BC-Duke preview

You can debate where the UConn loss ranks among bad moments in BC Football, but it doesn’t really matter in a larger sense. Hafley will either bounce back from this and we will remember the game as a low-point, or we will keep losing for the next year and a half and just group this loss with a string of frustrating and embarrassing “L”s.

After every loss I get asked if I have officially lost faith in Hafley. I keep hedging a bit because I like the guy and there are aspects of his approach which I respect and support. But each loss makes the hole that much deeper. Hafley will get another year to fix things, but who knows if he can. He can go a long way towards building trust and faith with his boss, his recruits and BC fans by starting to compete and win now.

What's on my mind (not totally related to this game) Nearly every time things go bad during a game the same litany of complaints kicks in about BC. I don’t need to rehash them or add new ones. I don’t think BC is perfect and do think there are plenty of flaws and problems. But what frustrates me is when complaints or problems in one area are cited as the source in another area. For example: when BC loses to UConn it is not due to Addazio or injuries or budgets or even Father Leahy. We had more talent and were favored and played like crap. That’s on the current coaches and players. I also don’t think our history limits our long-term potential. Nor does it guarantee that we won’t be terrible for decades. But as the churn at places like Nebraska or Texas or Miami shows, having the best recruiting or most money or best history doesn’t guarantee anything. You have to find the right coach for your program and then empower that coach to get the most out of his program. BC is clearly not doing that now, but we will have moments where it all comes together again. Will that be under Hafley? It is not looking like it, but someone will figure it out.

Three Simple Keys
1. Keep Leonard in the pocket. If he starts running, Duke’s offense starts rolling.
2. Protect the ball. If we are more careful with the ball we have wins over UConn and Rutgers.
3. Keep going deep to Zay. I can’t believe we don’t do it more. It is our only game changing option.

Gambling Notes -- BC is 1-7 against the spread
-- BC leads the series 5-3
-- Duke is 2-2 as favorites this season
The current line is BC+10

Factoid
Jeff Hafley’s first game and win was against Duke.

Scoreboard Watching
Wake-NC State could be telling. Wake fell apart last week and NC State has been typical NC State – good but not great. It is probably best for us if Wake comes out and kills the Wolfpack and sets their confidence back a bit.

What I hope to see…
Morehead play and play well. The QB situation is a mess. At this point why send Jurk out there less than 100%? Time off to heal his knee and confidence might help. Plus this gives the staff a little more time to see what they have in Morehead

BC is in trouble if…
They get down early. I have no faith in this team to fight through adversity.

Bottom Line Do you think we will win? I can’t talk myself into it. The level of play on Offense is so incompetent that I don’t know how we haven’t fired the entire offensive staff. I hope that they put things together this week and keep it close, but all the signs point towards another blowout.
Final Score: BC 10, Duke 27