yards of offense in last week's 26-6 win at Duke. BC held Duke to 351 yards of total offense, the fewest yards allowed since Miami gained 305 yards of total offense in 2018.
• For the 29th time since joining the ACC in 2005, BC allowed one touchdown or less in the victory over Duke.
• The six points allowed by the BC defense against the Blue Devils were the fewest yielded since a 35-3 win over Florida State (10/27/17).
• BC forced five turnovers in the Duke victory; marking the second season opener in a row with five or more after forcing five against Virginia Tech (8/31/19) last season.
• Phil Jurkovec became the first BC quarterback since Matt Ryan in 2007 to throw for 300 yards, multiple touchdowns and complete 70% of his throws in a game in leading BC to a 26-6 victory at Duke.
• Jurkovec made his first start at quarterback since Dec. 9, 2017 at HersheyPark Stadium in the Pennsylvania Class 6A state title game. Jurkovec led Pine-Richland to a 41-21 victory over St. Joseph's Prep.
• The Notre Dame transfer finished 17-for-23 for 300 yards and two touchdowns. The 300 passing yards were the most by a BC player since Anthony Brown's 304 at Wake Forest (9/13/18).
• In the second half against the Blue Devils, Jurkovec was nearly perfect. He completed 11-of-12 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns, including 10 straight completions.
• Jurkovec was just the 11th BC quarterback since 1996 to throw for 300 yards in a game.

Home Opening Act
• All-time, BC is 75-21-2 in home openers since 1900, including a 14-6 mark since 2000

Haf Time
• Jeff Hafley was named the 36th head coach in Boston College history last December.
• In just his first game as head coach, BC forced five turnovers and held Duke to just six points in the season-opening victory.
• Hafley led a dramatic turnaround in leading the defense for Ohio State in 2019 as the Buckeyes won the Big Ten championship and played in the College Football Playoff.
• A finalist for the Frank Broyles Award and the 247Sports Defensive Coordinator of the Year, Hafley was the architect of a Buckeye defense that ranked first nationally in yards per play (3.9), second nationally in total defense (247.6 yards per game), third nationally in scoring defense (12.5 points per game), third nationally in sacks (3.92 per game), seventh nationally in rushing defense (99.5 yards per game), second nationally in passing yards allowed (148.1 yards per game) and first nationally in red zone defense (64.2%).
• Hafley's first season in Columbus saw Ohio State jump from 72nd nationally in 2018 to first nationally in 2019 in yards per play.
• Hafley, who will coach his 20th season in 2020, has extensive ties as an elite recruiter during his coaching stops at Pittsburgh and Rutgers. A native of Montvale, N.J., Hafley played four seasons as a wide receiver at Siena College from 1997-2000, graduating cum laude in 2001 with a degree in history. He earned his master's degree from Albany in 2003.

QB1
• Phil Jurkovec became just the third BC quarterback since 2010 to throw for 300 yards in a game - and he did it in his first career game at BC.
• The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, has named eight quarterbacks as its "Stars of the Week." Jurkovec was one of the eight quarterbacks to be honored after his breakout performance at Duke.
• The Davey O'Brien Foundation announced its Great 8 list of the top quarterback performances for week three of the 2020 college football season and Jurkovec was honored for his efforts at Duke.
• The transfer from Notre Dame finished 17-of-23 passing for 300 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the Duke victory. He joined 10 other former BC signal callers to throw for 300 yards in a game since 1996 (Chase Rettig, Anthony Brown, Matt Ryan, Chris Crane, Matt Hasselbeck, Paul Peterson, Scott Mutryn, Tim Hasselbeck, Brian St. Pierre and Quinton Porter).
• In six games for the Fighting Irish in 2019, Jurkovec was 12-of-16 passing for 222 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 130 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry as Notre Dame's backup quarterback.
• Jurkovec finished his prep career as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in Pennsylvania history. Selected to participate in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, he was one of four finalists for the Felix "Doc" Blanchard Award, which recognizes a player on the U.S. Army All-American Bowl East roster "who exhibit prowess in the classroom and the field".
• He finished his career at Pine-Richland High School with 11,144 total yards, 8,202 passing yards, 71 touchdown passes and 68.4 completion percentage (523-of-765).
• His 11,144 yards, second-best in Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League history, were compiled in only two and a half seasons (missed half of his sophomore year with a thumb injury). He threw for a career-high 3,969 yards in 16 games as a senior in 2017 and his 3,969 passing yards are the third-most in Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League single-season history.

