Four Downs: Colgate
September 04, 2021 | Football, #ForBoston Files
It was exactly what everyone hoped for
Call it first game jitters, but there was no way of knowing exactly what Boston College team would arrive at Alumni Stadium on Saturday. The preseason expectations lauded the Eagles, but it all existed in a vacuum without real, tangible evidence or proof. It was all hyperbole and predictive copy, and the only proof existed on film from last year's weird COVID-impacted season. The possibility was slim, but the Eagles could have stepped onto their gridiron and slipped against an FCS team playing its heart out.
Nobody necessarily expected BC to pratfall into a loss, but the sheer disparity on display in Saturday's season-opening win proved the Eagles could, indeed, find something special this year. After stalling in the first quarter of the first game as any team would, they found another gear and blew a visiting Colgate team right back to Hamilton, New York with a dominant, 51-0 win.
"I don't care who you're playing," head coach Jeff Hafley said after the win. "(The score) says a lot about (the team). I love the way we finished. We had two penalties, which was huge from last year, and they were two holding calls. (There was) nothing pre-snap, no illegal motions, no personal fouls. It was a clean game. We took care of the football, which has been huge, (and) we were plus-2 in the turnover battle, which is how you win games. We scored on one and one was in the red zone, which really flips (the game). I'm really proud of our guys, where we started things off, and (I'm) really excited to get back and get better."
The perfect opening offered glimpses into exactly what BC needed to accomplish in its first game. The Eagles scored on their first drive but stalled on their next three possessions while Colgate controlled the bulk of the clock in the first quarter. The Raiders, in turn, hit for single plays but never sustained the kind of momentum they needed to drive deep into BC territory. It steadied the game into a strange, opening period stalemate before the tightrope broke for scores on BC's first two drives of the second quarter.
The Eagles measured Colgate and took stock of their own play calls. Phil Jurkovec spread the ball around to four different receivers on his eight attempts in the first quarter, and both Travis Levy and Alec Sinkfield received initial touches on rushing carries as the offense explored its new options for the 2021 season. The initiation offered plenty of feedback, and BC capitalized on it in the second quarter by opening explosive, downfield touchdown passes.
"I believe we will have a lot of guys with a lot of speed on the outside," tight end Trae Barry said. "(We) have a really explosive offense and a lot of learning and growing to do, but I could see the middle of the field being (available)."
BC's long third quarter drive and three fourth quarter touchdowns salted the game away, and any jitters or shivers from that opening period melted into a celebration of the team's return to play in front of its fans. It was the emotion and feeling everyone hoped for, and it was right back where it all started on a Saturday afternoon.
Here's more from BC's opening day win over the Raiders:
*****
First Down: Welcome back.
In 2007, Boston College introduced the Eagle Walk to its game day experience. Following the completion of a team mass, the football team would walk down the Higgins Staircase - also known as "the million dollar staircase" - with the marching band leading them through the fans tailgating outside Alumni Stadium. It quickly became an underrated part of showing up to BC and an up-close way to high five and greet players and coaches before they suited up in uniform and pads.
The Eagle Walk was always a good way to generate energy for the team, but it took on a whole new life on Saturday when the team marched down the stairs in front of fans and supporters for the first time in almost two full years.
"We walked out of Gasson Hall (at) like 9:45 a.m., and the students were already out," Jeff Hafley said. "There were people lined up yelling my name. I was hearing, 'Jeff, Jeff,' and it was awesome. Then to walk past the mods and see the students in there, to hear the band and see the cheerleaders, and to walk in and see my family… it was kind of morbid last year, just walking into a dead campus. This is what college football is all about, and it takes all of us. It takes our players, our staff, and it takes the school. And it was awesome."
Saturday marked the return of everyone's game day traditions, and Alumni Stadium felt alive since BC hosted Florida State to close its 2019 home schedule. The students led the team out of the tunnel and engaged throughout the game, and the players clearly responded to the noise celebrating their big plays.Â
Zay Flowers flexed for the front row on his deep touchdown pass, and Jahmin Muse pointed towards the stands as he scored on his interception return for a pick-six. The ovations and roars provided the soundtrack to Barry's leap over a defender on his touchdown and on CJ Lewis' open field catch-and-run, and they lauded touchdown runs by both Pat Garwo and Peter Stehr.
