Hafley Isn’t Hung up on ACC-SEC Matchup Talk
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Staff Writer
Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday that Boston College will be a “tremendous test” and that BC head coach Jeff Hafley has “done a tremendous job” in Chestnut Hill, but he also said that, if he had his pick, he’d rather have a non-conference game against a regional rival.
“That would be maybe a little bit more exciting for recruits to watch,” Drinkwitz said, per ABC17 News. “From a TV perspective or maybe we’re playing in front of your family. I don’t know the last time Missouri signed a kid from the great state of Massachusetts.”
Hafley, on the other hand, had a different message Tuesday: He doesn’t care who the Eagles play or what conference their opponents are part of.
“Missouri’s a good team,” Hafley said. “They’re really well coached. They’re very talented. It doesn’t matter what conference they play in to us. People will make it a big deal. It’s just not how I handle things. And no disrespect to the SEC. But we’re not going to talk about that.”
Saturday will mark the first time an SEC opponent has traveled to Alumni Stadium since Tennessee in 1987. BC hasn’t played an SEC opponent since the Eagles lost to Vanderbilt, 16-14, in the 2008 Music City Bowl. BC is 13-19-1 all-time against SEC opponents but has never met Missouri.
The teams agreed to play a home-and-home series in 2016. BC will play the Tigers on the road on Sept. 14, 2024.
Hafley doesn’t focus on the opponent more than his own team. When BC bussed to play UMass two weeks ago, he wasn’t playing up the Massachusetts pride card. This time around, he isn’t pulling out the ACC-SEC storyline. He’s dialed in on the Eagles and what they have to do to improve to 4-0.
BC has had a cakewalk the first three weeks of the season: an opener against FCS Colgate and games against UMass and Temple, who are a combined 1-5 and both rank in the bottom 10 of the FBS in scoring defense. But that hasn’t changed Hafley’s approach, and that’s one of the reasons why the Eagles, albeit largely thanks to a light schedule, are one of two undefeated teams in the ACC.
“If we treat this game any differently than we treated the last three games, then I’m a bad head coach,” Hafley said. “That’s my job is to make sure we approach every game and respect every opponent and do the best we can Monday through Friday. And, if not, then I’m not doing my job.”
Hafley continued: “And that's why I don't take any of those wins that we just had for granted. Because if you look around college football right now, people are losing games that, on paper, they're not supposed to lose, but you don't play on paper. It's hard to win. It's hard to beat anyone. It's hard to win three in a row. It's hard to win two on the road. I mean, we just went back-to-back on the road and won, and I don't care who it's against.”
The ACC is just 13-10 against non-conference FBS opponents this year. Duke lost to Charlotte. Georgia Tech lost to Northern Illinois. Florida State lost to Jacksonville State. Pittsburgh lost to Western Michigan.
But BC is still unscathed. And Hafley wants to keep it that way.
While he doesn’t give much thought to his opponent’s conference affiliation and record, he does care about being at home and making the most of that opportunity.
Like he did in Week 1, Hafley used his Tuesday press conference as a chance to rally the students, a group that comfortably filled six sections of Alumni against Colgate.
“Come early, tailgate early,” Hafley said. “If you don't want to wake up early, then don't go to bed. Just come out right from the night before and be out there and be loud because we need you, and we felt you last time. And we need you again.”
