The Tailgate: Northern Illinois

It has been over nine months since the Boston College football team stepped on the field, opposite another opponent. In that time, the Eagles have been building an internal confidence to combat the external noise that surrounded the program late last season. The 2023 edition of BC football sets out this weekend to return to form as a player on the national stage and turn doubt into belief inside Alumni Stadium.

Offseason trends overlooked the Eagles as a legitimate threat to the one-division format in the ACC, but the overall lack of active football meant the outcome of that debate couldn't change. Embers simply burned underneath the surface, but even as BC reignited its mojo through the offseason, the team that failed to get out of first gear last year didn't have a chance to eradicate notions fomented during the three-win hangover.

The noise was at times loud, but the walls of Alumni Stadium and the Fish Field House insulated the team from the naysayers and doubters as a yeoman's effort steadily emerged. Devoid of any real opportunity to disprove anything, BC simply went to work and waited for Saturday's first game against Northern Illinois, and with kickoff now one day away, the shot at proving success through those changes arrives with the hotly-anticipated 2023 season.

"I changed how we did stuff in the offseason," said head coach Jeff Hafley. "I changed how we did stuff in training camp. I changed up our Wednesday practice, and I added some different things. I [feel like] I am constantly evolving, and we're just going to change around some of the times and some meeting schedules to see what fits our team best. I'd be foolish not to look each year to try and improve upon what I did in the past."

Not even Hafley could deny the din of the noise surrounding BC's overall struggles, but the sound machine reached white levels as the talk got louder and louder. The rabble was a talking point, but it did nothing to impact the attitude of a team committed to working on its craft. In its place, he sought to simply harness any residual frustration to a constructive degree, and if any anger simmered, he ignored it by forcing the team to recenter on its preparation for an opponent.

Revenge in football, after all, is not a word coaches enjoy because it looks backwards and doesn't stoke optimism for how to move forward.

"I think everyone uses it to a certain extent," Hafley said, "but that fiery pregame speech only lasts for about 30 seconds. Once you get on the field and the smoke clears out, you have to play the game. You can't rely on that [anger], and there has to be something bigger that motivates you. That's what I keep telling this team, and a lot of times, it's bigger than yourself. It's got to be the guys to the left and the guys to the right. That's what needs to happen at BC, you have to play the game for each other and light each other up and fire each other up and balance it all out."

Committing itself to those steps offers BC the first exit sign on its road to redemption. Any talk of the 2022 season dies when the ball is kicked off against a team known for winning MAC championships. The criticisms, the analysis, everything from every corner of the broadcast and online world - they all go away, and a real game against a like-minded opponent emerges for the Eagles and their fans to unite once again for their common goal.

Here's what to watch for when the Eagles kick off their 125th overall season against Northern Illinois:

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Game Storylines (Conor McGregor Edition)

The more you seek the uncomfortable, the more you will become comfortable.

Alright, before we start with anything, let me address what I'm doing this year. Normally, readers are used to me using songs, artists, movie quotes and pretty much everything at my disposal to hit on weekly storylines going into each game. I'm changing it up this year to go to individual people, and starting it off with Conor McGregor, the man who changed the Ultimate Fighting Championship by fusing character and showmanship into his talent, is probably not the cleanest option I possessed…in short, I don't have a bleep button.

That said, McGregor's popularity - or at least his recognition - extends well beyond anyone who ever previously fought in the Octagon because he was one of the single-most driven fighters ever to step into the cage. In his prime, he headlined the five highest-selling UFC pay-per-views and is the highest-selling MMA icon of all time. Regardless of how anyone might feel about him, it's a whole other bag when we talk about what he accomplished.

He simultaneously held championships in two weight classes because he was never satisfied, and his jump between divisions illustrated how he reinvented himself as a fighter. He crossed new divides and breached new challenges in an effort to accomplish new goals, and each time, he got more comfortable fighting new styles because he pushed the envelope on uncomfortable limits.

