Week Seven Notes: The Louisville Game

Boston College Notes in PDF Format

• For the first time under head coach Jeff Hafley, Boston College looks to snap a two-game losing streak as the Eagles travel to Louisville on Saturday.

• Kickoff from Cardinal Stadium is set for 4 p.m. on ACC Network. Wes Durham, Roddy Jones and Taylor Davis have the television broadcast call on ACCN.

• Coverage on the Boston College Sports Network from Learfield begins at 3:30 p.m. with Jon Meterparel along with former BC standouts Pete Cronan and Scott Mutryn on the call. Fans can listen to the game locally on WEEI 850 AM along with on Sirius channel 138, XM channel 380 and online via SiriusXM channel 970.

• Boston College lost to a ranked opponent for the second straight game this season with a 33-7 setback to No. 22 NC State last Saturday night at Alumni Stadium.

• Louisville is back in action after the week off. The Cardinals last played Oct. 9, dropping a 34-33 decision to Virginia.

• Boston College and Louisville meet for the 14th time in series history Saturday.

• BC is 6-7 all-time against the Cardinals, including a record of 2-4 at Louisville.

• The Eagles have not won at Louisville since 2017 when BC captured a 45-42 win in the Derby City.

• AJ Dillon led the Eagles offense with a career-high four touchdowns and finished with a career-high 272 yards as Boston College upset Louisville.

• Hamp Cheevers stripped a UL receiver and Kamrin Moore recovered the fumble to give the Eagles the ball at the Louisville 39-yard line. A series of Dillon rushes gave BC strong field position with three seconds left to play. Junior kicker Colton Lichtenberg converted the game-winning 27-yard field goal as time expired.

• BC scored a season-high 45 points and rushed for 364 yards on the ground. That was the first time the Eagles defeated Louisville since 1994.

• Last season, Boston College defeated Louisville, 34-27, at Alumni Stadium on Nov. 28. BC moved to 6-4 overall and 5-4 in the ACC with the win while Louisville fell to 3-7 overall and 2-7 in conference play.

• BC won its fifth ACC game of the year for the first time since 2009 in last year's win over the Cards.

• BC's largest margin of victory in the series was a 41-7 victory over Louisville in 1986. The longest win streak for BC in the series is two games.

• Louisville's largest margin of victory was a 52-7 win 2016 that capped off a series-long four-game win streak in the series for the Cards.

• In the last meeting at Louisville in 2019, Boston College lost to Louisville 41-39 on a 41-yard field goal by Blanton Creque in the final minute after the Eagles took the lead on a 45-yard field goal by Aaron Boumerhi with 3:32 to play in the game.

• Dennis Grosel was 9-for-24 for 111 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing six times for 43 yards. The redshirt sophomore quarterback came into the game early in the second quarter to replace injured starter Anthony Brown. Brown had started the game 6-for-7 for 193 yards.

Round 3 vs. Louisville

• Boston College QB Dennis Grosel gets his third shot against the Cardinals on Saturday, this time as the starter for the first time in his career.

• Grosel's previous two appearances against Louisville came in relief of injured starters Anthony Brown in 2019 and Phil Jurkovec in 2020.

• In the 41-39 loss at Louisville in 2019, Grosel was 9-for-24 for 111 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing six times for 43 yards.

• Last year, Grosel threw for two touchdowns after Jurkovec was injured and added a 44-yard run to lead the Eagles to a 34-27 victory over Louisville.

• Grosel completed 4 of 7 passes for 44 yards for the Eagles. He also broke free for the run that set up a falling 11-yard touchdown catch by CJ Lewis that made it 27-13 early in the fourth quarter.

Not So Fast My Friend

• Boston College is tied for 14th nationally with just 13 touchdowns allowed in 2021.

• It's been a quick turnaround under Jeff Hafley and his defensive staff. The year prior to Hafley's arrival, BC allowed 49 touchdowns in 2019, ranking 88th nationally.

All Systems Go

• Boston College has been on fire in the first half of 2021, outscoring opponents 92-40.

• The first quarter has been BC's second-highest scoring quarter of the season, outscoring the opposition 52-28 in the first 15 minutes of play.

• In the second quarter, BC has yielded just four field goals the entire season, holding a 40-12 advantage.

Money Down

• BC has been at its best on third down this season - both on offense and defensively.

