The Eagles’ first home game is Saturday, September 26, at 3 pm PT. When the game — against Texas State — was initially announced, game time had been set for noon PT.
One might assume the change in time was to accommodate television. The game is to be televised on the ACC Regional Sports Network, made up of cable and local affiliate stations. Among the stations listed as carrying the game are:
AT&T Sportsnet Las Vegas
Fox Sports Prime Ticket
New England Sports Network Plus
The local/regional sports package on DirecTV, at least, carries Fox Sports Prime Ticket and New England Sports Network Plus. You can also go on the BC Athletics website to find other alternatives.
BC’s masked man, new coach Jeff Hafley, fronts the Eagles before their entrance onto the field.
Heck, maybe it was worth the wait.
Way back in December, BC announced it had hired a new football coach to replace Steve Addazio. Jeff Hafley, who had been co-defensive coordinator for Ohio State in 2019, arrived on the Heights with an extensive background in defensive coaching in both collegiate and professional football.
Excited anticipation ensued. A breath of fresh air in Chestnut Hill. Then, well, you know what happened. Lockdown, cancellation of winter and spring sports, closing the campus. Summer arrives and it appears the ACC will play football, but with an (almost) all-conference slate and delayed starts. Today, it started for BC.
The Eagles took the lead early, added to it, and defeated the Duke Blue Devils, 26-6, in a fanless Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C. San Diego Eagles mostly watched from home, as there was no official game watch locally.
New BC quarterback Phil Jurkovic, a transfer from (gulp) Notre Dame, was 17 of 23 passing, throwing for 300 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. The Eagles overall had 440 yards offense.
Tight end Hunter Long caught nine balls for 93 yards, but it Zay Flowers led in yards receiving, gaining 161 yards on five receptions, including a 61-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Junior Danny Longman was two-of-two in field goals, but missed one point-after.
Running backs David Bailey and Travis Levy combined for 117 yards rushing, with Levy running for 58 yards in one play and Bailey scoring a touchdown.
Duke (0-2) had been favored in the game, as it had already played a game, in which they performed somewhat decently against Notre Dame, beating the spread. The Blue Devils suffered five turnovers against BC.
Here are highlights of the game.
BC plays next Saturday against the only non-ACC team on the schedule, Texas State. UPDATE: Game time is 3 pm PT.
New football coach Jeff Hafley watched the 2019-20 Eagles get, as interim coach Rich Gunnell termed it, their “butts kicked” by #21 Cincinnati yesterday in the Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl. Final score 38-6. Hafley likely realized he had a lot of work ahead.
Scoring only on the return of a blocked field goal attempt when already down 24-0, BC gained 164 yards total offense, lowest total of the season. The Bearcats meanwhile amassed 459 yards, including 343 yards rushing. In attempting to gain a first down on 11 third-down opportunities, BC was unsuccessful each time.
The game featured a weird sense of deja vu. Last season, BC’s bowl game against Boise State was canceled because of lightning. Yesterday, the start of the game was delayed for 30 minutes because of lightning and then suspended for the same reason after only seven minutes and five seconds of play. The suspension lasted 90 minutes and, to the later dismay of some, the game resumed.
Star BC running back AJ Dillon had announced previously he was preparing for the NFL draft and did not play in the game.
The Eagles ran 47 plays in the game, compared to 91 for Cincinnati, and possessed the ball for 18 minutes, 31 seconds, less than half the 41:29 possession time for the Bearcats. Running back David Bailey ran eight times for 28 yards, while freshman running back Pat Garwo, playing in his third game of the season, gained 24 yards on four carries. Two Bearcats, including quarterback Desmond Ridder, each gained 105 yards on 21 carries.
BC quarterback Dennis Grosel was 8-17 for 87 yards.
The Eagles finished the season 6-7. While there may be an ACC opponent on the schedule to open the 2020 season, scheduled for September are Holy Cross (September 5), Ohio University (September 12), at Kansas (September 19), and Purdue (September 26).