Enter Boston College. My biggest observation from last year was how the Eagles lost their chemistry and synergy over the whole season. Injuries played the biggest role, but lacking sync between different position groups and units cost a program identified by its ability to feed itself several times over.

"We recognized our deficiencies and saw where we needed to get better," said Jeff Hafley. "We saw what we had, and we started working on keeping our good players here, which we were able to do. Then we hit the portal really hard and found some guys that we thought could bring in competition, and we continued to recruit and brought in some true freshmen that will help us play this season. Then we had some coaching changes and started studying what we were going to do in order to succeed in the ACC. That took a lot of hard work, and nobody stopped."

BC is going to look differently on Saturday, but nobody actually knows what that means until the first snap and series on either side of the ball. Even then, the adjustments, strengths, deficiencies, meetings, and everything else over the full 60 minutes still exist, and nobody, not even the biggest program insider, knows how things change until the game is actually played. For that reason, the road that started well before Saturday won't end; it'll just keep going.

"You never know [your identity], especially in Week One," Hafley said. "You try to figure it out in camp, but then you get to the pregame warmup for the first game, and coaches are asking if we're ready. Nobody can ever figure that out, so you have to see that first game, that second game, and you have to figure it out. A lot of times, the first games are sloppy, and that's what you have to fight against because stuff gets real. There are mistakes that are going to be made, but our identity has to be that if we're going to make mistakes, it has to be at 100 miles per hour while we're violent and physical. That's really what I want to see. I want to see how hard these kids are going to play in the first game and in the second game and continue to build on that."

We're not just here to take part. We're here to take over.

BC can pinpoint its success offensively through trench play, but elements of Northern Illinois' scheme are geared towards keeping the Eagles off the field through a ball control offense that looks awfully similar to the historic ground-and-pound teams of past years in Chestnut Hill. The time of possession eclipsed 33 minutes per game two years ago during Rocky Lombardi's breakthrough season under center, and that number is critical to the run-heavy scheme of a hard-nosed MAC team.

"I have tremendous respect for Thomas Hammock," Hafley said. "He took over that program and won the MAC, and he was primed for another good year last year before he lost [some] of his best players. His quarterback, who I think is an NFL player, was literally a Power Five player that started off at Michigan State and played in some games [before transferring], and they want to run the ball. They have a good scheme to run the ball, and they have a really good offensive line."

NIU's offensive production fell apart last year after Lombardi's injury induced a quarterback shuffle, but it's important to note how the running game continued humming along with its two-pronged backfield. The combination of Harrison Waylee and Antario Brown combined for over five yards per carry and 1,500 yards on the season with 12 touchdowns, and Brown returned this year to lead a unit that features both returnee Justin Lynch, the depth back behind the duo last year, and South Carolina State transfer Kendrell Flowers, who initially started his career at Wake Forest.

"When you watch film on a defense, you want to break down where they're similar," Hafley said, "so if we're playing a 4-3 defense with cover-2, you'd want to watch teams [that play cover-2] against their offense that were playing that same scheme. You kind of get a sense of how they're going to try and attack it, but if I'm watching a game against Northern Illinois where a team is playing three-down with a 3-5 stack defense, it's not how they're going to attack us. I want to figure out how they're going to try to attack the certain things that we do, and when you look at the players, you have to figure out how we're going to stop their best players and what they do best - and how we're going to take it away."

Losers focus on winners. Winners focus on winning.

Lombardi returned this year for his seventh season, but solely talking about the NIU offense to this point doesn't exempt BC from requiring its own, much-needed jump within its own possessive scheme. There was well-recognized progress at the end of last year when Emmett Morehead commanded the final four games, but his continued improvement within the scheme during the offseason and training camp needs upward trajectory in these early games, especially as everyone's talked about the install being ahead of schedule.

"[NIU] is really strong up the middle," Jeff Hafley said. "Their defensive tackles are really good players, and the one safety [C.J. Brown] that I watched [on Wednesday], I really respect the way he runs and hits. They have two new guys on the perimeter, some guys from the transfer portal, and some new guys that are going to play, and they do a good job at gameplanning a lot to chunk it up front. They make it hard for you to run the football."