• On offense, the Eagles are 17th nationally converting 47.5% of their third down conversions (38-of-80). That stat is second in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

• Defensively, BC is limiting opponents to 29.6% on third down, going just 21-of-71. The Eagles are 10th in the nation in third down defense, and third in the ACC behind NC State (1st/25.3%) and Pitt (6th/27.5%).

• In 2019, one year prior to Jeff Hafley's arrival at the Heights, BC ranked 121st nationally in third down defense (46.5%). Last year, BC jumped all the way to 65th nationally on third down defense (40.4%).

• The Eagles have been very efficient on third down in the Hafley era as well. BC ranked 36th nationally in 2020 converting 44.2% of its third downs.

Noting the Win over Mizzou

• Boston College earned its first win over an SEC opponent since 2001 with a 41-34 overtime victory against Missouri at Alumni Stadium.

• The last win for BC against an SEC team was a 20-16 victory over Georgia in the 2001 Music City Bowl.

• Missouri was the first SEC team to play at Alumni Stadium since BC defeated Tennessee 20-18 on Oct. 31, 1987. The 1987 win over the Vols was the last home victory for BC against an SEC opponent before today. The Eagles are 17-20-1 all-time against SEC opponents.

• Boston College played just its 12th all-time overtime game and first since last season's 31-30 win over Pitt at home. BC is 7-5 all-time in overtime.

• Missouri PK Harrison Mevis drilled a 56-yard field goal with no time remaining to force overtime. The last time an opposing kicker hit one from 55+ yards against BC was in the overtime win vs. Pitt last season. Pitt PK Alex Kessman was good from 58 yards to force overtime before the Eagles prevailed in overtime.

• BC last went 4-0 in non-conference play in 2016; beating UMass, Wagner, Buffalo and UConn.

• The Eagles' last non-conference win over a Power 5 opponent was over Maryland in the 2016 Quick Lane Bowl.

• The last regular season non-conference victory against a Power 5 foe was a 37-31 victory over No. 9 Southern California on Sept. 13, 2014.

Garwo's Coming Out Party

• Redshirt sophomore running back Pat Garwo rushed for a then career-high 160 yards at UMass, becoming BC's first 100-yard rusher since David Bailey at Syracuse (Nov. 7, 2020). Garwo's previous career best was 36 yards last season vs. Pitt (Oct. 10, 2020).

• Garwo became the first BC rusher over 150 yards since AJ Dillon (242) and David Bailey (172) did so at Syracuse (Nov. 2, 2019).

• Garwo averaged 10.7 yards per attempt, tied for the seventh-best single-game yards per carry average for a BC player since 1996.

RB1

• Pat Garwo ripped off a career-long 67-yard run for BC's first touchdown to cap off a 99-yard scoring drive in the 41-34 OT win against Missouri.

• Garwo finished with his second 100-yard performance of the season and the second of his career with a career-high 175 yards on the afternoon. Entering the season, Garwo had 195 yards in 10 career games without a touchdown. In four games in 2021, Garwo has 412 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

• The 25 rushing attempts for Garwo were a new career-high, topping his previous best of 15 rushing attempts at UMass earlier this year. Garwo averaged 7.0 yards per carry for the game.

• He leads BC and ranks 37th nationally in rushing, averaging 86.5 yards per game.

• Garwo is tied for ninth nationally with eight rushes of 20+ yards. He has four rushes of 30+ yards, also tied for ninth in the country.

IGM

• Isaiah Graham-Mobley has provided plenty of leadership and physical play as the Eagles' starting middle linebacker in 2021. A mid-year transfer from Temple in January, IGM has started all six games for BC in 2021 and leads the team with 38 tackles.

• He ranks 27th in the ACC with 6.33 tackles per game.

Setting the Tone on Defense

• Boston College has been one of the stingiest defenses in the ACC in 2021, ranking fifth in the conference in rushing defense, passing defense, total defense and third in the league in scoring defense.

• BC ranks among the ACC's elite defenses despite ranking last in the league in sacks and TFLs.

11 on the Tackle

• Junior defensive end Shitta Sillah is sixth on the team with 19 total tackles in 2021. The Somerset, N.J. native has played his best football of his career at the Heights to start the season.

• Sillah, who continued to develop in the off-season under head strength and conditioning coach Phil Matusz, has upped his weight to 253 pounds entering the year.

