Boston College HC Jeff Hafley Says Clemson Offense Just 'Inches Away'
Even without starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec, head coach Jeff Hafley has his Boston College team off to an unbeaten start.
Jurkovec was injured in the Eagles (4-0) Week 2 win over UMass and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. However, backup Dennis Grosel has stepped up, filling in admirably, which included helping guide the team to a 41-34 overtime win on the road last week against Missouri.
The competition is about to get a little stiffer for Hafley and Boston College this week, though. The Eagles visit Death Valley for a Homecoming matchup with No. 25 Clemson (2-2, 1-1), in what will be the ACC opener for Hafley's squad.
"They have a good football team," Hafley told the media earlier this week. "I know right now the record is not what everyone is used to seeing at Clemson, but just turn on the tape and watch them, at least from a defensive standpoint. Watching their offense, guys they're just like inches away. Five (D.J. Uiagalelei) is throwing passes that, gosh, they're just missing. They just dropped them or the back just missed the cutback. I respect the scheme, I respect the players and this will be a big test in a hostile environment. I'm pretty sure we're going to get their best on Saturday night. We got our work cut out for us."
Boston College came very close to pulling off a major upset in Clemson last season. The Eagles took an 18-point lead into halftime, only to see freshman D.J. Uiagalelei lead the Tigers back to a 34-28 win in his first career start. It was the largest comeback at home in school history.
Despite being so close to pulling off the feat one season ago, Hafley has warned his team to not put too much emphasis on any one game. Not even against this Clemson team, who they played so close last time out.
"I think you need to win every game," Hafley said. "I approach this game like I have every single game I've been here. It all starts with preparation. We need to do our best and if we prepare any differently for this game than we did for the last game, then I failed last game, so that's the way I look at the routine."
With his team coming off such a big win over SEC foe Missouri last weekend, Hafley is also mindful of his team's ability to stay focused on the task at hand.
"I think the win was important," Hafley said. "I think it was important for BC, I think it was important for our football program. Now, it's my job, I mean, that's over. It's done. It doesn't mean anything. Put it behind you and let's go back to work."
"Let's learn from the mistakes that we made because if you really watch that film closely and you're honest with the players and they're honest with themselves, there's a lot to correct. Whether you win or lose, that's always the case and I think we're mature enough to see that and I think we're mature enough to move on and realize that game's over and now we have a big one ahead."
Hafley insists that being able to once again compete with Clemson comes down to his team's ability to learn from past mistakes. His players know they had the Tigers on the ropes last year, and that if they want to finish the job this time around, they will have to be better than they were a season ago.
"It's everything because it's the same staff vs. the same staff and there are mistakes we made in that game, that if we don't fix I'm sure they'll exploit," Hafley said. "We'll watch it hard and clean it up. Clearly, we need to play better than we did last year. We were up and we lost. We blew a big lead, so we need to play better than last year or we won't win. There are certain situations we need to play way better in. We need to coach better and play better, so we look closely at that and all the games they've played this year, so that's definitely one we have watched."
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