"It was awesome," Phil Jurkovec said. "I thought the student section was great. They brought a lot of energy, and they filled out their whole section. Just to have that energy in the stadium, just to have (the fans here), it was awesome. We all loved it."
*****
Second Down: Phil and Dennis
Phil Jurkovec is the unquestioned QB1 at BC, but the ongoing comparison and discussion with Dennis Grosel took another leap forward after both excelled in the huddle on Saturday afternoon. Both saw time during the game and succeeded in doing what they each do best on the field, and while there is no quarterback debate or controversy surrounding the position, it was very clear very fast how each drove the other to improve in the offseason.
Jurkovec recorded his fifth career 300-yard game by going 16-of-24 for 303 yards and three touchdowns, and he was virtually perfect save for a three-and-out at the end of the first quarter. He hit both Trae Barry and Zay Flowers for explosive touchdowns to start the second and added 61 yards on five carries on the ground. '
"(Colgate) was very aggressive, especially early in the game, which is why the deep crossers kept popping open," Jeff Hafley said. "We had guys open down the field a lot because it's tough to take away both (downfield and underneath)."
Grosel relieved him with the score out of hand in the fourth quarter but immediately led BC on its final touchdown drive by completing his first four passes. He went to Jehlani Galloway twice and brought Kobay White back from a season-long absence with a 25-yard pass before adding a 12-yard rush for a down. His third attempt at Galloway drew a pass interference call in the end zone, and it set up Peter Stehr's two-yard touchdown run to top the Eagles' 50-burger.
"The offensive guys kept coaching and didn't flinch," Hafley said. "We'll continue to get that going."
*****
HAF-time Hits
-Alumni Stadium is notoriously sunny on one of its sidelines, and any game in early September runs the risk of sweltering fans under an unbearable heat. Saturday, though, offered a picture perfect late summer/early fall day and was arguably the best weather we've had in New England all season. Temperatures never peaked higher than the mid-70s, and the bright sunshine splashed the gridiron in the kind of weather we brag about up here. If it's a preview of coming attractions, I can't wait for the Missouri game to offer foliage.
-One downside to early September: it's way too early for pumpkin spice. I feel like I'm barely done with the fruity tastes of summer, and already my coffee flavors are pumping out mid-October vibes.Â
-My dad texted me his score prediction before the game, and he hit BC's 51 points right on the head. Maybe I should use him for lottery numbers this week.
-Jason Baum, our Senior Associate Athletics Director for Athletic Communications, gave me the idea a couple of years ago to add hot sauce to clam chowder. As a certified chowder expert, I balked, but he's onto something there. This year's chowder is getting both Frank's Red Hot and a bottle of sriracha, though not together because I value my taste buds.
*****
Third Down: Uno, Dos, Trae!
BC's offense returned the firepower to insert into the ACC's discussion, but the departure of tight end Hunter Long cast a shadow and question over his replacement. On Saturday, the first two answers evaporated after Phil Jurkovec targeted Joey Luchetti early before turning his eyes downfield to Trae Barry.
The Jacksonville State transfer found himself open in an aforementioned crossing route in the second quarter, and Jurkovec hit him in stride on the left sideline. Barry rumbled through defenders from there before he hit the circle key on his controller for a hurdling leap to complete a 51-yard touchdown catch, the longest of the game.
"I did it a couple of times at Jacksonville State," Barry laughed after the game. "I must have learned it from my sister. My sister did track all through high school and college, so maybe I picked up a lesson or some stuff from here."
Barry came to BC with a reputation as one of the top receivers in the FCS, but that one catch rewrote the narrative around the tight end position. He was targeted three times on Saturday and drew double coverage over the middle to release Jaden Williams into one-on-one coverage into the corner of the end zone on his late second quarter touchdown.Â
Despite all that effectiveness, it still all came back to the giant hurdle as he leapt towards the end zone.
"(My sister will) probably critique it," he joked. "I'll get her on the phone, and I'm looking forward to what she has to say about it."
*****
Fourth Down: Open The Gates!
