Boston College Notes: The Missouri Game

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Saturday’s Game

• For the first time since 1987, a school from the SEC visits Alumni Stadium as Boston College hosts Missouri for a noon kickoff.

• Saturday’s game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. Clay Matvick, Rocky Boiman, and Tiffany Blackmon have the television broadcast call on ESPN2 and the ESPN app.

• Coverage on the Boston College  Sports Network from Learfield begins at 11:30 a.m. with Jon Meterparel along with former BC  standouts Pete Cronan and Scott Mutryn on the call. Fans can listen to the game locally on WEEI 850 AM along with on Sirius channel 111, XM channel 193, and online via SiriusXM channel 955.

• Boston College moved to 3-0 for the first time since 2018 and only the second time since starting 8-0 in 2007 with a 28-3 victory Saturday at Temple.

• Tyler Badie scored three first-half touchdowns, two rushing, and one receiving, and Connor Bazelak threw for 346 yards as Missouri got out to a 38-0 halftime lead over the SEMO Redhawks and cruised to a 59-28 victory last Saturday to move to 2-1.

• Boston College and Missouri meet for the first time Saturday in Chestnut Hill.

• In games that date back to 1937, Boston College is 16-20-1 all-time against the Southeastern Conference.

• Missouri is the first SEC team to play at Alumni Stadium since Tennessee on Oct. 31, 1987.

• BC upset the No. 13 ranked Volunteers 20-18 in the last game played against an SEC team at the Heights. The Eagles led 6-3 at halftime and used a 14-point third quarter to pull off the Halloween upset over the Vols.

• Jim Bell was the hero for BC offensively, rushing for 177 yards on 39 carries.

• The last time the Eagles faced an SEC opponent was in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31, 2008, against Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt won a bowl game for the first time in exactly 53 years, with Bryant Hahnfeldt kicking a 45-yard field goal with 3:26 left for a 16-14 win over Boston College in the Music City Bowl.

• Here’s BC’s all-time records against current members of the SEC: Kentucky (1-0), Texas A&M (3-1), Alabama (3-1), Vanderbilt (2-1), Auburn (2-1), Georgia (2-2), Florida (1-1), Tennessee (2-8), Ole Miss (0-3-1) and LSU (0-2).

• In the 28-3 win over Temple, the Eagles held the Owls to 239 yards of offense, the second-lowest total of the Jeff Hafley era. It was the largest yardage total by an FBS opponent against BC during the Hafley era.

• BC limited Temple to just 3-of-14 on third down, and just 1-of-4 on fourth down for the game.

• BC’s four sacks were a season-high.

• Boston College’s two Temple transfers in the off-season – Khris Banks and Isaiah Graham-Mobley – had big days in their return to Philadelphia. Graham-Mobley finished with a team-high eight stops, including a key fourth-down tackle to force a turnover on downs. Banks had 1.5 sacks and five total tackles.

Starting 3-0 (with two road games)

• For just the sixth time in 123 seasons of football at Boston College, the Eagles are 3-0 with two of the three wins coming on the road to start the year.

• The last time prior to this season was 1999 with victories over Baylor 30-29 OT, at Navy 14-0, and at Rutgers 27-7.

Scoring in Bunches

• Boston College has the nation’s No. 21 scoring offense at 41.3 points per game.

• The Eagles scored 96 points through the first two games of the year, the second-best start after two games in 123 seasons of football at BC. Only the 2015 team scored more points (100) through the first two games of the year, with both games against FCS competition (24 vs. Maine; 76 vs. Howard).

20/20

• Boston College is one of only four teams in the nation to be ranked in the Top 20 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

Garwo’s Coming Out Party

• Redshirt sophomore running back Pat Garwo rushed for a career-high 160 yards at UMass, becoming BC’s first 100-yard rusher since David Bailey at Syracuse (Nov. 7, 2020). Garwo’s previous career-best was 36 yards last season vs. Pitt (Oct. 10, 2020).