Cover Corner

• Junior Josh DeBerry ranks second on the team with 29 tackles in 2021. One of the top cover corners in the ACC, DeBerry is tied for the team lead with two interceptions and two pass breakups.

• Against No. 22 NC State, DeBerry established a new career-high with eight tackles to lead the BC defense.

Tight End Production Continues

• Hunter Long led all tight ends nationally in receptions and was second in receiving yards for tight ends in 2020 en route to becoming a third-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 2021 NFL Draft.

• Graduate transfer Trae Barry has jumped right in to help fill the void with 16 receptions for 255 yards and three touchdowns.

• He is 11th in the country among tight ends averaging 15.9 yards per reception.

• Junior Joey Luchetti has formed a nice 1-2 punch for the Eagles at tight end, adding nine receptions for 118 yards in 2021.

Big Ben

• BC's fifth-year senior Ben Petrula has the second-longest active start streak in the nation at 54 games. After not playing in his first career game as a true freshman at Northern Illinois in 2017, Petrula moved to center and started the final 12 games of the season.

• Petrula has started all 54 games he has played in.

NCAA Active Starting Streaks

Player, School Active Starts

1. Airon Servais, Syracuse 55

2. Ben Petrula, BC 54

500 Club

• Boston College finished the day with 525 total yards in the 51-0 win over Colgate - the 36th time since 1996 that BC gained 500+ yards from scrimmage. BC is 29-7 in those games.

• The 525 yards of offense were the most in the Jeff Hafley era for the Eagles.

• The six touchdowns from scrimmage were also the most of any game coached by Hafley at BC.

• BC averaged 9.4 yards per touch against Colgate, the second-highest total of the Hafley era. BC's 9.9 yards per touch in the 2020 Virginia game were the most during the Hafley era.

300-Yard Passing Games

• Boston College totaled just seven 300-yard passing games from 2010-19, including just three games of 300+ passing yards since 2013.

• In 17 games under Jeff Hafley, BC has posted seven 300-yard passing games.

ACC Players of the Week

• Boston College has had seven ACC Player of the Week selections already in 2021.

Player Date

Phil Jurkovec (QB) 9/6/21

Zay Flowers (WR) 9/6/21

Pat Garwo (RB) 9/13/21

Travis Levy (ST) 9/13/21

Grant Carlson (ST) 9/20/21

Pat Garwo (RB) 9/27/21

Brandon Sebastian (DB) 9/27/21

Phil The Thrill

• In 12 games, Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec is already fifth in school history with five 300-yard passing games.

• BC legends Matt Ryan and Doug Flutie hold the school record with 12, 300-yard passing games.

BC Career 300-Yard Passing Games

Player (Years) G 300-Yard Games

1. Matt Ryan (2004-07) 43 12

1. Doug Flutie (1981-84) 46 12

3. Glenn Foley (1990-93) 44 10

3. Shawn Halloran (1983-86) 46 10

5. Phil Jurkovec (2020-21) 12 5

6. Chase Rettig (2010-13) 46 4

Hafley Leads the Way

• A total of 24 coaches were hired in the 2020 coaching cycle. BC's Jeff Hafley tied for first among all Power Five head coaches with 10 victories. He is fourth overall with the 10 wins since 2020.

2020 Coaching Cycle

Coach 2020 2021 Total

Jeff Traylor, UTSA 7-5 7-0 14-5

Shawn Clark, App. St. 9-3 4-2 13-5

Ryan Silverfield, Memphis 8-3 4-3 12-6

Jeff Hafley, BC 6-5 4-2 10-7

Brady Hoke, San Diego St. 4-4 6-0 10-4

Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss 5-5 5-1 10-6

Mel Tucker, Michigan St. 2-5 7-0 9-5

Todd Graham, Hawaii 5-4 3-4 8-8

Willie Taggart, FAU 5-4 3-3 8-7

Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri 5-5 3-4 8-9

Kalen DeBoer, Fresno St. 3-3 5-2 8-5

Dave Aranda, Baylor 2-7 6-1 8-8

Sam Pittman, Arkansas 3-7 4-3 7-10

Mike Leach, Miss. St. 4-7 3-3 7-10

Karl Dorrell, Colorado 4-2 2-4 6-6

Greg Schiano, Rutgers 3-6 3-4 6-10

Jimmy Lake, Washington 3-1 2-4 5-5

Mike Norvell, Florida St. 3-6 2-4 5-10

Nick Rolovich, Wash. St. 1-3 4-3 5-6

Danny Gonzales, New Mexico 2-5 2-5 4-10

Steve Addazio, Colorado St. 1-3 3-3 4-6

Jeff Scott, USF 1-8 1-5 2-13

Ricky Rahne, Old Dominion 0-0 1-6 1-6

Marcus Arroyo, UNLV 0-6 0-6 0-12

Of Note

• Jeff Hafley was introduced as BC's 36th head coach on Dec. 14, 2019. In his first season on the Heights, Hafley finished with the most victories of any first-year Power Five head coach in college football in 2020.

