Boston College Football Predictions For 2020 Season

The site has given all the in-depth analysis up to this point, now let's look at the season predictions from an insider's perspective.

It has been over six months since Boston College has played a game in any sport, and that all will change on Saturday. The Eagles kick off their 2020 season against the Duke Blue Devils (0-1) at noon in Durham, North Carolina. On this site we have given in-depth break downs of almost everyone on the roster (click here), giving the highs and lows, and roundtable discussions of the upcoming season. Today will be the season predictions. Many have asked what our actually predictions will be, and here they are. 

Four Predictions

* Don't be surprised if the season starts off sloppy. Watching college football yesterday, one underlying theme was the messiness of play, especially on offense. It took teams a bit of time before teams started to connect, but there were loads of games that were just messy from start to finish. Boston College could easily have that issue as well when they kickoff against a team who already has a game under their belt.

*The key to the offense will be the offensive line. We have mentioned it numerous times on the site, but it bears repeating, the offensive line is going to be very good. I predict the Boston College offense will click this year both through the air and on the ground. There will be stars developed this year, players like Hunter Long, Phil Jurkovec and Zay Flowers, but it all starts up front. The big guys are going to have a big year and it will help build everything else around them. 

* The defense will improve, but will still be middle of the road. Hopefully this will be the last time we have to talk about the 2019 defense, because it was one of the worst in recent BC history. Jeff Hafley coming to Boston College in itself should improve the defense, but he also brought along three defensive transfers, and should be able to coach up the players they have. Don't expect BC to go from 120th to 10th overnight, but a good showing and expectation around the 50th percentile is a reasonable and expected end result. 

*Jeff Hafley's in game coaching will be a big step up from Addazio's. One of the biggest question marks going into this season has to be how first time head coach Jeff Hafley handles those big in game moments. To this point in his career he has only dealt with the defenses, but now the entire game is his to manage. He will have his lieutenant Frank Cignetti Jr. to help with the offense, but how will Hafley handle a 4th and 1 from the opposing 32 yard line, or what will his two minute drill philosophy be? Former head coach Steve Addazio was inconsistent with his decision making, vacillating between aggressive or conservative throughout the game. This is just a prediction and based on what he has said at press conference, but expect Hafley to be more consistent and put BC in better position to win closer games down the stretch. 

Game by Game Prediction:

@ Duke (9/19): Win
vs. Texas State (9/26): Win
vs. UNC (10/3): Loss
vs. Pitt (10/10): Win
@ VT (10/17): Loss
vs. GT (10/24): Win
@ Clemson (10/31): Loss
@ Cuse (11/7): Win
vs. ND (11/14): Loss
Bye
vs. L'Ville (11/28): Win
@ UVA (12/5): Win

Season Projected W/L: 7-4
(The Louisville and UNC game I've cycled back and forth between for weeks, I'm going to go with a BC win over UL now because of how late in the season the game comes)

Offensive MVP: David Bailey

Defensive MVP: Max Richardson

Surprise of the Year: Mike Palmer

Do you agree or disagree with my assessment? Leave your projections in the comment section. 

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