BC Picked to Finish 13th in 2020 ACC Preseason Poll
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
Since Jeff Hafley took over as head coach, there’s been more optimism surrounding Boston College football than there had been for the greater portion of the past decade. That hasn’t translated to lofty expectations from the national outlets, though. Or the ACC media.
The Eagles were picked by ACC media members to finish the 2020 season 13th in the conference’s standings, in front of just two teams: Syracuse and Georgia Tech.
Once again, national runner-up Clemson headlined the poll, followed by Notre Dame, trendy ACC title pick UNC, and Louisville. Here’s the complete voting breakdown:
1. Clemson (132 first-place votes; 2,008 total votes)
2. Notre Dame (2; 1,824)
3. UNC (1,682 total votes)
4. Louisville (1,434)
5. Virginia Tech (1,318)
6. Miami (1,280)
7. Florida State (1,177)
8. Pittsburgh (1,132)
9. UVA (994)
10. Wake Forest (659)
11. N.C. State (634)
12. Duke (618)
13. BC (532)
14. Syracuse (449)
15. Georgia Tech (339)
Because of the COVID-19 adjusted 10-plus-one schedule model, the ACC will consist of one big division this year, hence the 15-team preseason ranking. Each of the previous three years, BC was predicted to round out the year fourth or worse in the Atlantic Division but produced three consecutive seasons with a 4-4 record in league play.
Following Tuesday’s practice, Hafley was asked about the underwhelming projections for BC. He didn’t dodge the question. Rather, he acknowledged the seemingly pessimistic consensus and touched on the new-look Eagles’ approach to handling the outside noise.
“I’m not going to say that you just ignore it,” he said. “You definitely see it, and that’s what people think we’re going to finish: last in the ACC. … Some people don’t think we’ll win one game. So we’ll do our best to prove them wrong.”
Hafley said that he hadn’t addressed the projections with his players, however, he said that “there will be a time and place for all that.” For now, he is focused on making his team better with a bonus week of preparation, leading up to BC’s Week 1 Bye.
Despite the meager projections, the rookie head coach certainly has a lot of talent to work with, including right tackle Ben Petrula and left guard Zion Johnson—both of whom were named to the 2020 All-ACC Preseason Team.
BC was one of eight ACC teams to have at least two players chosen for the preseason squad.
It marks the second year in a row that Petrula has landed on the All-ACC Preseason Team. Petrula and Johnson received All-ACC Second-Team honors for their performance during the 2019 season.
Petrula began his Eagles career filling in for then-starting center Jon Baker back in 2017 before settling in at the right tackle position in 2018. He’s been a mainstay in the trenches for BC. Johnson, on the other hand, came over from Davidson last year and, although he started just seven games, played 90% of the snaps at left guard, while earning the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week award on three separate occasions.
Unsurprisingly, Clemson had the most players on the All-ACC Preseason Team with five selections. Trevor Lawrence led the ACC Preseason Player of the Year voting, and it wasn’t particularly close. The highly-touted gunslinger received 100 votes for the award. Tigers running back Travis Etienne was a distant second with 30 votes. Four other players nabbed a single vote: QB Sam Howell (UNC), LB Chazz Surratt (UNC), QB Ian Book (Notre Dame), and DE Carlos Basham, Jr. (Wake Forest).
Fifth-year Eagles linebacker Max Richardson, who was tied for the eighth-most solo tackles (72) in the country last season, wasn’t one of the three linebackers selected for the All-ACC Preseason Team. That said, he emphasized earlier this week that the best talents—and teams—know how to turn projections and snubs into fuel for self-motivation.
“The great players always use little mental notes and ticks to get them going,” Richardson said on Tuesday. “So I think that’s something we try to do as a team as well.”
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
Since Jeff Hafley took over as head coach, there’s been more optimism surrounding Boston College football than there had been for the greater portion of the past decade. That hasn’t translated to lofty expectations from the national outlets, though. Or the ACC media.
The Eagles were picked by ACC media members to finish the 2020 season 13th in the conference’s standings, in front of just two teams: Syracuse and Georgia Tech.
Once again, national runner-up Clemson headlined the poll, followed by Notre Dame, trendy ACC title pick UNC, and Louisville. Here’s the complete voting breakdown:
1. Clemson (132 first-place votes; 2,008 total votes)
2. Notre Dame (2; 1,824)
3. UNC (1,682 total votes)
4. Louisville (1,434)
5. Virginia Tech (1,318)
6. Miami (1,280)
7. Florida State (1,177)
8. Pittsburgh (1,132)
9. UVA (994)
10. Wake Forest (659)
11. N.C. State (634)
12. Duke (618)
13. BC (532)
14. Syracuse (449)
15. Georgia Tech (339)
Because of the COVID-19 adjusted 10-plus-one schedule model, the ACC will consist of one big division this year, hence the 15-team preseason ranking. Each of the previous three years, BC was predicted to round out the year fourth or worse in the Atlantic Division but produced three consecutive seasons with a 4-4 record in league play.
Following Tuesday’s practice, Hafley was asked about the underwhelming projections for BC. He didn’t dodge the question. Rather, he acknowledged the seemingly pessimistic consensus and touched on the new-look Eagles’ approach to handling the outside noise.
“I’m not going to say that you just ignore it,” he said. “You definitely see it, and that’s what people think we’re going to finish: last in the ACC. … Some people don’t think we’ll win one game. So we’ll do our best to prove them wrong.”
Hafley said that he hadn’t addressed the projections with his players, however, he said that “there will be a time and place for all that.” For now, he is focused on making his team better with a bonus week of preparation, leading up to BC’s Week 1 Bye.
Despite the meager projections, the rookie head coach certainly has a lot of talent to work with, including right tackle Ben Petrula and left guard Zion Johnson—both of whom were named to the 2020 All-ACC Preseason Team.
BC was one of eight ACC teams to have at least two players chosen for the preseason squad.
It marks the second year in a row that Petrula has landed on the All-ACC Preseason Team. Petrula and Johnson received All-ACC Second-Team honors for their performance during the 2019 season.
Petrula began his Eagles career filling in for then-starting center Jon Baker back in 2017 before settling in at the right tackle position in 2018. He’s been a mainstay in the trenches for BC. Johnson, on the other hand, came over from Davidson last year and, although he started just seven games, played 90% of the snaps at left guard, while earning the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week award on three separate occasions.
Unsurprisingly, Clemson had the most players on the All-ACC Preseason Team with five selections. Trevor Lawrence led the ACC Preseason Player of the Year voting, and it wasn’t particularly close. The highly-touted gunslinger received 100 votes for the award. Tigers running back Travis Etienne was a distant second with 30 votes. Four other players nabbed a single vote: QB Sam Howell (UNC), LB Chazz Surratt (UNC), QB Ian Book (Notre Dame), and DE Carlos Basham, Jr. (Wake Forest).
Fifth-year Eagles linebacker Max Richardson, who was tied for the eighth-most solo tackles (72) in the country last season, wasn’t one of the three linebackers selected for the All-ACC Preseason Team. That said, he emphasized earlier this week that the best talents—and teams—know how to turn projections and snubs into fuel for self-motivation.
“The great players always use little mental notes and ticks to get them going,” Richardson said on Tuesday. “So I think that’s something we try to do as a team as well.”