• BC finished with a 6-5 record, and qualified for a bowl game, though the program ultimately declined to participate. More impressive than the marked improvement on both sides of the ball, was how the program under Hafley's leadership handled playing in the COVID-19 pandemic. BC Football had just one positive from over 9,000 administered COVID-19 tests since the team returned to campus last June.

• On the recruiting trail, Hafley and his staff signed the top recruiting class in school history in his first season. The recruiting class ranking by ESPN was the best in school history since their rankings began in 2006. It was BC's best showing in the 247 Sports rankings as well and the Eagles' highest Rivals ranking since 2008.

• Hafley, one of college football's top defensive minds, helped improve a BC defense 52 spots in the national rankings in total defense as the Eagles allowed 62 fewer yards per game than the previous year prior to his arrival.

• Nine Eagles were named All-ACC in 2020, including the first wide receiver to be named All-ACC first-team in Zay Flowers since 2012. Six of the nine All-ACC performers return for BC in 2021 (WR Zay Flowers, C Alec Lindstrom, OL Zion Johnson, OL Ben Petrula, OL Tyler Vrabel, DB Josh DeBerry).

• BC returned 20 starters in 2021, including all five offensive linemen. BC returns nine starters total on offense, eight on defense and three specialists. The Eagles welcome back a total of 45 letterwinners from the 2020 squad.

• BC was 24th nationally in passing offense in 2020, averaging 284.2 yards per game.

• First-year starter Phil Jurkovec burst onto the scene as the starting quarterback for the Eagles last season. Jurkovec's 2,558 yards over his first 10 starts were the most by any BC quarterback in school history.

• Jurkovec was the first player in BC history to total four, 300-yard passing games in his first five career starts at quarterback and the first BC quarterback with four or more 300-yard games in a season since Matt Ryan (2007).

• Johnson is coming off a 2020 season in which he was named to the All-ACC third-team at offensive tackle and was voted a team captain. The Maryland native graded out as BC's top offensive lineman in 2020 after moving from left guard to left tackle in the preseason. He was also named to the All-ACC Academic Team and was one of three Boston College student-athletes recipients of the 2021 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship Award.

• Valdez was a 2020 All-ACC Academic selection after starting in all 11 games for BC. Voted a team captain as a junior, Valdez ended the season with 37 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

• Zay Flowers returns as one of the nation's most electric players. An All-ACC first-team selection, Flowers had one of the most productive seasons by a wide receiver in Boston College history in 2020. He was 18th nationally and second in the ACC with 892 yards receiving, ranked 26th nationally with 56 receptions and tied for 12th nationally with nine touchdown receptions.

Preseason Honors Roll In

Junior WR Zay Flowers

• Pick Six Previews Preseason All-American (Fourth Team)

• Preseason All-ACC

• Biletnikoff Watch List

• Maxwell Award Watch List

Graduate OL Zion Johnson

• AP Preseason All-American

• Phil Steele's Preseason All-American

• Pick Six Previews Preseason All-American (Second Team)

• Outland Trophy Watch List

• Preseason All-ACC

Junior QB Phil Jurkovec

• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Watch List

• Manning Award Watch List

• Davey O'Brien Award Watch List

• Maxwell Award Watch List

Graduate OL Alec Lindstrom

• The Athletic Preseason All-American (Second Team)

• Pro Football Focus Preseason All-American (Second Team)

• Phil Steele's Preseason All-American Team (Second Team)

• Pick Six Previews Preseason All-American (Second Team)

• Athlon Preseason All-American (Third Team)

• Lombardi Award Watch List

• Rimington Trophy Watch List

• Outland Trophy Watch List

• Preseason All-ACC

Junior OL Tyler Vrabel

• Outland Trophy Watch List

Famous Bloodlines

• Boston College has several players with famous bloodlines on the 2021 roster:

Javian Dayne: Son of Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne

Jacob Kraft: Son of Patriots President Jonathan Kraft; Grandson of Patriots Owner Robert Kraft

Tito Pasqualoni: Son of Paul Pasqualoni

John Tessitore: Son of ESPN announcer Joe Tessitore

Tyler Vrabel: Son of Titans head coach Mike Vrabel

Big Play Zay

• Boston College junior wide receiver Zay Flowers was named to the watch list, the second major preseason award watch list for the Florida native. He was also named to the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List as well.