• Garwo became the first BC rusher over 150 yards since AJ Dillon (242) and David Bailey (172) did so at Syracuse (Nov. 2, 2019).

• Garwo averaged 10.7 yards per attempt, tied for the seventh-best single-game yards per carry average for a BC player since 1996.

• In his career, Garwo totaled 224 yards rushing in 10 games played before the breakout performance at UMass.

11 on the Tackle

• Junior defensive end Shitta Sillah is second on the team with 14 total tackles through in 2021. The Somerset, N.J. native has played his best football of his career at the Heights to start the season.

• Sillah, who continued to develop in the off-season under head strength and conditioning coach Phil Matusz, has upped his weight to 253 pounds entering the year.

Tight End Production Continues

• Hunter Long led all tight ends nationally in receptions and was second in receiving yards for tight ends in 2020 en route to becoming a third-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 2021 NFL Draft.

• Graduate transfer Trae Barry has jumped right in to help fill the void with six receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns in two games.

• Barry’s two touchdown receptions are tied for fourth nationally among all tight ends.

• He is 20th in the country averaging 24.8 yards per reception. He is fourth among all tight ends in the country in yards per reception as well.

• His two touchdown receptions are 17th nationally.

Injury Updates

• Boston College graduate place-kicker Aaron Boumerhi will miss the season with a hip injury and junior quarterback Phil Jurkovec could potentially miss the remainder of the year with a hand injury.

• Boumerhi was injured in preseason and will not be able to return. He was the Eagles’ starting place-kicker the previous two seasons. In 2020, Boumerhi played in 10 games and connected on 16-of-20 field goal attempts with a long of 41 yards.

• Jurkovec injured his hand in the 45-28 victory at UMass and underwent surgery at Newton-Wellesley Hospital on Sept. 13.

• In 12 games, Boston College quarterback Jurkovec is already fifth in school history with five 300-yard passing games.

• The ACC Co-Quarterback of the Week on Sept. 7, Jurkovec finished with his fifth career 300-yard passing game in the season-opening 51-0 win over Colgate. Jurkovec was 16-for-24 for 303 yards with three touchdown passes and also rushed for 61 yards on five carries (12.2 yards per carry) against the Raiders.

500 Club

• Boston College finished the day with 525 total yards in the 51-0 win over Colgate – the 36th time since 1996 that BC gained 500+ yards from scrimmage. BC is 29-7 in those games.

• The 525 yards of offense were the most in the Jeff Hafley era for the Eagles.

• The six touchdowns from scrimmage were also the most of any game coached by Hafley at BC.

• BC averaged 9.4 yards per touch against Colgate, the second-highest total of the Hafley era. BC’s 9.9 yards per touch in the 2020 Virginia game were the most during the Hafley era.

300-Yard Passing Games

• Boston College totaled just seven 300-yard passing games from 2010-19, including just three games of 300+ passing yards since 2013.

• In 13 games under Jeff Hafley, BC has posted six 300-yard passing games.

ACC Players of the Week

• Boston College’s Phil Jurkovec was named the ACC Co-Quarterback of the Week and Zay Flowers was named the ACC Receiver of the Week for their efforts in the Eagles’ 51-0 victory over Colgate.

• It is the first ACC Quarterback of the Week honor for Jurkovec while Flowers earned the accolade for the third time in his career.

Phil The Thrill

• In 12 games, Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec is already fifth in school history with five 300-yard passing games.

• BC legends Matt Ryan and Doug Flutie hold the school record with 12, 300-yard passing games.

50-Burger Served in Season Openers

• Boston College has served a 50-burger five times in the first game of the season after last week’s 51-0 victory over Colgate.

• The last time BC scored 50 or more in the first game of the season was 2009 in a 54-0 win over Northeastern. The 2009 campaign is also the last time BC has won eight games in a season.

• BC moved to 14-3 in season openers since joining the ACC in 2005 with the win over Colgate.

