Boston College Football: Long-Awaited Season Starts With A Road Win

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DURHAM, N.C. — The Jeff Hafley era at Boston College gets into the win column in week 1, as Boston College powered to a 26-6 win over Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Phil Jurkovec was 17-of-23 for 300 yards on the afternoon, with a pair of touchdown passes and an interception. Zay Flowers hauled in five passes for a career-best 162 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Long hauled in seven passes for 93 yards and a TD. Seven different receivers accounted for the 17 receptions on the afternoon.

Travis Levy rushed for a team-high 65 yard on five carries, including a 58-yard scamper. David Bailey led BC with 18 carries for 51 yards and a score. Pat Garwo gained 25 yards on five rushes.

Bailey began the scoring for the 2020 season with a one-yard plunge into the end zone, as the Eagles covered 81 yards in 10 plays on their opening drive at the 7:46 mark. Duke would counter with a touchdown with 3:00 left in the opening quarter but would miss the PAT kick, making it 7-6. That score would hold through the second quarter and into the half.

Boston College tacked on 19 points in the second half,, beginning with a 24-yard field goal from Danny Longman at the 9:24 mark of the third quarter. Jurkovec tacked on his first throwing touchdown of his BC career, finding Long from nine yards out, extending the lead to 16-6 with 2:39 to play in the third.

On BC’s next possession, the redshirt sophomore QB aired it out on first down, dialing up Flowers on a 61-yard strike to make it 23-6 heading into the fourth. Longman connected again on a field goal, this time from 29 yards, with 4:54 to play, giving BC a 26-6 advantage.

Boston College’s defensive corps forced five Blue Devil turnovers on the afternoon – two by way of the interception, while forcing and recovering three fumbles. Jahmin Muse and Isaiah McDuffie each picked off Duke QB Chase Brice, logging returns of 38 and 23 yards, respectively.

Max Richardson led BC with eight tackles (five solo), while Deon Jones made seven stops (four solo). McDuffie and Josh DeBerry each logged six tackles. Marcus Valdez logged five tackles, including a sack

BC takes its 1-0 record home next weekend, hosting Texas State at Alumni Stadium at 6 p.m.