Haf full

As frustrating and disappointing it was to lose to Virginia Saturday, I was a bit surprised by the number of people online who are upset about the season. I am not. In fact, I think this season was a huge success.

Every transition is different. This was not like TOB to Jags or Jags to Spaz, where we had lots of staff carryover and kept whole units consistent. This was a whole refresh and more like the transition of Spaz to Addazio. We changed Offensive and Defensive philosophy. We found a new QB. We put transfers all over the field. And we installed all this new info without a full spring and with all sorts of new restrictions due to COVID.

While six wins seems too familiar to BC fans, you have to remember we exceeded the oddsmakers', computers' and media's expectations. This was also six wins out of 11 games and this was the first time we ever played 10 P5 schools in one season. This schedule doesn't even compare to any we've faced since Henning's second year (and even Henning had Temple and Rutgers on the schedule).

But beyond the win total and dealing with the pandemic, I loved how Hafley handled games. We saw comebacks. We saw aggressiveness. We saw an emotional passionate coach, but not one who was not a bully, loudmouth or a goof ball. 

Was it perfect? No. There were a few issues that have been well discussed. Some units that were supposed to have been our best and deepest (Oline and LBs) looked to have taken a step back. Was is position coaching or scheme or overestimating the talent on hand? I don't know. It will certainly be something to follow going forward. The penalties were also inexcusable. Hafley admits he doesn't mind aggressiveness that results in penalties. That's fine. But there were plenty that we purely stupid. He's got to find a way to cut down on those. He has shown the can instill discipline. Look how he handled COVIP protocols. Now he just needs to use those same tenets to make sure the players play smart.

But why I am more optimistic about Hafley than I've been about any first year coach in my time as a BC fan, is that he showed strengths in game management, game planning and program management. Those are the things that are so hard to improve. Too often coaches are stuck in their ways or old school thinking, or are just not good at that stuff.  The stuff he needs to fix -- position coaches, talent, depth. Those things are fixable. Never getting a feel for a game is not.

All of this is still speculative. Hafley might never be much more than Addazio. But I am betting otherwise. I think this season was just the start and I see more great things to come. 

What will Hafley's Defense look like and how long will it take BC to adjust?

One of the benefits of running Spaz's Cover 2 defense so long was that every player knew what to do, especially by the time he had been in the system a year or two. Smart players then almost become coaches on the field because they could then help put other guys in the right spot. (The real breakdown of Spaz's D occurred as the talent declined and McGovern and Spaz couldn't get on the same page once Spaz became head coach.

When Don Brown took over the D, he implemented his heavy blitz package. The was about as opposite as could be from Spaz and took a few seasons to adjust. We didn't have the talent or experience. But once he got both, the D was lethal. He put a lot of responsibility on his DBs, but they delivered and BC had one of the best Ds in the country. Once Brown left, BC then saw things erode again. It was partially due to tweaks made by his successors and a drop in talent.

This brings us to the Jeff Hafley/Tem Lukabu. A first time Head Coach and his first time Defensive Coordinator. They worked together at Rutgers, but I don't think they will be running Schiano's old scheme. We know from Ohio State that when Hafley had his own D, he ran a Cover 3 in the Pete Carroll Single-high mold. 

The Cover 3 in Carroll's world puts the DBs in single coverage where they are trying to prevent the big play and funnel the WRs into certain areas. They play behind the WR so it might appear a little soft and won't manhandle the WRs like the Don Brown DBs did. 

With the DBs preventing the big plays, the LBs (and a Safety) get all the underneath stuff. This helps BC since our LBs are probably our most talented position group on the defensive side.

At Ohio State, Hafley also had all defensive players watching the ball. There weren't run stoppers assigned...they were all supposed to stop the run. Help, leverage and keeping assignments simple were the key. The front guys are reading the backfield and chasing the QB and/or RB.

If Hafley follows his Ohio State model, his D will be pretty simple and standard. Not a lot of blitzing or anything particularly unique on early downs. It will seem more like Spaz than Brown.

I think simplifying the D will make things better than they were last year. Clearly there were lots of assignment breakdowns. That alone will make a difference. Hafley also put an emphasis on tackling at Ohio State. I hope that improves as well. But we will all find out more on Saturday.

For more reading on Xs and Os under Hafley at Ohio State, I recommend these three articles:

1. Hafley brings a renewed focus on pattern-match coverage to Ohio State

2. Why OSU prefers a 'vision and break' style of zone coverage

3. Emulating Pete Carroll's single high defense in 2019

BC finally locks in its 2020 schedule

Football scheduling is complicated under normal seasons. It is uncharted territory in 2020. But after lots of weeks of scrambling, BC finalized its lone non-conference game and will host Texas State on September 26. Yes, Texas State. As for the how and why...

Despite many BC fans finding the "+1" pointless, BC had to schedule someone. The conference owes ESPN a certain amount of inventory and the +1 is part of that deal. The original intent of the +1 was to preserve the traditional non-conference rivalry games. Obviously the SEC didn't find those games as critical, yet the ACC stuck with their model (because of TV money). It wasn't going to be a problem until numerous conferences and independents decided to cancel their fall season.

After Ohio and the MAC shutdown their season, BC's original intent was to schedule someone close, cheap and easy. UConn and UMass were floated most often and made sense. Both scrapped their season. There were plenty of other options, but it suddenly became very expensive and very risky. Good teams wanted the game but at a high price. With Alumni empty, BC wasn't going to pay over the top to have a tough mid-major give us a handful. Lots of people hoped for Army, but Army had its pick of who to play and will actually play 12 games this year.

That left lots of fringe FBS programs as targets. BC landed on Texas State. They were available on our desired date, they are not strong (3-9 last year) and should provide a nice early teaching moment for Hafley.

Will fans be excited about this one? No, but they can't come anyway. This is a made for TV tune up and will hopefully be just what BC needs at the time. Under normal circumstances I would be livid about this type of game. This year it make all the sense in the world and was a good early decision by Pat Kraft.