Jeff Hafley Hoping Boston College Fans Make It Hard On Clemson
Boston College hosts No. 5 Clemson this weekend in a primetime affair, with the Eagles looking for their first win over the Tigers since 2010.
It's also the first time Boston College (2-3, 1-2) has played Clemson (5-0, 3-0) at home since Jeff Hafley became head coach, as the previous two matchups were played in Death Valley. Hafley is hoping the environment inside the stadium can give the Eagle a true home-field advantage.
"To get the No. 5 team in the country coming in on the red bandana game on a nationally televised game on ABC, so expect it to be a great atmosphere," Hafley said. "Hopefully it's a little chilly, like a nice fall football game. But the fans were great last week. The students were great last week, so I'm expecting it to be even bigger this week."
"Get in early, be loud. Make it hard for them. I think it's a chance for students to show on national TV what I've been saying all along, I mean, who's better than them right now? And that's how I feel. They're awesome and we appreciate it. And now we get to go show it on national TV how good they are too and I think that'll be very helpful."
Boston College is coming off its biggest win of the season, as the Eagles beat Louisville 34-33 at home last weekend. It give the Eagles two wins in their past three games, and Hafley noted that the victory over the Cardinals gave his team a much-needed confidence boost.
"You'd like as a coach for the guys to come in each day and be the same, but that's not true," Hafley said. "They've got good confidence right now. They're having more fun. They're a little bit energized, and it was much needed for them."
If Boston College has any chance at pulling off the upset, that means having success against a Clemson defense coming off its most complete performance of the season. The Tigers held NC State to just 34 rushing yards in its 30-20 win over the Wolfpack.
"They're huge and long, their front seven is very impressive," Hafley said. "Their tackles are huge, their defensive ends have really good length, their linebackers are really good players, are fast, and then their safeties. They're a really good defense overall. They're well-coached. A new coordinator obviously, but he's done a really good job and really hasn't missed a beat. They're still one of the best defenses in the country, with some of the best players in the country. So we'll have our work cut out for us."
The Tigers will also be bringing a much-improved offense to Boston. Last season when the two teams met, Clemson was dealing with a multitude of injuries along the offensive line, as well as missing starting running back Will Shipley.
The resurgence on that side of the ball has been led by quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who is playing some of the best football of his career over the Tigers' 5-0 start. Clemson comes in averaging more than 40 points per game after averaging just 21.2 through the first five games a season ago.
"The quarterback is playing at a high level, he's been extremely efficient throwing the ball. And they're running him more, which he did against us last year. He ran the ball a lot against us last year. The running back did not play against us last year, Shipley, he's a really, really good player. Runs really hard and plays the game hard. Probably as well as anyone that I've seen this year on tape."
"Their offensive line now has experience from last year, they're doing a nice job. Tight ends athletic for wide receivers are big. They're big and long, make good, contested catches. I mean, look, it's a good football team. They're a Top 5 team, and they have really good players. Obviously, Dabo has done a really good job there and they have a really good staff. I don't think anyone could say any different if you watch them play."
Clemson is currently 20.5-point favorite, according to Fanduel.
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