Third Down a Point of Emphasis for BC in 2021
Andy BackstromStaff Writer
Boston College converted 44.2% of its third downs last season, a better clip than any BC team in the past decade and good for 36th nationally.
But not good enough for second-year head coach Jeff Hafley.
“Good starting point, but we’ll get better,” Hafley said during last week’s ACC Kickoff. “I think we found ourselves behind the sticks a little too much.”
That was, in part, because of the Eagles’ rushing attack, which plummeted from eighth nationally in 2019 to 118th last fall. BC switched to a zone-run scheme, and it resulted in a drastic change up front as well as serious growing pains. The Eagles averaged 3.37 and 3.29 yards per rush on first and second down, respectively.
Still, piloted by Phil Jurkovec, BC’s passing offense often kept drives alive in 3rd-and-long situations. When the Eagles went to the air on 3rd-and-7 or longer, they moved the sticks 37.5% of the time. Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.’s pro-style system was conducive to five- and seven-step dropbacks that enabled Jurkovec to drive the ball downfield.
“He’s had so much experience in both college and the NFL,” Jurkovec said of Cignetti at ACC Kickoff. “And so what he brings to us is NFL scheme—really NFL style, which I think makes us a little bit different than every other team in the ACC.”
It’s a pivot from the 12-personnel-dependent, run-oriented offenses of the Steve Addazio days, and, ironically, it’s allowed BC to control the clock better. The Eagles adopted a fast-paced rushing attack in the latter years of Addazio’s tenure, and it tanked their time of possession. In 2018 and 2019, for instance, BC ranked 111th and 110th nationally in that category.
Last year, on the other hand, the Eagles clocked out 42nd in time of possession. They held onto the ball, on average, for just over 31 minutes of play. Notably, BC had a pair of 7:30-plus drives at Clemson and a 5:59 series versus Notre Dame. Hafley was strategic about limiting opponents’ possessions, essentially playing defense with his offense.
Of course, what made that possible was the Eagles’ ability to sustain drives. Even though BC wasn’t picking up chunk yardage on the ground—the team registered eight 20-plus-yard rushes all season—it was doing just enough to roll seconds off the scoreboard. Hafley sees greater potential for that area of the Eagles’ offense in 2021.
“We’re going to run the ball better this year,” he said. “I think we’ll have more of an identity [of] who we are running the football. I think that’s what spring ball was all about.”
Hafley hinted that we’ll see a bigger dosage of quarterback-designed runs for Jurkovec, especially in 3rd-and-medium and 3rd-and-short situations.
The 42-year-old head coach added that BC was pretty vanilla last year, on both sides of the ball. Wrinkles on the defense will help the Eagles get off the field on third down, too.
BC was average when it came to third-down defense in 2020. The Eagles finished 65th nationally and eighth in the ACC, allowing opponents to convert 40.4% of their third downs.
Against top-15 opponents, though, it was 50-50 whether or not BC came up with a stop. The likes of North Carolina, Clemson and Notre Dame converted 18-of-36 third downs versus BC last year. Hafley’s crew lost those games by a combined 24 points.
Aside from shoring up BC’s red zone defense—opponents scored 85.7% of the time when reaching the 20—making stops on third down is the biggest key for the Eagles to improve their scoring differential (-6 in 2020) this fall.
“I think Coach [Tem] Lukabu is a really good defensive coach and a great coordinator, and we’ve got a great staff,” Hafley said. “I think you’re going to see some new things on defense that will help us do that.”