The ability to open the depth chart in any game is a great feeling, but to do it in the fourth quarter of the first game of the season felt like a massive reward for the players who fought through the natural growing pains of a preseason camp. Both Patrick Garwo and Peter Stehr scored on touchdown runs, and Xavier Coleman debuted with four carries for 11 yards in his first action of his college career.
Coleman caught his only target for a seven-yard catch, but both he and Williams found themselves on the receiving end of their first-ever college action. Redshirt sophomore Brendan Smith caught a pass, as did redshirt freshman Jonathan Kraft - the grandson of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.Â
More than two dozen defenders recorded at least one tackle, and seven contributed on tackles-for-loss as new names like Neto Okpala, Bryce Steele and Jaylen Blackwell joined Shitta Sillah, Isaiah Graham-Mobley, Cam Horsley, Vinny DePalma, Brandon Barlow and others.
"Losing (Chibueze Onwuka) for the year really hurt a lot, and then Marcus Valdez went down hurt," Jeff Hafley said. "Hopefully he'll come back soon, but he's out, and that hurt a lot. Even (Jake Byczko), our transfer from UMass, was out and he was supposed to possibly start or be a backup. So all of a sudden, I think we played four or five freshmen on the defensive line. That's hard, but Shitta stepped up and had a big sack. Isaiah Henderson played really well (as did) Barlow. Then those guys inside - TJ Rayam - they just fought, and they played a lot of snaps. That's a credit to Coach Vince (Oghobaase), and it's a good thing because we want to build this group."
*****
Point After: UMass
Boston College will end a 39-year streak next Saturday when it travels to Amherst to play the University of Massachusetts in the semi-annual renewal of pleasantries between the only two bowl subdivision teams from the Commonwealth.
It's arguably the biggest home game at McGuirk Stadium for the Minutemen, who hosted BC at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough in 2014 and 2016, but it will come one week after they were run over by former head coach Mark Whipple and Pittsburgh. Whipple, now the offensive coordinator for the Panthers, engineered a blowout behind fifth-year quarterback Kenny Pickett against a team for which he served as head coach for two separate stints.
UMass has struggled to consistently win football games since it reclassified to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012, but last year was exceptionally difficult for the Minutemen to find traction after many conferences chose to either play limited non-league games or exclude those games altogether. None of their four games were at home, making Saturday the first game to be played at the team's home stadium since November 23, 2019.Â
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Nobody necessarily expected BC to pratfall into a loss, but the sheer disparity on display in Saturday's season-opening win proved the Eagles could, indeed, find something special this year. After stalling in the first quarter of the first game as any team would, they found another gear and blew a visiting Colgate team right back to Hamilton, New York with a dominant, 51-0 win.
"I don't care who you're playing," head coach Jeff Hafley said after the win. "(The score) says a lot about (the team). I love the way we finished. We had two penalties, which was huge from last year, and they were two holding calls. (There was) nothing pre-snap, no illegal motions, no personal fouls. It was a clean game. We took care of the football, which has been huge, (and) we were plus-2 in the turnover battle, which is how you win games. We scored on one and one was in the red zone, which really flips (the game). I'm really proud of our guys, where we started things off, and (I'm) really excited to get back and get better."
The perfect opening offered glimpses into exactly what BC needed to accomplish in its first game. The Eagles scored on their first drive but stalled on their next three possessions while Colgate controlled the bulk of the clock in the first quarter. The Raiders, in turn, hit for single plays but never sustained the kind of momentum they needed to drive deep into BC territory. It steadied the game into a strange, opening period stalemate before the tightrope broke for scores on BC's first two drives of the second quarter.
The Eagles measured Colgate and took stock of their own play calls. Phil Jurkovec spread the ball around to four different receivers on his eight attempts in the first quarter, and both Travis Levy and Alec Sinkfield received initial touches on rushing carries as the offense explored its new options for the 2021 season. The initiation offered plenty of feedback, and BC capitalized on it in the second quarter by opening explosive, downfield touchdown passes.
"I believe we will have a lot of guys with a lot of speed on the outside," tight end Trae Barry said. "(We) have a really explosive offense and a lot of learning and growing to do, but I could see the middle of the field being (available)."
