Boston College Athletics
Eagles Turning Page To Texas State
September 23, 2020 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Like a Bob Seger song, BC is ready to turn the page.
The revelations of Boston College's win over Duke from Saturday punctuated and permeated through the 72 hours after the victory. The team's debut, a 26-6 breakout over a conference opponent, brought accolades raining down into Chestnut Hill, and the national headlines screamed out with enhanced enthusiasm over a potential turnaround for the Eagles. It continued through Monday and leaked into Tuesday morning as players earned individual accolades.
The emotions filling Fish Field House, though, felt very different than the excited dancing in the locker room or the happy, content plane ride home from Tobacco Road. The Eagles, in a refusal to sit back and bask in the victorious aura, instead got back to work to fix and enhance what they felt they should improve in the quick turnaround to Saturday's home opening game against Texas State.
"At the end of the day, trust me, you have to win," head coach Jeff Hafley said. "But you sit back and watch the tape and get honest, and you have to look at the little things. That's sometimes more important than the result, to stress the process (and say), 'let's take a hard self look."
"We felt like we got off to a good start with a win," linebacker Max Richardson said. "But we feel like we have a lot of work left to do as a defense, specifically. We're looking to get better, and now we have a chance to go do our thing at home. You never want to lose, but you never, ever want to lose at home."
It's a feeling the players understand all too well. Two years ago, Boston College's 3-0 start rocketed the team into the national rankings for the first time in 10 years, but a disastrous, 30-13 pummeling at Purdue eliminated the Eagles from poll consideration. They wouldn't return for over a month, and the climb took its own unique toll.
It's a pratfall the team needs to avoid taking in a season already stamped by awkward and strange volatility. Once again, the weekly poll surged teams in and out of consideration, and both Miami and Pittsburgh gained four spots in the Associated Press Top 25. Brigham Young joined them as one of the week's biggest gainers, and the Hurricanes' win over Louisville plummeted the Cardinals to the fringe of the poll.
A more unstable situation unfolded in the Coaches Poll, where the Big Ten's return announcement enabled its teams to fall under consideration. Five teams dropped out of the poll, and another five dropped four or more places as new teams reentered the rankings. Ohio State immediately debuted at No. 10 with two first place votes, but Oklahoma State, Memphis, and Louisiana all plummeted despite not losing a game.
The win over Duke inserted BC into the conversation and placed the Eagles on one of those slippery, icy slopes. The Associated Press poll had the Eagles as one of more than a dozen unranked teams receiving votes, and BC earned similar accolades in the Coaches Poll, where nearly two dozen teams received recognition from poll selectors.
Polls are usually fickle, but they're also the biggest reason why teams are only as good as their most recent performance. Each week is its own mini-season as challenges loom, and BC entered this week understanding that one game was exactly that - one game. It didn't crown a national champion and didn't solve any of the issues imposed by a shortened spring or awkward preseason camp.
"It's not hard on film to show mistakes," Hafley said. "I'm happy these guys got accolades, and I appreciate everything that's positive because we won. That's what we need to do. At the end of the day, I don't even know who we're playing two weeks from now. It's not what I'm worried about because we need to get better. We didn't have spring ball or a full length training camp, and we have to get better."
"Turnovers help you cover, make things look better than they were," defensive lineman Marcus Valdez said, "but we had a lot of little mistakes. We have to fix them, and we know that. We came in (this week) ready to work. It might not show up (immediately), but we know, in a couple of weeks, that it'll (be there). We're trying to stay level headed and go into this next week to fix the little mistakes."
It's a strong message but one received because it covered every level of the Eagles' game day. Hafley was hardest on himself on Tuesday as he began to develop things to be more aware of on the sideline. Last Saturday was his first time on the sidelines as a head coach, and he quickly realized he wanted to change a couple of things about his own atmosphere before this week's game against a sneaky tough opponent.
"I felt like I rushed us out of the locker room," Hafley said. "We were on the field for too long. I got anxious and wanted to get on the field. On the field, there were things I missed, routes that I missed that (Duke) repeated. I was wrapped up in my first time as a head coach, and when I watched the tape, I was disappointed in myself. I missed things that I would've adjusted quicker and corrected better."
The strong feelings didn't overshadow the team's success but laid groundwork for the upcoming days because Texas State is entering as an underrated underdog. It defeated Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, 38-17, after racing out to 31 first half points. It was the third straight game of fast offense for the Bobcats after consecutive near-misses against both SMU and UTSA.