Of Note

• Jeff Hafley was introduced as BC’s 36th head coach on Dec. 14, 2019. In his first season on the Heights, Hafley finished with the most victories of any first-year head coach in college football in 2020.

• BC finished with a 6-5 record, and qualified for a bowl game, though the program ultimately declined to participate. More impressive than the marked improvement on both sides of the ball, was how the program under Hafley’s leadership handled playing in the COVID-19 pandemic. BC Football had just one positive from over 9,000 administered COVID-19 tests since the team returned to campus last June.

• On the recruiting trail, Hafley and his staff signed the top recruiting class in school history in his first season. The recruiting class ranking by ESPN was the best in school history since their rankings began in 2006. It was BC’s best showing in the 247 Sports rankings as well and the Eagles’ highest Rivals ranking since 2008.

• Hafley, one of college football’s top defensive minds, helped improve a BC defense 52 spots in the national rankings in total defense as the Eagles allowed 62 fewer yards per game than the previous year prior to his arrival.

• Nine Eagles were named All-ACC in 2020, including the first wide receiver to be named All-ACC first-team in Zay Flowers since 2012. Six of the nine All-ACC performers return for BC in 2021 (WR Zay Flowers, C Alec Lindstrom, OL Zion Johnson, OL Ben Petrula, OL Tyler Vrabel, DB Josh DeBerry).

• BC returned 20 starters in 2021, including all five offensive linemen. BC returns nine starters total on offense, eight on defense, and three specialists. The Eagles welcome back a total of 45 letterwinners from the 2020 squad.

• BC was 24th nationally in passing offense in 2020, averaging 284.2 yards per game.

• First-year starter Phil Jurkovec burst onto the scene as the starting quarterback for the Eagles last season. Jurkovec’s 2,558 yards over his first 10 starts were the most by any BC quarterback in school history.

• Jurkovec was the first player in BC history to total four, 300-yard passing games in his first five career starts at quarterback and the first BC quarterback with four or more 300-yard games in a season since Matt Ryan (2007).

• Johnson is coming off a 2020 season in which he was named to the All-ACC third-team at offensive tackle and was voted a team captain. The Maryland native graded out as BC’s top offensive lineman in 2020 after moving from left guard to left tackle in the preseason. He was also named to the All-ACC Academic Team and was one of three Boston College student-athletes recipients of the 2021 Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship Award.

• Valdez was a 2020 All-ACC Academic selection after starting in all 11 games for BC. Voted a team captain as a junior, Valdez ended the season with 37 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, two sacks, and two fumble recoveries.

• Zay Flowers returns as one of the nation’s most electric players. An All-ACC first-team selection, Flowers had one of the most productive seasons by a wide receiver in Boston College history in 2020. He was 18th nationally and second in the ACC with 892 yards receiving, ranked 26th nationally with 56 receptions, and tied for 12th nationally with nine touchdown receptions.

• BC welcomed three grad transfers to the team this summer in Jacksonville State TE Trae Barry, West Virginia RB Alec Sinkfield, and Southern Illinois CB JT Thompson.

Returning Firepower for the Eagles

BC vs. 2021

• Boston College is 132-118-6 all-time against its 2021 opponents.

Preseason Honors Roll In

Junior WR Zay Flowers

• Pick Six Previews Preseason All-American (Fourth Team)

• Preseason All-ACC

• Biletnikoff Watch List

• Maxwell Award Watch List

Graduate OL Zion Johnson

• AP Preseason All-American

• Phil Steele’s Preseason All-American

• Pick Six Previews Preseason All-American (Second Team)

• Outland Trophy Watch List

• Preseason All-ACC

Junior QB Phil Jurkovec

• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Watch List

• Manning Award Watch List

• Davey O’Brien Award Watch List

• Maxwell Award Watch List

Graduate OL Alec Lindstrom

• The Athletic Preseason All-American (Second Team)

• Pro Football Focus Preseason All-American (Second Team)

• Phil Steele’s Preseason All-American Team (Second Team)