BC's long third quarter drive and three fourth quarter touchdowns salted the game away, and any jitters or shivers from that opening period melted into a celebration of the team's return to play in front of its fans. It was the emotion and feeling everyone hoped for, and it was right back where it all started on a Saturday afternoon.
Here's more from BC's opening day win over the Raiders:
*****
First Down: Welcome back.
In 2007, Boston College introduced the Eagle Walk to its game day experience. Following the completion of a team mass, the football team would walk down the Higgins Staircase - also known as "the million dollar staircase" - with the marching band leading them through the fans tailgating outside Alumni Stadium. It quickly became an underrated part of showing up to BC and an up-close way to high five and greet players and coaches before they suited up in uniform and pads.
The Eagle Walk was always a good way to generate energy for the team, but it took on a whole new life on Saturday when the team marched down the stairs in front of fans and supporters for the first time in almost two full years.
"We walked out of Gasson Hall (at) like 9:45 a.m., and the students were already out," Jeff Hafley said. "There were people lined up yelling my name. I was hearing, 'Jeff, Jeff,' and it was awesome. Then to walk past the mods and see the students in there, to hear the band and see the cheerleaders, and to walk in and see my family… it was kind of morbid last year, just walking into a dead campus. This is what college football is all about, and it takes all of us. It takes our players, our staff, and it takes the school. And it was awesome."
Saturday marked the return of everyone's game day traditions, and Alumni Stadium felt alive since BC hosted Florida State to close its 2019 home schedule. The students led the team out of the tunnel and engaged throughout the game, and the players clearly responded to the noise celebrating their big plays.Â
Zay Flowers flexed for the front row on his deep touchdown pass, and Jahmin Muse pointed towards the stands as he scored on his interception return for a pick-six. The ovations and roars provided the soundtrack to Barry's leap over a defender on his touchdown and on CJ Lewis' open field catch-and-run, and they lauded touchdown runs by both Pat Garwo and Peter Stehr.
"It was awesome," Phil Jurkovec said. "I thought the student section was great. They brought a lot of energy, and they filled out their whole section. Just to have that energy in the stadium, just to have (the fans here), it was awesome. We all loved it."
*****
Second Down: Phil and Dennis
Phil Jurkovec is the unquestioned QB1 at BC, but the ongoing comparison and discussion with Dennis Grosel took another leap forward after both excelled in the huddle on Saturday afternoon. Both saw time during the game and succeeded in doing what they each do best on the field, and while there is no quarterback debate or controversy surrounding the position, it was very clear very fast how each drove the other to improve in the offseason.
Jurkovec recorded his fifth career 300-yard game by going 16-of-24 for 303 yards and three touchdowns, and he was virtually perfect save for a three-and-out at the end of the first quarter. He hit both Trae Barry and Zay Flowers for explosive touchdowns to start the second and added 61 yards on five carries on the ground. '
"(Colgate) was very aggressive, especially early in the game, which is why the deep crossers kept popping open," Jeff Hafley said. "We had guys open down the field a lot because it's tough to take away both (downfield and underneath)."
Grosel relieved him with the score out of hand in the fourth quarter but immediately led BC on its final touchdown drive by completing his first four passes. He went to Jehlani Galloway twice and brought Kobay White back from a season-long absence with a 25-yard pass before adding a 12-yard rush for a down. His third attempt at Galloway drew a pass interference call in the end zone, and it set up Peter Stehr's two-yard touchdown run to top the Eagles' 50-burger.
"The offensive guys kept coaching and didn't flinch," Hafley said. "We'll continue to get that going."
*****
HAF-time Hits
-Alumni Stadium is notoriously sunny on one of its sidelines, and any game in early September runs the risk of sweltering fans under an unbearable heat. Saturday, though, offered a picture perfect late summer/early fall day and was arguably the best weather we've had in New England all season. Temperatures never peaked higher than the mid-70s, and the bright sunshine splashed the gridiron in the kind of weather we brag about up here. If it's a preview of coming attractions, I can't wait for the Missouri game to offer foliage.
-One downside to early September: it's way too early for pumpkin spice. I feel like I'm barely done with the fruity tastes of summer, and already my coffee flavors are pumping out mid-October vibes.Â
-My dad texted me his score prediction before the game, and he hit BC's 51 points right on the head. Maybe I should use him for lottery numbers this week.
