Boston College Football Week 12 Notes: The Wake Game

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Boston College closes out the regular season at Alumni Stadium against No. 21 Wake Forest on Senior Day Saturday at noon. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. Dave O’Brien, former BC standout QB Tim Hasselbeck, and Kelsey Riggs have the television call of the game. 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 93.7 FM along with on Sirius channel 119, XM channel 202, and online via SiriusXM channel 965.

Last Saturday, BC fell behind Florida State 26-3 before responding with 20 unanswered points, but FSU ended BC’s final drive inside Seminole territory with an interception with under two minutes remaining to clinch the 26-23 win. Wake Forest lost its first ACC game of the season last Saturday in Death Valley as Clemson captured a 48-27 victory over the Demon Deacons.

The Series
Boston College and Wake Forest meet for the 28th time in series history Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The Eagles lead the all-time series 14-11-2. The two teams have split the last four meetings, with three of the four games decided by seven points or less. Five of the last six games between the two division rivals have been decided by seven points or less. The series between the two schools began in 1941 in Chestnut Hill at Alumni Field with the Eagles capturing a 26-6 victory.
BC is 9-6 against Wake since joining the ACC in 2005. BC’s longest win streak in the series is four games – from 2007-10. The largest margin of victory for BC in the series was a 27-0 victory in 1942. Wake’s longest winning streak in the series is two games in 1946 and 1947. The Deacs 34-10 win in 2017 was the largest margin of victory in the 27 all-time meetings. Saturday’s game marks the third time BC has faced a Wake Forest team ranked in the AP Top 25.

• Wake was ranked 24th the last time the two schools met – a 27-24 Deacs’ win in Chestnut Hill on Sept. 28, 2019.
• The Demon Deacons were ranked 22nd in the Nov. 4, 2006 meeting – a 21-14 Wake victory in Winston-Salem.
• With a win Saturday, Wake Forest clinches the Atlantic Division title and a spot in the 2021 ACC Championship Game against Pitt.
• A Boston College victory would snap a 24-game losing streak against AP ranked opponents. The last win for the Eagles against an AP Top 25 team was a 37-31 victory over Southern California on Sept. 13, 2014, at Alumni Stadium.
• The visiting team has won the last six meetings between the two schools. BC’s 24-10 win in 2013 was the last time the home team won in the series.

Senior Day
• BC will honor 29 seniors prior to the game Saturday. The senior class includes 13 Eagles who have already earned their undergraduate degree from Boston College, along with three graduate transfers.

Welcome Back QB1
• Redshirt junior quarterback Phil Jurkovec returned from a right wrist injury suffered at UMass on Sept. 11 to make his third start of the season against Virginia Tech on Nov. 5.
• Jurkovec was cleared to return to practice on Friday, Oct. 29, and practiced with the team for the first time in team situations on Monday, Nov. 4.
• BC is 4-1 with Jurkovec as the starting quarterback in 2021 and 10-5 over his career at the Heights.
• He was named the ACC QB of the Week, Pro Football Focus National QB of the Week, and one of eight Manning Award “Stars of the Week” for his efforts in the Georgia Tech win.

Flowers in Full Bloom
• Junior wide receiver Zay Flowers has etched his name in the BC record book in several categories in just three seasons at the Heights.
• Flowers is fifth in BC history in career touchdown receptions (17), 10th in school history in receiving yards (1,978), and 12th in Boston College all-time in receptions (121).
• His next touchdown reception will move him into a tie for fourth place in BC history with current running backs coach Rich Gunnell.
• Flowers is 22 yards away from joining the 2,000-yard receiving club at Boston College. He would be the 10th player in school history to reach the 2,000-yard mark.
• He needs 13 receptions to join the top 10 in school history for career receptions as well.

Defensive Turnaround
• Boston College finished the 2019 season with 5,579 yards allowed on defense, the second-highest total allowed in BC football history. The Eagles ranked 125th nationally in total defense.
• Jeff Hafley and his coaching staff have turned things around in short order as the Eagles now rank as one of the nation’s best defensive units.
• Boston College rank in six different statistical categories in the top 30 nationally in 2021.

No Fly Zone
• Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley‘s resume throughout his coaching career has been coaching defensive backs. Now as head coach, Hafley’s BC teams have been elite against defending the pass since arriving at the Heights.
• Looking back at BC’s history, since the Eagles joined a conference in 1993 (BIG EAST) and later the ACC in 2005, this year’s defense has allowed the second-fewest passing yards per game (167.8 yards per game).

Not So Fast My Friend
• Boston College is tied for 22nd nationally with just 27 touchdowns allowed in 2021.
• It’s been a quick turnaround under Jeff Hafley and his defensive staff. The year prior to Hafley’s arrival, BC allowed 49 touchdowns in 2019, ranking 88th nationally.

All Systems Go
• Boston College has been on fire in the first half of 2021, outscoring opponents 143-101.
• The first quarter has been BC’s highest-scoring quarter of the season, outscoring the opposition 73-56 in the first 15 minutes of play.

My Cousin Vinny
• Redshirt junior linebacker Vinny DePalma missed all of last season with an Achilles injury. The New Jersey native has returned this season and has been everywhere on the field in 2021 for the Eagles.
• For the season, DePalma is second on the team with 52 tackles. He has forced two fumbles and totaled three tackles behind the line of scrimmage in 11 games this season.

Big Ben
• BC’s fifth-year senior Ben Petrula is tied for the longest active start streak in the nation at 59 games. After not playing in his first career game as a true freshman at Northern Illinois in 2017, Petrula moved to center and started the final 12 games of the season.
• Petrula has started all 59 games he has played in since not playing in the first game of his true freshman season in 2017.

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.
• In the Syracuse game on Oct. 30, Flowers finished with his second 100-yard receiving game of the season and the fifth of his career with six receptions for 116 yards. He is now tied for fifth in BC career history with five career 100-yard receiving games.

All-American Zion
• Zion Johnson was named to the Associated Press Midseason All-America team. It marked the second midseason All-America honor for Johnson after being named to ESPN.com’s team as well.
• A starter in all eight games, Johnson has been one of the most dominant offensive guards in the nation in 2021.
• Johnson has not allowed a sack in 2021 and has yielded just two quarterback pressures in 751 snaps according to Pro Football Focus.

Game Captains
Colgate: Travis Levy, Zion Johnson, Jason Maitre
UMass: Grant Carlson, Brandon Barlow, Alec Lindstrom
Temple: Ben Petrula, Isaiah Graham-Mobley, Kobay White, Pat Garwo
Missouri: Joey Luchetti, Zay Flowers, Josh DeBerry
Clemson: Tyler Vrabel, Dennis Grosel, Vinny DePalma, Brandon Sebastian
NC State: Christian Mahogany, Zion Johnson, Marcus Valdez, Shitta Sillah
Louisville: Travis Levy, Jason Maitre, Jaiden Woodbey, Trae Barry
Syracuse: Brandon Barlow, Mike Palmer, Ben Petrula, Zay Flowers
Virginia Tech: TJ Rayam, Alec Lindstrom, Josh DeBerry
Georgia Tech: Phil Jurkovec, Jaelen Gill, Elijah Jones
Florida State: Phil Jurkovec, Jaiden Woodbey, Marcus Valdez, Pat Garwo