NIU stacks similar to BC last year in the sense that its defense didn't entirely struggle last season, and a unit that allowed 395 yards per game - not great - held opponents to 140 yards per game rushing, a number near Alabama and Wake Forest. The passing defense surrendered 250 yards per game, but NIU still held opponents to 22 first downs per game, a number that wasn't in the middle tier but competed alongside Baylor, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, and Florida - all of which were at or near bowl eligibility.

"I think we'll be less vanilla," Hafley said. "I know what the game plan looks like, but we'll see what we actually call on game day. Hopefully with the guys that we have, they've done a good job of handling everything we've thrown at them to see what we'll see on Saturday."

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Question Box

How much chemistry exists within the BC offensive roster and scheme?

Zay Flowers left BC after last season as arguably the greatest receiver to ever wear maroon and gold, but his absence creates a plethora of options for Emmett Morehead as a passing quarterback after the four-game apprenticeship at the end of last season. Every quarterback, regardless of skill or experience, could learn to rely on Flowers as a crutch, and his departure translates to more vision for more pass catchers who can do a number of different things.

Ryan O'Keefe indicated this week that every receiver has a different skill set, and while there are first reads and second reads built into a scheme, Morehead still maintains the green light to find the open receiver. Last year, he talked specifically on improving his footwork and his focus on the more boring aspects of quarterbacking. This year, his command of the offense needs to step forward with how his vision can find the right receiver on the right route to move the chains, not just fire bombs downfield.*

*We still love those bombs.

How does the defense attempt to confuse Rocky Lombardi and the NIU offense?

Rocky Lombardi's injury last year meant that the former Michigan State quarterback returned to DeKalb for a seventh year of college. A joke that once existed in movies like Tommy Boy and Van Wilder, the COVID year in 2020, coupled with the transfer portal and other various ways of receiving waivers or whatnot, means we're seeing the last group of players play out the string of their sixth or seventh season in college. Almost all of them are graduating with multiple degrees, and as a coach once told me about baseball, it's better to keep playing than to hang up the cleats and stop practicing. Life is a lot longer when Father Time tells you to stop playing that lifetime sport.

Bringing back Lombardi is a huge asset for a quarterback destined for a great season before last year's injury. His first year at NIU as a fourth-year player in 2021 produced a narrow hair under 2,600 yards passing, but his 15 touchdowns-to-eight-interceptions ratio picked up major steam during a five-game winning streak from late September through October. Even in a loss to Kent State, he eviscerated a defense for 532 yards and three touchdowns, and he finished the season with 10 scores to two picks over the final seven games, one of which was a limited game against Bowling Green.

Lombardi was successful in carrying NIU through the loss to Tulsa with three touchdown passes, and he was dicing Vanderbilt with a perfect 7-for-7 passing for 79 yards and a score when he got hurt. He returned to play Eastern Michigan one month later, but after going 11-for-15 for 115 yards, his season ended for a team that was spiraling and en route to losing four of its last five games.

His return to NIU answers a major question mark at quarterback for a run-heavy offense, but if he's successful at moving the sticks, the BC defense is going to struggle in coverage against the run. The defensive backfield will need to stop the pass, which in turn will force NIU to rely on its run, which in turn will enable BC's defense to cheat up and stack the box against the offensive line and its backs.

Should we overreact to something that happens in Week One?

Yes, absolutely. I'm all for it. Every missed pass is the end of the world. Every great tackle is a Heisman candidacy. Let's get weird. Whatever happens in the first week of the season absolutely is going to dictate the rest of the fall.

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Meteorology 101

Summer in New England felt entirely too weird this year. Ninety degree days in July led to massive rain storms throughout August, and everything timed perfectly to prevent me from actually cleaning the yard or cutting the grass with any regularity… At least that's what I told my wife when she asked why the grass and weeds crept up through our fence.

