Boston College resurrected its dormant working recreation in final Saturday’s 34-33 victory over Louisville at Alumni Stadium.
The Eagles (2-3,1-2) might want to keep their upward mobility on the bottom once they host No. 5 Clemson (5-0, 3-0) in a primetime matchup Saturday evening at Alumni Stadium. The Tigers return to Chestnut Hill for the primary time since 2018 they usually’ll carry the ACC’s No. 1 rated dashing protection (69.6 ypg.) with them.
The Eagles’ depleted offensive line opened holes for tailbacks Alex Broome and Patrick Garwo and the duo mixed for 149 dashing yards on 21 carries. Broome, a 5-8, 185-pound true freshman from Nashville, Tenn., scored his first dashing landing on a 40-yarder.
The Eagles completed with 150-net dashing yards however that was a numerical understatement on the stat web page. BC had 48 yards deducted for 3 sacks on quarterback Phil Jurkovec and 11 extra forfeited on two tackles for a loss. Jurkovec misplaced extra yards on the kneel-downs on the finish of the sport.
The Eagles’ floor assault in opposition to the Cardinals was in sharp distinction to their ACC street losses at Virginia Tech and Florida State. BC had 4 web dashing yards in opposition to the Hokies and 95 in opposition to the Seminoles.
“The ground game was much more efficient than the net shows,” mentioned head coach Jeff Hafley. “If you watch the game, we ran the ball better than we have this year against a pretty good defense that loads the box.”
Jurkovec was the primary beneficiary of the Eagles’ sustained floor recreation. Jurkovec accomplished 18-of-21 passes for 304 yards, three touchdowns with three explosive beneficial properties s for 50 yards or extra. The Notre Dame switch loved his eighth recreation with over 300 passing yards.
“You have to run the ball to throw the ball with the play action and the run action stuff,” mentioned Hafley. “If not, they (secondary) can type of simply sit again there or the D-line can get off the road and they’re all vertical.
“The play action causes separation from the second level and the third level and creates more space for the DB’s. Once you do that you can throw the ball and it lightens up the box.”
A nostril for the ball
BC nostril sort out Chibueze Onwuka was an immoveable object in the midst of the Eagles’ defensive entrance in opposition to the Cardinals. The 5-11, 286-pound graduate pupil loved a profession day with 9 tackles and two tackles for a loss.
Those are lofty numbers for a nostril sort out in a 4-3 scheme. Onwuka’s job is to tie up blockers on the line of scrimmage so linebackers Vinny DePalma and Kam Arnold could make the stops. But it was a particular groups play that seemingly earned Onwuka ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors.
After quarterback Malik Cunningham put the Cardinals up 16-14 with a 6-yard run, Onwuka blocked the following PAT kick. The play proved to be the distinction in a recreation determined by some extent. Ironically, the final BC participant to dam a PAT was defensive finish Zach Allen in opposition to Louisville on Oct. 13, 2018.
“That was a very cool feeling but I didn’t know it was going to have such a big effect until the end of the game,” mentioned Onwuka. “It just teaches you to play every play 100 percent and don’t ever let up.”
Seeing pink
Freshman extensive receiver Joe Griffin has been a cash participant within the pink zone within the final two video games.
Griffin hit paydirt with a 4-yard landing cross from Emmett Morehead for the sport’s closing rating in opposition to Florida State. He put the Eagles on the board in opposition to Louisville with a 1-yard catch from Jurkovec at 4:34 of the primary.
“It is what he does in practice and I said that in a team meeting,” mentioned Hafley. “He made a catch in practice where he looked like he jumped through the roof to pull it down.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com