Boston College football suffered its first loss of the season, which may have been its best game so far, simply because now we can learn from it. After a couple of late wins to weak teams, it did not seem likely that Boston College would be able to compete against North Carolina on Saturday. However, BC came out fighting and gave a stronger North Carolina team a scare.
This was an encouraging performance from Boston College and suggests it will continue to compete in the more difficult games on its schedule throughout the remainder of the season. Let’s take a look at two positives from this game that can help the Eagles the rest of their season and one negative that could be detrimental.
Positive: The ability to bounce back
BC nearly lost to Texas State in an embarrassing game in which it needed to come back and beat the underdogs. After that, the high hopes for their season started to shrink, and not much was expected out of this weekend’s game. However, the fact BC rallied the embarrassment into motivation and came out to compete against North Carolina is a positive sign. UNC came out sloppy at the start of the game, and BC recognized that and took advantage. It’s important to note a lot of the reason BC stayed in the game was because North Carolina was rusty and beating itself, but it is important Boston College took advantage of this. The Eagles continued to play until the end of the fourth quarter like last week but also began the game as competitors.
Positive: Phil Jurkovec
Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec proved to be a talent that was not necessarily anticipated out of BC’s quarterback this season. In the last minute of the first half, he responded to UNC’s touchdown by completing five passes in a row, leading to a field goal. While this was not a go-ahead touchdown, it shows the kind of fight Jurkovec has, and he kept his team in the game. As his team rushed only 40 yards, Jurkovec stepped up and passed for 313 yards, completing 37 of 56. And, of course, he had that 69-yard drive to make it a two-point game in the fourth quarter. Jurkovec, a transfer from Notre Dame, has already seemed to step up as the on-field leader Boston College football needs this season.
Negative: the offensive line
It’s time for BC’s offensive line to step up and do its job. North Carolina sacked Jurkovec three times, as it was easily breaking through the weak offensive line BC has put up. In recent years, it has been praised as talented, and it was actually predicted to be strong this year, as it is made mostly of returners and strong recruits. Potentially, a new philosophy under head coach Jeff Hafley is what has weakened the offensive line. Hafley largely has experience as a defensive coordinator, so maybe he needs to start paying a little more attention to his offense. If the offensive line can’t be cleaned up, then Jurkovec will be unable to lead his team to victory.
I am a junior Communication major at Villanova University, with specializations in Journalism and Media Production. My Instagram is @bridgethyland_.