The heat and humidity have leveled off lately, and recent nights dipped into the 50s with warmer temperatures basking our lives in the perfect late summer sunshine, which is why Saturday lines up perfectly for an amazing day at Alumni Stadium. Skies are expected to remain mostly sunny, and the high-70s and medium humidity adds just enough to enjoy the outdoors for an extra weekend.

Everything is heading north of 80 later in the holiday weekend, but shorts, sunglasses, hats, and happiness are coming to Chestnut Hill on Saturday. Pack the sunscreen, bring the kids, and enjoy the conditions before they're gone for the winter.

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BC-NIU X Factor

Boston College's Offensive Line

I went back over last year's previews and tried to count the number of times that I mentioned the lack of continuity on the offensive line, but I honestly lost count because it was a running theme for virtually the entire season. The only comparison I had was the 2004 New England Patriots, but even that wasn't fair because that team was a bunch of professional athletes capable of moving Troy Brown to defensive back alongside Earthwind Moreland and Randall Gay.

It's entirely different for a bunch of professional athletes in their 20s and 30s to change their position or mentality on short notice, and BC's offensive line last year moved defensive linemen and Cinderella walk-on stories into a number of different positions out of sheer necessity. The two-deep depth chart featured starters as backups at other spots, and it was obvious how an injury to a center or guard forced someone else to move and another backup to step into a domino effect.

The two-deep released this week tells a very different story. Potential first rounder Christian Mahogany, for one, is back after he missed last season in its entirety. Ozzy Trapilo slots next to him as the right side tackle anchor, while the blind side features Virginia transfer Logan Taylor and a graduate transfer in Canadian import Kyle Hergel.

Hergel looks like the angriest guy in the room, and searching quickly for his highlights reveals a nasty, Logan Mankins-type player who enjoys finishing his contact as a blocker. He destroyed defensive linemen and linebackers in his previous stops at North Dakota and Texas State, and his addition sent shockwaves through the transfer portal for a unit that already featured six-foot, seven-inch Jack Conley as a returning starter. Every position has at least two players with experience, but the main question remains centered on their cohesion within the scheme.

All signs indicate they'll be juuuuuust fine, especially with returning position coach Matt Applebaum, but the first quarter goes a long way to adding proof. The challenge is issued, and if the offensive line answers the bell, NIU is in for some seriously tough sledding.

Last note: remember how the offensive line had that bright, affable personality? Alec Lindstrom, Ben Petrula, Tyler Vrabel, Zion Johnson…they all felt like they were beasts on the field and teddy bears off of it. This offensive line kind of feels like it's going to blocking sled its way through traffic on the highway. There's a new level of determination and anger, and I'm really excited to see what happens this weekend.

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Around College Football

This offseason felt like a weird trip into the upside down after conference realignment reared its ugly head, but it'll be great to simply watch football after the subplots tipped the world on its head during the spring and summer months. We can stop - at least temporarily - talking about which teams are leaving which leagues and how conferences survive or die by instead putting the conversation on the field where it truly belongs.

There is a natural tendency to discuss the subplots to the Big Ten, the ACC, the SEC, the Big 12, and the Pac-12 during every pregame and postgame, but this weekend features hours and days of super-loaded matchups. The Thursday night start to the season rolls right into Friday, Saturday and beyond, and the Labor Day start once again commandeers everyone's attention while the NFL readies for its appearance on center stage.

Friday night, for example, sends Louisville to Georgia Tech for an ACC opener, while Miami heads to Miami for a non-conference game (you get to guess which Miami is the home team here)*. There's an 11 p.m. kickoff at Hawaii - a staple for those of us who can't get enough football - that turns right around into the standard noon kicks on Saturday.

In the ACC, Virginia heads to Rocky Top to play No. 12 Tennessee at noon on national television on Saturday, and No. 21 North Carolina plays South Carolina in Charlotte later on at 7:30 p.m. The ACC Network tripleheader kicks off with BC before continuing with Pittsburgh's game against Wofford and ending with Virginia Tech's game against Old Dominion, a matchup that's far from a guaranteed win for the Hokies.

