Boston College HC Jeff Hafley Discusses Matchup With FSU, and Importance of Red Bandanna Game
The Florida State Seminoles head into week three as the third-best team in the country according to the latest AP Poll, and that ranking comes after two massive wins against the fifth-ranked LSU Tigers and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
This week, the 'Noles will travel to Chestnut Hill to begin conference play against the Boston College Eagles, who are currently 1-1 with a devastating overtime loss to Northern Illinois and a win in week 2 against Holy Cross.
READ MORE: Kickoff Time, TV Channel Announced For Florida State's Crucial Road Game Against Clemson
Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley addressed the media ahead of the matchup against the Seminoles and discussed his thoughts on facing one of the top teams in the country.
“What jumps out to me is the depth that they have. It’s almost like they just overwhelm these teams," Hafley said on Monday.
The Seminoles will be the first power five opponent the Eagles will face this season, and after coming off a season where they finished at the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 3-9 (2-6 ACC) record, the Eagles are without a doubt the underdog in their third game in Alumni Stadium.
“This is a really good team we’re playing, like a really good team. There’s many people who think this is the best team in the country. We’ve played the number one team in the country, we’ve played the number two team in the country, I think one year we played them in back to back weeks. It is going to be a challenge, we have to do our work as coaches. We’ve got to do everything we can to give our players a chance to win this game and we have to execute it at a very high level.” Hafley said.
Last season, the 'Noles played the Eagles in a sold-out Doak Campbell Stadium, where Trey Benson famously ran for a kick return touchdown on the very first play of the game. Florida State ended up victorious that Saturday night with a final score of 44-14.
Last year the game was the family weekend game for Florida State, and this season the game will be “The Red Bandanna Game” for Boston College, which is in remembrance of former Boston College lacrosse player Welles Crowther, who was in charge of a rescue effort inside the World Trade Center on 9/11. Despite saving many lives on that tragic day, Crowther was unable to make it out alive.
“It’s nice that we’re playing it the week that it is 9/11, to honor all those, but obviously our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected,” Hafley said.
The game will be broadcast on ABC with the two teams kicking off at 12 PM ET on Saturday.
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