• Flowers put together one of the best seasons by a BC wide receiver ever in 2020. An All-ACC first-team selection, Flowers was just the second BC wide receiver to be named first-team All-ACC in school history (Alex Amidon, 2012). He finished 18th nationally and second in the ACC with 892 yards receiving, ranked 26th nationally with 56 receptions and tied for 12th nationally with nine touchdown receptions.

• The speedster from Fort Lauderdale finished with his second 100-yard receiving game of the season in 2020 with six receptions for 162 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in the 31-30 victory in overtime over Pitt.

• Flowers became the first BC player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Kelvin Martin at Holy Cross (11/22/86).

• He tied the school record with five other players with three touchdown receptions.

• The 166 yards receiving by Flowers were the fifth-most by a BC player since 1996.

• Flowers' 77-yard score was the first of 70 or more by an Eagle since Hunter Long's 72-yard score at Louisville (10/5/19).

• 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. He became the only BC wide receiver to ever be named the ACC's WR of the Week for the second time in a season after his performance in the Pitt win.

• 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. He was the first BC receiver since 2012 (Alex Amidon) to have over 150 yards receiving in a game.

Haf Effect

• Jeff Hafley made an immediate impact on Ohio State's defense in 2019 and he did the same since arriving at Boston College.

• The year prior to Hafley's arrival at Ohio State, the Buckeyes ranked 71st nationally in total defense an 50th in scoring defense. In 2019, Hafley guided the nation's best defense allowing just 259.7 yards per game, an improvement of 143.7 yards per game from 2018. Ohio State yielded just 13.7 points per game in 2019, fourth-best in the nation.

• Hafley and the BC defensive coaching staff have turned things in the right direction on the Eagles' defense. BC is allowing 148.8 yards less per game than the year prior to Hafley's arrival.

Defensive Improvement with Hafley

YPG YPP PPG Total D Scoring D

OSU 2018 403.4 5.77 25.5 71st 50th

OSU 2019 259.7 4.13 13.7 1st 4th

BC 2019 478.7 6.33 32.2 125th 101st

BC 2020 416.8 6.11 28.4 73rd 60th

BC 2021 329.9 5.42 19.5 36th 28th

Class of 2025

• A total of 16 true freshmen played in the opener against Colgate.

• BC has 10 true freshmen on its depth chart for this week's game against Louisville.

• PK Connor Lytton was a perfect 4-for-4 on PATs in the 28-3 win over Temple. Against Missouri, Lytton was 2-for-2 on field goals, including his first collegiate field goal from 49 yards out.

• WR Jaden Williams is tied for the team with three touchdown receptions.

• On defense, five true freshmen have seen consistent playing time in 2021. The defensive line has featured Ty Clemons (five tackles, one sack), Donovan Ezeiruaku (13 tackles, 3.0 TFL, two sacks) and Neto Okpala (one tackle). Okpala also blocked a punt at No. 25 Clemson.

Game Captains

Colgate: Travis Levy, Zion Johnson, Jason Maitre

UMass: Grant Carlson, Brandon Barlow, Alec Lindstrom

Temple: Ben Petrula, Isaiah Graham-Mobley, Kobay White, Pat Garwo

Missouri: Joey Luchetti, Zay Flowers, Josh DeBerry

Clemson: Tyler Vrabel, Dennis Grosel, Vinny DePalma, Brandon Sebastian

NC State: Christian Mahogany, Zion Johnson, Marcus Valdez, Shitta Sillah

Scout Team Players of the Week

Colgate: Dante Reynolds, Owen McGowan, Casey Phinney

UMass: Tony Muse, Deon Jones, Jalon Williams

Temple: Jackson Treister, Joe Marinaro, Luke McLaughlin

Missouri: Ryan Betro, Erik Larson, Joe Marinaro