Boston College Notes Week 6 Notes: The Georgia Tech Game

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Boston College welcomes Georgia Tech to Alumni Stadium for the first time since 2008 this Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on ACC Network. Chris Cotter, former BC standout linebacker Mark Herzlich and Kelsey Riggs will call the game. It marks the fourth straight game on the ESPN family of networks a Boston College alum has been part of the television broadcast. Coverage on the Boston College Learfield IMG Sports Network begins at 3:30 p.m. with Jon Meterparel, Pete Cronan and Scott Mutryn. Fans can listen to the game locally on WEEI 93.7 FM, nationally on TuneIn and on Sirius channel 111, XM channel 207 and online via SiriusXM channel 967.

The Matchup
Last Saturday, Boston College lost 40-14 at No. 23 Virginia Tech. The Eagles committed five turnovers; the first game of five-plus turnovers since committing six vs. North Carolina (2009). Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence threw for 404 yards and five touchdowns to lead the top-ranked Tigers to a 73-7 win over Georgia Tech last Saturday.

Boston College and Georgia Tech meet for the 10th time in series history Saturday. BC is 2-7 all-time against Georgia Tech and have not defeated the Yellow Jackets since 2007. Boston College has never won at home against Georgia Tech (0-3). Both wins in the series came in Atlanta at Bobby Dodd Stadium for the Eagles (24-10 in 2007; 41-31 in 1998). It is the first meeting between the two schools since the 2016 opener for both teams in Ireland. Georgia Tech defeated BC 17-14 in Dublin. BC held a 14-7 lead with 11:46 remaining in the fourth quarter but Georgia Tech scored the game’s final 10 points, including the go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds remaining for the win.

The two teams have played just four times in conference play since BC joined the ACC in 2005. Georgia Tech has won three straight in the series. The longest win streak in the series for the Yellow Jackets was four games. The longest win streak in the series for the Eagles was two. The largest margin of victory for Boston College against Georgia Tech was 14 points in the 2007 victory (24-10). The largest margin in the series for Georgia Tech was 32 points following the 42-10 victory in the first meeting between the two sides in 1972.

Mark Herzlich recorded a career-high 11 solo tackles and had 13 total against Georgia Tech on Sept. 6, 2008 at Alumni Stadium. The Yellow Jackets erased a 16-10 fourth quarter deficit to capture a 19-16 win. In the 2007 win over Georgia Tech, Matt Ryan threw for 435 yards in the win. The 435 yards passing were the seventh-most in Boston College single-game history.

Scouting Georgia Tech

• Georgia Tech is 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the ACC following last week’s 73-7 loss at home to No. 1 Clemson. The Yellow Jackets own wins this season at Florida State (16-13) and against Louisville (46-27) while losing to the Tigers, No. 14 UCF (49-21), and at Syracuse (37-20).
• Head coach Geoff Collins is in his second season at Georgia Tech. A metro-Atlanta native, Collins was named the 20th head coach in Georgia Tech football history on Dec. 7, 2018, after recording 15 wins in two seasons as head coach at Temple. He returned to The Flats after having previously served as a graduate assistant, tight ends coach, and director of player personnel at Tech.
• Collins was named head coach at Temple by AD Pat Kraft, who is now the William V. Campbell Director of Athletics at Boston College.
• Prior to becoming head coach at Temple, Collins was one of the nation’s most respected defensive coordinators, serving in the role at Florida, Mississippi State, FIU, and his alma mater, Western Carolina. He is the only coach to ever be nominated for the Broyles Award, given to college football’s top assistant coach, at three different schools.
• Georgia Tech is 40th nationally in total offense (403.2 yards per game), 62nd in scoring offense (22.0 points per game), 22nd in rushing offense (195.6 yards per game), and 55th in passing offense (207.6 yards per game). True freshman QB Jeff Sims has started all five games under center for the Yellow Jackets, throwing for 1,025 yards with six touchdowns and nine interceptions.
• Georgia Tech is 70th in the country in total defense (493.2 yards per game), 70th in scoring defense (39.8 points per game), 57th in rushing defense (185.6 yards per game), and 68th nationally in passing yards allowed (307.6 yards per game). The Yellow Jackets have 11 takeaways this season, fourth nationally and second in the ACC behind only Syracuse (16).

Thrill Jurkovec
• Phil Jurkovec has burst onto the scene as the starting quarterback for the Eagles. Jurkovec’s 1,526 yards over his first five games are the most by any BC quarterback in school history.
• Four quarterbacks in BC history have thrown for at least four, 300-yard games in one season. Matt Ryan with nine in 2007, Doug Flutie with six in 1984, Glenn Foley with six in 1993, and Phil Jurkovec with four in 2020. Jurkovec threw for 345 yards and two scores in last week’s game at No. 23 Virginia Tech.
• Jurkovec also holds the record for the most completions (127) and passing touchdowns (10) over the first five games of any player in BC history.
• Against No. 11 North Carolina on Oct. 3, Jurkovec was 37-for-56 for 313 yards and two touchdowns. The 37 completions were tied for second in BC single-game history with Frank Harris (37 versus Army in 1968). Matt Ryan’s 40 completions are the most in BC history against Wake Forest on Nov. 4, 2006.
• Jurkovec’s 37 completions were an Alumni Stadium record. The previous best belonged to Matt Ryan with 37 completions versus Army on Sept. 22, 2007.
• His 56 pass attempts were also the most by a BC quarterback at Alumni Stadium since at least 1996 and was the highest overall total number of attempts since Ryan passed 56 times on Nov. 10, 2007 at Maryland. Jurkovec is tied for fourth in BC single-game history with the 56 attempts. Matt Ryan, Shawn Halloran and Frank Harris own the school record with 57 attempts.
• Jurkovec opened the season becoming just the third BC quarterback since 2010 to throw for 300 yards in a game – and he did it in his first career game at BC against Duke.
• The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, has named eight quarterbacks as its “Stars of the Week.” Jurkovec was one of the eight quarterbacks to be honored after his breakout performance at Duke and in the win against Pitt.
• The Davey O’Brien Foundation announced its Great 8 list of the top quarterback performances of the 2020 college football season and Jurkovec was honored for his efforts at Duke and against Pitt.
• Jurkovec became the first BC quarterback since Matt Ryan in 2007 to throw for 300 yards, multiple touchdowns and complete 70% of his throws in a game in leading BC to a 26-6 victory at Duke.
• Jurkovec made his first start at quarterback since Dec. 9, 2017 at HersheyPark Stadium in the Pennsylvania Class 6A state title game. Jurkovec led Pine-Richland to a 41-21 victory over St. Joseph’s Prep.