• Pick Six Previews Preseason All-American (Second Team)

• Athlon Preseason All-American (Third Team)

• Lombardi Award Watch List

• Rimington Trophy Watch List

• Outland Trophy Watch List

• Preseason All-ACC

Junior OL Tyler Vrabel

• Outland Trophy Watch List

Famous Bloodlines

• Boston College has several players with famous bloodlines on the 2021 roster:

Family Ties

• Boston College redshirt freshman offensive lineman Ozzy Trapilo is a name familiar to longtime BC fans. A four-star recruit from nearby BC High, Ozzy is the son of Kim Trapilo and the late Steve Trapilo, who passed away in 2004.

• His father was an All-American offensive lineman at BC and later played in the NFL. Steve was a captain on the 1986 BC squad.

• One of the most famous photos in BC history was taken by the Miami Herald in 1984 as Doug Flutie was carried off the field by Steve after his famous Hail Mary to defeat the Hurricanes 47-45 in the Orange Bowl.

Big Play Zay

• Boston College junior wide receiver Zay Flowers was named to the watch list, the second major preseason award watch list for the Florida native. He was also named to the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List as well.

• Flowers put together one of the best seasons by a BC wide receiver ever in 2020. An All-ACC first-team selection, Flowers was just the second BC wide receiver to be named first-team All-ACC in school history (Alex Amidon, 2012). He finished 18th nationally and second in the ACC with 892 yards receiving, ranked 26th nationally with 56 receptions, and tied for 12th nationally with nine touchdown receptions.

• The speedster from Fort Lauderdale finished with his second 100-yard receiving game of the season in 2020 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 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. He was the first BC receiver since 2012 (Alex Amidon) to have over 150 yards receiving in a game.

Give Me That

• Boston College was 10th nationally with 21 turnovers gained in 2020. The Eagles’ 12 fumble recoveries ranked second in the nation while the team’s nine interceptions were 35th in the country.

• BC is 42nd nationally in turnovers gained in 2021 with five.

• The Eagles’ four interceptions on the season rank 21st in the country.

• Since Jeff Hafley arrived at BC, the Eagles have 13 interceptions in 13 games.

Haf Effect

• Jeff Hafley made an immediate impact on Ohio State’s defense in 2019 and he did 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 and 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. BC is allowing 222.4 yards less per game than the year prior to Hafley’s arrival.

Class of 2025

• A total of 16 true freshmen played in the opener against Colgate.

• BC has 10 true freshmen on its depth chart for this week’s game against Missouri.

• PK Connor Lytton was a perfect 4-for-4 on PATs in the 28-3 win over Temple.

• WR Jaden Williams is tied for the team lead with two receiving touchdowns.

• On defense, five true freshmen have seen consistent playing time through the first three games. The defensive line has featured Ty Clemons (five tackles, one sack), Donovan Ezeiruaku (five tackles, 3.0 TFL, two sacks), and Neto Okpala (one tackle).

Making a House Call

• Graduate Travis Levy returned a 96-yard kick return for a touchdown at UMass; the longest return of his career and his first score in 49 career returns.

• The 96-yard kickoff return was tied for the fifth-longest kickoff return in BC history.

• Levy is averaging 61.0 yards per kickoff return this season.

Defensive Touchdowns

• BC ranks third nationally with two defensive touchdowns in 2021.

• Graduate Jahmin Muse got the party started with a pick-six against Colgate in the season opener.

• Graduate Jaiden Woodbey recovered a fumble for a 41-yard scoop-and-score touchdown in the second game of the year at UMass. Vinny DePalma made the jarring hit to knock the ball loose on the punt return before Woodbey returned it for the touchdown.

Nation’s Top Third Down Defense

• BC leads the country in opponent third-down conversions. In three games, BC’s opponents have converted just five of 32 attempts on third down (15.6%).

• Last season, BC ranked 65th in the country allowing 40.4% third-down conversions.

• In 2019, one year prior to Jeff Hafley’s arrival, BC was n

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