-Jason Baum, our Senior Associate Athletics Director for Athletic Communications, gave me the idea a couple of years ago to add hot sauce to clam chowder. As a certified chowder expert, I balked, but he's onto something there. This year's chowder is getting both Frank's Red Hot and a bottle of sriracha, though not together because I value my taste buds.
*****
Third Down: Uno, Dos, Trae!
BC's offense returned the firepower to insert into the ACC's discussion, but the departure of tight end Hunter Long cast a shadow and question over his replacement. On Saturday, the first two answers evaporated after Phil Jurkovec targeted Joey Luchetti early before turning his eyes downfield to Trae Barry.
The Jacksonville State transfer found himself open in an aforementioned crossing route in the second quarter, and Jurkovec hit him in stride on the left sideline. Barry rumbled through defenders from there before he hit the circle key on his controller for a hurdling leap to complete a 51-yard touchdown catch, the longest of the game.
"I did it a couple of times at Jacksonville State," Barry laughed after the game. "I must have learned it from my sister. My sister did track all through high school and college, so maybe I picked up a lesson or some stuff from here."
Barry came to BC with a reputation as one of the top receivers in the FCS, but that one catch rewrote the narrative around the tight end position. He was targeted three times on Saturday and drew double coverage over the middle to release Jaden Williams into one-on-one coverage into the corner of the end zone on his late second quarter touchdown.Â
Despite all that effectiveness, it still all came back to the giant hurdle as he leapt towards the end zone.
"(My sister will) probably critique it," he joked. "I'll get her on the phone, and I'm looking forward to what she has to say about it."
*****
Fourth Down: Open The Gates!
The ability to open the depth chart in any game is a great feeling, but to do it in the fourth quarter of the first game of the season felt like a massive reward for the players who fought through the natural growing pains of a preseason camp. Both Patrick Garwo and Peter Stehr scored on touchdown runs, and Xavier Coleman debuted with four carries for 11 yards in his first action of his college career.
Coleman caught his only target for a seven-yard catch, but both he and Williams found themselves on the receiving end of their first-ever college action. Redshirt sophomore Brendan Smith caught a pass, as did redshirt freshman Jonathan Kraft - the grandson of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.Â
More than two dozen defenders recorded at least one tackle, and seven contributed on tackles-for-loss as new names like Neto Okpala, Bryce Steele and Jaylen Blackwell joined Shitta Sillah, Isaiah Graham-Mobley, Cam Horsley, Vinny DePalma, Brandon Barlow and others.
"Losing (Chibueze Onwuka) for the year really hurt a lot, and then Marcus Valdez went down hurt," Jeff Hafley said. "Hopefully he'll come back soon, but he's out, and that hurt a lot. Even (Jake Byczko), our transfer from UMass, was out and he was supposed to possibly start or be a backup. So all of a sudden, I think we played four or five freshmen on the defensive line. That's hard, but Shitta stepped up and had a big sack. Isaiah Henderson played really well (as did) Barlow. Then those guys inside - TJ Rayam - they just fought, and they played a lot of snaps. That's a credit to Coach Vince (Oghobaase), and it's a good thing because we want to build this group."
*****
Point After: UMass
Boston College will end a 39-year streak next Saturday when it travels to Amherst to play the University of Massachusetts in the semi-annual renewal of pleasantries between the only two bowl subdivision teams from the Commonwealth.
It's arguably the biggest home game at McGuirk Stadium for the Minutemen, who hosted BC at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough in 2014 and 2016, but it will come one week after they were run over by former head coach Mark Whipple and Pittsburgh. Whipple, now the offensive coordinator for the Panthers, engineered a blowout behind fifth-year quarterback Kenny Pickett against a team for which he served as head coach for two separate stints.
UMass has struggled to consistently win football games since it reclassified to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012, but last year was exceptionally difficult for the Minutemen to find traction after many conferences chose to either play limited non-league games or exclude those games altogether. None of their four games were at home, making Saturday the first game to be played at the team's home stadium since November 23, 2019.Â
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/ FootballFrom the Desk of Blake James | Ep. 2
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Sunday, September 14