Flowers in Full Bloom
• Zay Flowers totaled five receptions for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown in BC's 26-6 win at Duke. It was the first 100-yard receiving game for an Eagle since Kobay White's 121 yards at Florida State in 2018.
• Flowers was named the ACC Wide Receiver of the Week for the first time in his career following the Duke game.
• The 162 yards receiving by Flowers were the seventh-most by a BC player since 1996.
• Flowers averaged 32.4 yards per reception. No receiver in BC history had more receiving yards on fewer receptions than Flowers in a single game.
• Flowers was the first BC receiver since 2012 (Alex Amidon) to have over 150 yards receiving in a game.

Make Way for Macrus
• Marcus Valdez was a key part of a BC defense that held Duke to six points and 351 yards of total offense in the Eagles' 26-6 win over the Blue Devils. He finished with five tackles, one sack, one QB hurry and a key fumble recovery inside the BC 10-yard line to end a Duke drive.
• For the first time since 2018, the Boston College defense held an opponent under 360 yards of offense. BC held Duke to 351 yards of total offense, the fewest yards allowed since Miami gained 305 yards of total offense in 2018.
• The six points allowed by the BC defense were the fewest since a 35-3 win over Florida State (10/27/17).

Leading The Room
• Junior tight end Hunter Long returns as not only one of the ACC's top tight ends but one of the elite players at his position in the entire country.
• Long caught a career-high seven passes for 93 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown reception in the season opening 26-6 win at Duke. He hauled in a one-handed grab while being held by a Blue Devil defender and also had a 36-yard reception.
• He was named to the John Mackey Award watch list after earning All-ACC third-team honors last season. The John Mackey Award is given to the collegiate tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, academics, and community values of NFL Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey.
• Long led Boston College with 509 receiving yards and 18.2 yards per reception in 2019. He finished the season with 28 receptions and two receiving touchdowns. His 72-yard touchdown reception at Louisville was the longest reception of his career a year ago.

On This Date
• BC is 7-5-1 all-time on games played on Sept. 26.
• The last time BC played on Sept. 26 was a 17-14 win at home over Northern Illinois in 2015.
• The first time BC played on Sept. 26 was a 26-7 victory over Catholic at Fenway Park in 1931.
• The lone tie on this date was a 14-14 result against Clemson in 1953 at Fenway Park. BC has won two straight on this date, including a 27-24 overtime win over Wake Forest in 2009.
• The last loss on this date for the Eagles was a 52-28 setback at Louisville in 1998.

Scouting the Bobcats
• Texas State is 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the Sun Belt entering Saturday's game at Boston College. The Bobcats eamed their first win of the season last week with a 38-17 victory at Louisiana-Monroe.
• Texas State opened the season with a hard fought 31-24 loss to SMU and dropped a 51-48 game in overtime to UTSA in week two.
• Jake Spavital is in his second season as the head coach at Texas State. Spavital was introduced as the head football coach at a press conference Nov. 30, 2018 in the End Zone Complex at Texas State. He is Texas State's 20th head coach since the program began in 1904.
• Spavital came to Texas State after serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under head coach Dana Holgorsen at West Virginia from 2017-18. During his tenure with the Mountaineers, West Virginia featured one of the most potent offenses in all of college football. In 2018, WVU ranked No. 8 nationally in total offense during the regular season after accumulating 5,724 yards, including 3,939 passing yards and 38 touchdowns. West Virginia ended the regular season ranked No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the coaches' poll after spending the entire season nationally ranked for the first time since 2007.
• Texas State ranks 20th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 36.7 points per game. The Bobcats are 25th in the country in total offense with 428.7 yards per game. TSU is 18th in passing offense (277.3 yards per game) and 34th in rushing offense (151.3 yards per game).
• Texas State ranks 38th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 33.0 points per game. The Bobcats are 47th out of 52 teams in the country in total defense allowing 495.7 yards per game. TSU is 47th in pass yards allowed (304.3 yards per game) and 39th in rushing defense (191.3 yards per game).
• Texas State quarterback Tyler Vitt leads the country with six touchdown passes in 2020. He is third nationally with 602 yards passing this season.
• Vitt's favorite target has been wide receiver Jeremiah Haydel. Haydel is fourth nationally with 215 yards receiving and his three receiving touchdowns are second-best in the nation. A dynamic playmaker, Haydel also leads the nation with 37.3 yards per punt return and one punt return touchdown.

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Zay Flowers

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Hunter Long

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