"There's a lot of stuff on film that we have to clean up," Hafley said on Sunday. "I told the coaches today that it's the best time to coach the team the hardest (after a win). The team should be locked in and not take it personally. We knew there would be mistakes, and we need to correct them into (the second game)."
The emotions filling Fish Field House, though, felt very different than the excited dancing in the locker room or the happy, content plane ride home from Tobacco Road. The Eagles, in a refusal to sit back and bask in the victorious aura, instead got back to work to fix and enhance what they felt they should improve in the quick turnaround to Saturday's home opening game against Texas State.
"At the end of the day, trust me, you have to win," head coach Jeff Hafley said. "But you sit back and watch the tape and get honest, and you have to look at the little things. That's sometimes more important than the result, to stress the process (and say), 'let's take a hard self look."
"We felt like we got off to a good start with a win," linebacker Max Richardson said. "But we feel like we have a lot of work left to do as a defense, specifically. We're looking to get better, and now we have a chance to go do our thing at home. You never want to lose, but you never, ever want to lose at home."
It's a feeling the players understand all too well. Two years ago, Boston College's 3-0 start rocketed the team into the national rankings for the first time in 10 years, but a disastrous, 30-13 pummeling at Purdue eliminated the Eagles from poll consideration. They wouldn't return for over a month, and the climb took its own unique toll.
It's a pratfall the team needs to avoid taking in a season already stamped by awkward and strange volatility. Once again, the weekly poll surged teams in and out of consideration, and both Miami and Pittsburgh gained four spots in the Associated Press Top 25. Brigham Young joined them as one of the week's biggest gainers, and the Hurricanes' win over Louisville plummeted the Cardinals to the fringe of the poll.
A more unstable situation unfolded in the Coaches Poll, where the Big Ten's return announcement enabled its teams to fall under consideration. Five teams dropped out of the poll, and another five dropped four or more places as new teams reentered the rankings. Ohio State immediately debuted at No. 10 with two first place votes, but Oklahoma State, Memphis, and Louisiana all plummeted despite not losing a game.
The win over Duke inserted BC into the conversation and placed the Eagles on one of those slippery, icy slopes. The Associated Press poll had the Eagles as one of more than a dozen unranked teams receiving votes, and BC earned similar accolades in the Coaches Poll, where nearly two dozen teams received recognition from poll selectors.
Polls are usually fickle, but they're also the biggest reason why teams are only as good as their most recent performance. Each week is its own mini-season as challenges loom, and BC entered this week understanding that one game was exactly that - one game. It didn't crown a national champion and didn't solve any of the issues imposed by a shortened spring or awkward preseason camp.
"It's not hard on film to show mistakes," Hafley said. "I'm happy these guys got accolades, and I appreciate everything that's positive because we won. That's what we need to do. At the end of the day, I don't even know who we're playing two weeks from now. It's not what I'm worried about because we need to get better. We didn't have spring ball or a full length training camp, and we have to get better."
"Turnovers help you cover, make things look better than they were," defensive lineman Marcus Valdez said, "but we had a lot of little mistakes. We have to fix them, and we know that. We came in (this week) ready to work. It might not show up (immediately), but we know, in a couple of weeks, that it'll (be there). We're trying to stay level headed and go into this next week to fix the little mistakes."
It's a strong message but one received because it covered every level of the Eagles' game day. Hafley was hardest on himself on Tuesday as he began to develop things to be more aware of on the sideline. Last Saturday was his first time on the sidelines as a head coach, and he quickly realized he wanted to change a couple of things about his own atmosphere before this week's game against a sneaky tough opponent.
"I felt like I rushed us out of the locker room," Hafley said. "We were on the field for too long. I got anxious and wanted to get on the field. On the field, there were things I missed, routes that I missed that (Duke) repeated. I was wrapped up in my first time as a head coach, and when I watched the tape, I was disappointed in myself. I missed things that I would've adjusted quicker and corrected better."
The strong feelings didn't overshadow the team's success but laid groundwork for the upcoming days because Texas State is entering as an underrated underdog. It defeated Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, 38-17, after racing out to 31 first half points. It was the third straight game of fast offense for the Bobcats after consecutive near-misses against both SMU and UTSA.
"There's a lot of stuff on film that we have to clean up," Hafley said on Sunday. "I told the coaches today that it's the best time to coach the team the hardest (after a win). The team should be locked in and not take it personally. We knew there would be mistakes, and we need to correct them into (the second game)."
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