A Jersey Guy: BC mired in mediocrity-again?
It is an annual rite of passage when talking about Boston College teams.
Whatever praise and hope you have for the Eagles should be heaped upon them BEFORE the season starts.
This may sound like a harsh assessment for Coach Jeff Hafley, who is beginning his third season attempting to jump start the Eagles into a Top 25 zoom call.
But let's look at some numbers, dating back 10 seasons, which also includes three football coaches and four athletic directors.
An overall record of 58-64, which is well in the mediocre sphere of influence. No seasons in which the Eagles won more than 7 games.
No season in the Atlantic Coast Conference in which they finished above .500.
With the right support system, with the right administration and with the proper funding ANY program can climb out of almost any sink hole.
And there lies BC's problem.
There is almost NONE of that at The Heights, no matter what the powers that be may chirp.
What makes it worse and probably increasingly frustrating for Hafley, who we like (he is a Jersey guy) is that the administration simply doesn't care.
BC insists on fielding 31 teams which is the highest in the ACC, including baseball, which has seldom been a factor
BC does NOT fieldi a men's lacrosse team, which could probably be a national championship contender in the same manner as the BC women's lacrosse team, which has won a national championship.
In football and men's basketball, every penny spent has been squeezed out of an administration which tolerates rather than embraces sports.
As long as the revenue check (in the neighborhood of $35 million a year) keeps arrives from the ACC, there are no major scandals and the Eagles maintain their high graduation rate for athletes, performance and attendance are after thoughts.
BC has fallen in the worse possible category: irrelevance
There is little interest on campus, there is less in the city of Boston, media coverage has dwindled to the point where the two major papers, the Boston Globe and Boston Herald provide only sporadic coverage of the Eagles.
Very little of this Haflely's fault as he has battled injuries COVID and indifference in producing a 6-5 and 6-6 season.
The Eagles' will begin their season on Saturday with Rutgers, which has special significance for a variety of reasons, including the strong regard Rutgers coach Greg Schiano and Hafley, who worked for Schiano for a short period at Rutgers and in the NFL, have for each other.
It will be a pivotal game for both teams, almost bordering on an essential victory prevent an early crash and burn sequence in the upcoming season.
Since it is still the pre-season (for a few days) let's give the Eagles' the benefit of the doubt and pencil in a victory.
But going game by game over the next few months itis hard to project the Eagles breaking the 7 win barrier once again.
So this is truly time to say nice things about BC football.
Savor the moment or moment BC fans,
If the Eagle's beat Rutgers on Saturday they can keep their dreams viable for a perhaps a few more weeks.
But if they lose, the clouds will steadily increase.