Saving His Best for Last
• Phil Jurkovec is first nationally among all quarterbacks with 865 yards passing in the second half and overtime in 2020. The Pittsburgh native is completing 62.6 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns in the second half and overtime in 2020.
• Jurkovec’s seven touchdowns in the second half/OT are tied for second in the country. His 72 completions in the second half/OT of games ranks first among all quarterbacks in the nation.
• In the fourth quarter in four games, Jurkovec is completing 59.2 percent of his passes (42-of-71) for 412 yards and two touchdowns.

Among the Nation’s Elite

• Phil Jurkovec is 12th nationally and second in the ACC with 305.2 passing yards per game. Jurkovec is third nationally in completions (127) and his 10 touchdowns passing rank 15th nationally.
• Jurkovec’s 1,526 yards passing in 2020 are fifth nationally.
• While just a small sample of only five games, Jurkovec is second among all BC quarterbacks since 1996 with 305.2 passing yards per game in a season.

Haf Effect

• Jeff Hafley made an immediate impact on Ohio State’s defense in 2019 and he is doing the same thing at Boston College in 2020.
• The year prior to Hafley’s arrival at Ohio State, the Buckeyes ranked 71st nationally in total defense an 50th in scoring defense. In 2019, Hafley guided the nation’s best defense allowing just 259.7 yards per game, an improvement of 143.7 yards per game from 2018. Ohio State yielded just 13.7 points per game in 2019, fourth-best in the nation.
• Hafley and the BC defensive coaching staff have turned things in the right direction on the Eagles’ defense in 2020. BC is allowing 108 yards less per game than 2019, going from 125th nationally to 29th.

Zay All Day

• Sophomore Zay Flowers has blossomed in BC’s new pro-style passing attack. After totaling just 22 receptions for 341 yards in 13 games in 2019, Flowers has 28 catches for 462 yards and four touchdowns in 2020.
• Flowers is 10th nationally with 462 yards receiving and tied for 11th with four receiving touchdowns. He leads the ACC in receiving yards and receiving yards per game in 2020.
• The speedster from Fort Lauderdale finished with his second 100-yard receiving game of the season with six receptions for 162 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in the 31-30 victory in overtime over Pitt.
• Flowers became the first BC player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Kelvin Martin at Holy Cross (11/22/86).
• He tied the school record with five other players with three touchdown receptions.
• The 166 yards receiving by Flowers were the fifth-most by a BC player since 1996.
• Flowers’ 77-yard score was the first of 70 or more by an Eagle since Hunter Long’s 72-yard score at Louisville (10/5/19).
• Flowers is tied for 11th in BC single-season history with two 100-yard receiving games this season. He is the first Eagle with multiple 100-yard receiving games in the same season since Kobay White in 2018.
• Flowers totaled five receptions for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown in BC’s 26-6 win at Duke. It was the first 100-yard receiving game for an Eagle since Kobay White’s 121 yards at Florida State in 2018.
• Flowers was named the ACC Wide Receiver of the Week for the first time in his career following the Duke game. He became the only BC wide receiver to ever be named the ACC’s WR of the Week for the second time in a season after his performance in the Pitt win.
• The 162 yards receiving by Flowers were the seventh-most by a BC player since 1996.
• Flowers averaged 32.4 yards per reception. No receiver in BC history had more receiving yards on fewer receptions than Flowers in a single game.
• Flowers was the first BC receiver since 2012 (Alex Amidon) to have over 150 yards receiving in a game.

The Nation’s Leader
• Junior tight end Hunter Long has been BC’s top receiving target in 2020 and he leads the nation in receptions for a tight end with 35. He is ninth among all players nationally in receptions in 2020 as well.
• Long has started the year with 35 receptions for 416 yards and three touchdowns. Prior to this season, Long had just 32 receptions total over his first two years on the field at Boston College.
• He was named to the John Mackey Award watch list after earning All-ACC third-team honors last season. The John Mackey Award is given to the collegiate tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, academics, and community values of NFL Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey.
• Long led Boston College with 509 receiving yards and 18.2 yards per reception in 2019. He finished the season with 28 receptions and two receiving touchdowns. His 72-yard touchdown reception at Louisville was the longest reception of his career a year ago.

Richardson and McDuffie on the Tackle

• Boston College linebackers Max Richardson and Isaiah McDuffie rank 1-2 nationally in total tackles in 2020. Richardson leads the nation with 53 tackles while McDuffie is tied for second with 52 total stops.
• The last BC player to lead the country in tackles was Luke Kuechly with 191 stops in 2011. He led the country in tackles in 2010 as well (183) and was second in tackles in 2009 (158).
• McDuffie’s 30 solo tackles are tied for the national lead while Richardson is tied for sixth in solo stops.