Defensive Awakening

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis is the prototype of the new-school, dual-threat quarterback. He was only a three-star recruit out of high school, but the former Louisville Cardinal became a sensation for the Seminoles shortly after transferring in the 2018-19 offseason. He wasn't necessarily the most highly-touted name in the portal, but his ascension to Heisman Trophy consideration came because he developed an old-school passer's skill-set before merging it into his lethal speed and quickness.

He entered last Saturday as one of the best quarterbacks in college football, but his performance against Boston College ran into the Eagles' brick wall defensive effort. His offense eviscerated both LSU and Southern Mississippi in its first two games but found itself trapped by the execution of a complex scheme, to which BC's defense now has a jump-off point with the season gearing up for its main stride.

"We lost the game," head coach Jeff Hafley said, "and when you turn on the film, [the team] was really disappointed because there were a lot of things that we left out there. But at the same time, I think they have some confidence. They just played one of the best teams in the country toe-to-toe, and a lot of our guys still believe that we should have won that game. Obviously we didn't and it's on us, and there are no excuses for that. But I feel like they grew in confidence; from 11 minutes left in the third quarter [until the end of the game], we outscored them 19-0. They'd been wearing people out in the fourth quarter, and our guys didn't quit. They got better."

Hafley's defense threw wrinkles at Florida State by daring the Seminoles to punch in the center of the proverbial ring. He used a calculated gamble against wide receivers with incredible size, and the scheme itself confused the offensive line with a variety of different looks at the point of attack. The personnel executing that scheme changed based on the down and distance, but it continually kept BC's defense one step ahead of the No. 3 team in the nation as the fourth quarter drew into focus.

Defensive backs played into the receivers with a physicality that hadn't been used in either of the first two games, but jamming them at the line of scrimmage enabled the defensive line to penetrate enough against Travis. The disruptive mentality played fast but didn't need to blitz him to the ground since the goal was to force throws into bad spots on routes that were turned upside down.

"I thought we had a great defense," Hafley said. "A week ago, our defensive line was not locked into caging the quarterback and keeping him in the pocket. Travis, in my opinion, the guy is on all the Heisman Trophy lists, so you have to be smart. We had to cage him, we had to pressure, and we had to keep him contained, and then we had to get our hands on those big wideouts. So when we pressured, we dropped people [off the line]. There was one play where Kwan [Williams] broke up a pass [because] we dropped our nose tackle. So we threw a lot of different stuff at him, but ultimately, our players executed the play."

Williams is a 311-pound nose tackle, but dropping him into coverage was enough to alter Florida State's ability to block the correct personnel. The screen pass that resulted in BC's scoop-and-score, for example, had zero convoy in front of running back Lawrence Toafili because the offensive line stayed inside the formation to block the defense. Defensive back Khari Johnson was the only player to pressure the backfield, and his positioning forced Travis to loft the throw.

Linebacker Vinny DePalma was already moving towards the middle to cover the second running back, but Cole Batson and John Pupel shifted down from the safety position to create a lane for Elijah Jones, who was in tight coverage against Keon Coleman. He immediately sprinted towards the ball and smashed it free, and Johnson's ensuing run brought the Eagles within a nine-point deficit.

"Our game plan was to be physical and aggressive," Johnson said. "Coach Hafley's speeches lately have been lighting a fire under the whole team and how we deserve to be in those types of games. The game plan on third down was to be aggressive, and we tried to impose ourselves.

"It felt pretty good," said the Boston native with a smile when asked about that play. "It felt great to be back home at this prestigious school that I'd wanted to go to since I was a little kid. Being able to turn up the crowd for a little bit was great. I'm a Bostonian. I loved it."

The entire play showcased exactly what happens when Boston College plays together with synergy and cohesion. The Jordan Travis that threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns against LSU never materialized in the second half of the Southern Miss. game because it wasn't needed, but BC dipped his numbers to 222 yards on 15-of-24 passing while limiting him after he sustained an upper body injury near the end of the second quarter.

He did manage to produce plays, particularly at the start of the third, but BC neutralized Johnny Wilson after his 44-yard breakaway catch. Travis had previously targeted him and his six-foot, seven-inch frame for two receptions on FSU's first drive, but the physical toll took its toll when BC shut him down for one catch on the Seminoles' penultimate drive.

The running game, meanwhile, averaged less than four yards per carry one week after it gained 306 yards against the Golden Eagles. Trey Benson had nowhere to go, and Toafili failed to open opportunities as the complementary back in the shotgun-style, West Coast, dual-threat offense. On the rare occasion when the hole did open, Kam Arnold quickly shut it with a menacing tackle that blew up the running game as quickly as it started.

"It all depends on how big the gap is," Hafley said. "If you're shooting the A-gap and it's a small window, you shoot it and you run through as fast as you can. Sometimes when there's a lot of space, you have to take one side away and force [the runner] to your help because there's too much room to go straight, but if there's a small gap, man, go run through it and put your shoulder pad through his sternum."

Arnold did exactly that, and he finished a game-high nine tackles while registering seven solo takedowns. A converted safety, the fast pace was well-suited to his ability, but he blossomed in coverage against the running backs and paired perfectly with DePalma and Pupel in the safety spot. And while BC didn't win the game, it set a tone for how the Eagles are preparing for their next game against Louisville while keeping an eye towards their future.

"Kam played his best football since he's been here, in my opinion," Hafley said. "It wasn't just because of the numbers that he had. [FSU] has a big, strong, violent back, and there were a couple of times that Kam hit him that he went backwards. I was really proud of him, and I thought him and Vinny both played really hard. I thought our linebackers played really well in a very, very physical game. It wasn't just one guy. It was the linebacker, the safety, and there were multiple people on the ball carrier multiple times."

Boston College looks to build on this performance on Saturday when the Eagles head to Louisville to play the Cardinals. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. with television coverage available on the ACC Network and streaming available through ESPN's family of online and mobile app platforms.

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Players Mentioned

Kam Arnold

Cole Batson

Vinny DePalma

Khari Johnson

Elijah Jones

John Pupel

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