All of this leads to Sunday's titanic matchup between No. 8 Florida State and No. 5 LSU at the Camping World Kickoff in Orlando, and No. 9 CLemson starts its season at Duke on Monday night on ESPN.

Nationally speaking, Colorado kicks off the Deion Sanders era on Saturday at No. 17 TCU, and No. 10 Washington hosts Boise State in the mid-afternoon before Coastal Carolina, heads to the Rose Bowl to play UCLA at 10:30 p.m.

On the local radar, UMass heads to Auburn one week after it beat New Mexico State during a frenetic fourth quarter. Army is at Louisiana-Monroe, and Holy Cross, BC's opponent next week, hosts Merrimack in its season opener at Fitton Field.

*Miami (OH) is in Florida to play the Hurricanes, by the way.

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Dan's Non-Sports Observation of the Week

Football season technically began at the beginning of August, but I spent my last weekend before kickoff visiting Santa's Village with my family and my in-laws while staying in the northern reaches of New Hampshire.

By itself, that statement probably doesn't mean much to anyone, but for a guy whose life centered around Boston and Cape Cod, traveling north was a weird, out-of-body experience. I'd only been to the Lake Winnipesaukee area twice - both for weddings - and this was my first trip to the northern New England area since I drove to Montreal with my then-girlfriend for her birthday (and even then, the drive was mostly through Vermont).

I have no problem admitting that I had some culture shock, and my wife got really annoyed at me for counting mile markers through Franconia Notch. She got really angry at me when I actively tried to get on her nerves because she was driving and both kids were asleep in the back of the car. I don't passenge well, I guess.

It was the first time our family went away as a unit of four, and despite Dad not being a huge amusement park guy, it was a smashing success. My older daughter completely passed out in the stroller to the degree that she rolled over and curled into a nap, and my younger daughter - all 10 months - never whined or cried once despite being strapped into a stroller for the majority of the trip. We got the full family picture, and my wife captured video of me hurtling down the side of a hill in an inner tube.

The kicker, though, was a completely unscripted moment on the ride home. I drove home, and my wife agreed to let me listen to nothing but Springsteen for the full three hour commute. I missed seeing Bruce and the E Street Band at Gillette Stadium because of this trip, but somewhere in New Hampshire, my daughter fist pumped to Born In The USA. She was in the car seat, but she looked directly at me in the rearview mirror, curled her little hand into a ball, and started pounding the air like there was no tomorrow.

I'm still probably not an amusement park guy, but there's no amount of money in the world that can recreate the first time your kid dances to your music. She and I listen to The Rising more than the average daddy and daughter, and for one brief moment, I was taken back to the first time that I jammed out with my dad to the Rolling Stones.

Week One and I'm already getting sappy. I'm not sorry.

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Pregame Quote and Prediction

God gets you to the plate, but once you're there, you're on your own. -Ted Williams

The baseball player in me still loves this quote for a host of reasons, but it's absolutely true for a team approaching the first game of its redemptive season. A look down the depth chart of this Boston College team feels like a major jump forward, and the God-given talent on both sides of the ball extends well beyond the starting units. Each position runs two to three people deep, and well-placed transfers added the right competition to training camp.

There are elements, though, that are unproven. BC has to win a game at home to kick off its season. Northern Illinois is a proven MAC commodity and stands solidly in front of any conversation about next week's matchup against Holy Cross. As always, game day is a crossroads, and it's up to the players and coaches to grab their own direction.

Boston College and Northern Illinois kick off on Saturday at 12 p.m. from Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Television coverage is available through the ACC Network with online streaming through the ESPN family of Internet and mobile apps. Radio broadcast is also available through the BC Learfield IMG Sports Network, which is on local radio in Boston via WEEI 93.7 FM with satellite options available via Sirius XM channels 137 and 193 and app streaming through the Varsity Network.

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Players Mentioned

Jack Conley

Zay Flowers

Kyle Hergel

Christian Mahogany

Emmett Morehead

Ryan O'Keefe

Logan Taylor

Ozzy Trapilo