Boston College Football 2022 Season Prediction, Preview, Awards, Bowl Game 2022

Boston College football has struggled with injuries but survived last season and now has high hopes for Jeff Hafley’s third season at Chestnut Hill.

Jeff Hafley took over Boston College football after leaving his position as Ohio State’s defense coordinator, and there were high hopes for the Eagles. With his recruiting acumen combined with a great on-field mind, he seemed like the right man to take the program to the next level outside of the 6-7 wins they seemed to be getting every year.

Now entering his third season at Chestnut Hill, Hafley has yet to win more than six games in a season (although that number varies as he won’t be in a bowl game in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID or other complications) and is it I’m still trying to reach the next step. Is the 2022 College Football Season the Year Boston College Makes That Leap?

Arrives at #42 FanSided’s Preseason Top 50 Rankingthe Boston College Eagles.

Boston College Football 2021 Season Recap

Things took a turn for the worse for the Eagles early in the year as they recorded four straight wins and it looked like Boston College would be a potential spoiler in the ACC. Then came quarterback Phil Jurkovec’s injury and the wheels came off.

Even when the star signal caller returned to the team late in the season, he clearly wasn’t at 100% and the offense showed it.

This resulted in a 2-6 result in the conference, and with BC not playing in a bowl game despite qualifying for their second straight season (this time due to COVID complications and opt-outs leaving them too understaffed left), the Eagles ended the campaign with six wins for the second straight year and still in a purgatory-like state of mediocrity that they hope to overcome in the 2022 season.

Boston College offense preview for the 2022 season

• Returners (4): QB Phil Jurkovec, WR Zay Flowers, WR Jaelen Gill, RB Pat Garwo III
• Notable newcomers: TE George Takacs (Notre Dame), 3-star Jude Bowry
• striker: Phil Jurkovec

With Jurkovec returning and healthy again, there are crucial reasons for optimism regarding this offense, especially with the Arms returning to the Eagles for the 2022 season. Zay Flowers was a stud for the program at the position and Jalen Gill is looking to make a step forward with Jurkovec’s return. Meanwhile, Pat Garwo III emerged as a playmaker from the backcourt a year ago, an achievement he can build on.

However, the big unknown for Boston College is upfront protection. Not only is the offensive line losing four starters, it’s four starters, all of whom are in the NFL now. To make matters worse, the only returnee should be Christian Mahogany, but an off-season cruciate ligament rupture has already ended his 2022.

How well a redesigned O-line can both protect Jurkovec and clear the way for Garwo will determine much of how this BC offense looks this year.

Boston College defense preview for the 2022 season

• Returners (8): LB Kam Arnold, DT Chibueze Onwuka, DT Cam Horsley, DE Marcus Valdez, NB Josh DeBerry, S Jaiden Woodbey, S Jason Maitre, CB Elijah Jones
• Notable Newcomer: 3 Star CB Amari Jackson
• striker: Josh DeBerry

For better or worse, this is an experienced defense that should have some relatively high expectations of them, especially the second division, which is mostly spearheaded by Josh DeBerry, one of the top nickel corners in the country. His playmaking could be huge.

As experience returns on the defensive line, the big question will be whether they can A. stay healthy and B. be more consistent with their performance. Marcus Valdez could be the biggest factor there, having flashed five sacks and seven tackles for a loss last season despite being plagued by injuries. If he stays healthy, he could be an even bigger game changer than DeBerry or hardened security strongman Jaiden Woodbey.

Boston college football player awards watch for 2022 season

Phil Jurkovec, Maxwell/Davey O’Brien

In 16 games with the Eagles (four of them last year when he clearly wasn’t quite healthy), the former Notre Dame recruit has thrown for 3,472 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions. With fantastic arm and NFL-type potential, expect a healthy Jurkovec to make some serious noise this season and possibly enjoy a Kenny Pickett-like rise to fame.

Zay Flowers, Maxwell/Biletnikoff

Despite playing one more game last year than he did in 2020, Flower suffered a 146-yard and four-touchdown drop in production. Of course, the Jurkovec injury played a big role. He should be expected to be a serious contender for Biletnikoff given his close relationship with his quarterback combined with his talent.

George Takacs, Mackey

All in all, it’s probably a long way from the Notre-Dame transfer winning the Mackey in the end, given that he moved from a school with one of the leading candidates (Michael Mayer) and Georgia has a lot of tight ends for which the price could be won the best in the nation on the position. With that in mind, it underscores the fact that Hafley is putting a great player in a position of need.

Boston College’s biggest football game on schedule for 2022

There’s an argument that the second week of the season, when the Eagles travel to Lane Stadium to face the Hokies, that such a game could be a massive tone-setter for the team. While that may be true, Boston College should open the season 3-1 or 2-2 before welcoming Louisville to Chestnut Hill on Oct. 1. And that’s gonna be a big deal.

Fresh from her trip to Florida state the week before, Louisville promises to have an explosive offense that could test that defensive front. Additionally, it also comes the week before the Eagles welcome Clemson to town, so it could be a trap lookahead spot. There’s a big difference between a 4-1 or 3-2 and a 3-2 or 2-3 after this game and that could have a big impact on the second half of the regular season.

Best-case scenario for Boston college football

Let’s say BC gets expected wins over Rutgers and Maine to start the season, then splits their trips to Virginia Tech and Florida State. Which brings us to this Louisville game, and at best they have the talent to beat them, which would also mean the defense has a foothold and offense is now rolling the train at full strength.

That would lead into the Clemson game, which is likely a loss no matter how you examine it. Despite this, they would go into the second half of the season 4-2. A showdown at Wake Forest would break the Eagles’ path if things go well, but they’re unlikely to pick up road wins at NC State or Notre Dame. But that would end the season with an impressive 8-4 and see BC going to a bowl game for a chance of nine wins, a big boost for Hafley.

Boston College Football Worst Case Scenario

On the other side of the coin, it’s not hard to see where things could derail if the Eagles’ offensive and defensive lines don’t come out the way folks across the program are hoping. That would mean losses to the Hokies and Seminoles and then more losses to Louisville and Clemson, which would put them up 2-4 and likely mean a 2-5 start with the upcoming trip to Wake Forest.

There are still winnable games after that, but I would still let them lose to the Wolfpack and the Irish, which unfortunately would leave the Eagles at 5-7 and take a step backwards rather than forward in the 2022 campaign.

Boston college football season 2022 prediction

As is often the case when it comes to considering the best and worst case scenarios for a team coming into the season, the ultimate reality likely lies somewhere in the middle. They will get the obvious wins because I have enough faith in Jurkovec and the back end of defense to increase their performance in these competitions. Also, I see them being able to split up the Virginia Tech/FSU start and then either take care of Louisville at home or prune Wake Forest in Winston Salem.

At any rate, that brings her to seven wins for the year, which feels like this team is landing. That would still be a great campaign, more wins than Hafley has had in his tenure and 7-5 could go 8-5 with a bowl win, which is a humongous win for the program.

Boston College Football 2022 Bowl Game Prediction

Early bowl projections have the Eagles staying close to home for the postseason. College Football News Boston College is playing its ACC affiliation in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl and taking on Cincinnati, which would be a pretty good matchup even if the Bearcats had to retool after their CFP appearance a year ago.

Next: No. 41: South Carolina Gamecocks

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