Three Stars: Boston College vs. Virginia Tech
The Boston College Eagles shattered their four-game losing streak with a dominating win over the Virginia Tech Hokies on Red Bandanna Night. Boosted by a last-minute addition of quarterback Phil Jurkovec, the Eagles played their most complete game since the Week 1 defeat of Colgate. With Jurkovec back in the lineup, the Hokies’ defense had to respect the deep passing game. Even so, Jurkovec still hit Zay Flowers and Jaelen Gill on multiple deep balls. This vertical aspect of the passing game opened up the run game for Patrick Garwo and Alec Sinkfield; furthermore, Jurkovec added on some timely scrambles and designed runs of his own.
But the defense also deserves massive amounts of credit for BC’s victory. Even though Virginia Tech lost their #1 wide receiver, their starting quarterback, and their center throughout the game, the Eagles defense was absolutely dominant for 60 minutes. By the box score, they let up a good amount of rushing yards. But they held the Hokies to only three points, and a decent amount of those rushing yards came when BC wanted the Hokies to run. The secondary was lights out, and Vinny DePalma put together a stellar performance in relief of IGM.
It was an excellent win for the Eagles from kickoff to the final kneel-down. Everything seemed to click on both sides of the ball. Additionally, the magic of Red Bandanna Night was entirely with Boston College. After an interception, they forced a fumble and recovered it in the red zone, they won the penalty and turnover battle, and the Alumni Stadium crowd rocked Chesnut Hill for hours. But let’s get into which players showed out tonight and contributed significantly towards BC’s win.
Third Star - Christian Mahogany (team stats): 234 rushing yards, 23 first downs, 6-13 third-down conversions, 5.2 yards per play, 0 sacks.
Typically, I refrain from selecting offensive linemen from my Stars list. They don’t have box score stats, so it isn’t easy to quantify their performance. Additionally, they are hard to evaluate in the absence of all-22 film. But even from the broadcast film alone, you could tell that Christian Mahogany had one of the best games of his career on Friday night. As the youngest member of BC’s wizened offensive line, Mahogany typically does not get the recognition that players like Zion Johnson or Alec Lindstrom do. But amidst a 2022 season chock full of excellent performances, Mahogany performed his piece de resistance against the Hokies.
In Boston College’s zone-blocking scheme, the guards are asked to combo block with the centers and tackles. This means that they have to engage with a defensive lineman off the snap, pass him off to the other lineman, climb to the second level, and take out a linebacker. Throughout the night, Mahogany laid the wood to defensive linemen, clearing out wide lanes for the running backs while climbing to the linebackers and removing them from the run fit. Even on obvious running downs, Mahogany opened wide alleys for BC’s running backs to charge through.
Mahogany was also excellent as a pass blocker. BC did not drop back to pass very much. But when they did, he was rock-solid in pass protection. Frankly, the entire offensive line took their game to another level as pass blockers in this game. But even as the younger statesmen among seniors and graduate students, Mahogany looked like the most dominant member of the line. With Zion Johnson, Alec Lindstrom, and Ben Petrula off to the NFL next year, BC fans should not be worried about the state of their offensive line with Mahogany returning, alongside players like Ozzy Trapilo and Drew Kendall.
Second Star - Secondary: 73 passing yards allowed, 4 passes broken up, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovered, 3 - 11 on third down
I initially wanted to highlight only one player, but the entire unit put together a masterpiece of a game. Virginia Tech could not throw the ball all night because the secondary locked the Hokie receivers down. Even if Braxton Burmeister hadn’t gotten hurt, I still think this BC defense was playing at a completely different level.
The big-name from Friday night was Josh DeBerry. With Brandon Sebastian still out, DeBerry earned the distinction as BC’s top corner. And he did not disappoint. DeBerry followed Tayvion Robinson for most of the night but filled a variety of roles for the Eagles’ defense. But he made plays all over the field. He broke up two passes in coverage where he absolutely blanketed his receiver. DeBerry also made some critical tackles for losses in run defense, highlighted by a great track-down on a jet sweep. Finally, he made a crucial sack on third down to end a Hokies’ drive.
The great plays on the back-end do not stop there. Elijah Jones played one of the best games of his career, repeatedly breaking up passes and preventing Virginia Tech’s receivers from getting any separation. Jaiden Woodbey made some plays well, including breaking up a pass on a blitz and recording some key tackles. Finally, Mike Palmer, the target of some ridicule from the BC fanbase (including yours truly), should have had a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown if not for a referee’s mistake. But Palmer played well throughout the game in relief of Jason Maitre. He did not let up any big plays and made some crucial tackles when Virginia Tech ball carriers broke through into the second level of the defense.
First Star - Phil Jurkovec: 7 completions, 13 attempts (54%), 113 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT; 9 carries, 65 yards (7.2 YPC), 1 TD
Especially if you only look at his passing stats, this may seem like a surprise appearance for Phil Jurkovec. But playing in this game was a surprise appearance of its own for Jurkovec. Most assumed Jurkovec would be out for the season after suffering a broken bone in his hand/wrist in Week 2 against UMass. But smoke continued to accumulate throughout the week regarding Jurkovec possibly returning against the Hokies. Once the announcement hit the Twitterverse, you could tell that the Eagles were playing with a completely different energy.
As indicated by his statistics, Jurkovec struggled in his return to the lineup. It seemed clear that he was not back to 100% health regarding his throwing hand. Of his 13 attempts, a handful seemed to not reach their intended receiver with the appropriate timing or velocity. But he hit Zay Flowers and Jaelen Gill on multiple deep throws. Even without those completions, it was clear that Jurkovec’s presence in the lineup opened up the Eagles’ offense. As the defense had to respect the possibility of Jurkovec throwing deep, they pulled defenders out of the box, allowing BC’s running game to flourish.
Another aspect of BC’s offense that returned this week was the QB run game. On both designed and scramble attempts, Jurkovec picked up key yardage and first downs with his legs. Thanks to his incredible arm, Jurkovec’s athleticism, and his ability to pick up yards with his legs remain somewhat underrated. On several occasions, Jurkovec surveyed the defense with a clean pocket and found no open receivers, leaving him with the option to run and gain yards on the ground.
The final variable and reason for Jurkovec earning the First Star is the confidence and swagger that Jurkovec instilled in the entire team. Obviously, momentum is extremely difficult, arguably impossible, to quantify. But with Jurkovec back under center, it seemed readily apparent that Boston College’s players on offense and defense just seemed to be playing with a different attitude. Specifically, on offense, the pass blocking was immaculate, as Jurkovec was never sacked and rarely pressured. The receivers made multiple contested catches for huge gains. Jurkovec himself brought a different attitude to the Eagles’ offense. He ran through numerous defenders to pick up critical first downs throughout the game. Jurkovec also put his body on the line despite his injury, diving for a key fumble recovery and getting in the face of Virginia Tech linebacker Dax Hollifield after he shoved Jurkovec out of bounds and gave a late push to head coach Jeff Hafley. Overall, it was fantastic to see Jurkovec back in the lineup, and his return could provide BC with new life during the home stretch of their season.
