Boston College football finished the 2022 season with a 3-9 record. The Eagles only won against Maine, Louisville, and North Carolina State last year. Their two power five wins came down to one point. As for losses, the low points of their season came against Rutgers and Connecticut. With that said, Boston College had six games come down to single digits.
DraftKings Sportsbook puts the Boston College win total at 5.5 with the over juiced to -125. Boston College also sits at +15000 to win the ACC, which is ties Virginia Tech and ranks ahead of Georgia Tech and Virginia. With that said, let’s dive into our 2023 Boston College football season preview.
2023 Boston College Football Predictions & Season Preview
2023 Boston College Football Season Preview: Coaching Staff
At head coach, Boston College returns Jeff Hafley after originally taking over in 2020. Hafley currently has a 15-20 record with the program. At offensive coordinator, Boston College promoted Steve Shimko, who previously coached quarterbacks for the program. At defensive coordinator, the team retains Tem Lekabu after a tough 2022 season. This staff had previously finished 6-5 and 6-6, which Boston College will hope to return to this year.
2023 Boston College Football Season Preview: Offense
Quarterback
At quarterback, Boston College lost Phil Jurkovec to Pittsburgh this offseason. The team will now move forward with Emmett Morehead under center after he made multiple starts last year. Overall, Morehead completed 115 of his 192 pass attempts (59.9%) for 1,254 yards (6.5 yards per attempt), ten scores, and six interceptions last year. Morehead doesn’t seem to have much mobility after logging -22 yards on 43 carries last year.
However, the Boston College offensive line played poorly last year, allowing 21 sacks to Morehead alone. Behind him, Boston College added UCF transfer Thomas Castellanos. Castellanos only has 16 career pass attempts, but he appears mobile. He had 14 rush attempts for 120 yards back in 2022. The Eagles also have former three-star recruit Matthew Rueve for depth purposes. Overall, quarterback remains a question for this team, but Morehead grew as the season progressed. He threw for at least 250 yards in three of his last four games, which Boston College hopes they can extend into a full season.
Running Back
At running back, Boston College returns their top rusher in Pat Garwo. Last year, Garwo rushed 132 times for 402 yards and three scores, while catching 29 balls for another 241 yards. Garwo stands 5-9, 208 pounds and averaged 2.42 yards after contact and a forced missed tackle on 12% of his attempts.
The Boston College offensive line did not do him any favors, which hopefully can be corrected this year. This team did deal with a fair amount of running back injury, but they return their next three rushers as well. Alex Broome highlights this list with 50 carries for 225 yards and one score. The 5-6, 190 pound back also caught 26 balls for 166 yards. Xavier Coleman and Cam Barfield also carried the ball 21 and 25 times apiece last year.
Boston College also added Western Kentucky transfer Kye Robichaux. Robichaux is 6-0, 217 pounds and carried 140 times for 828 yards, while catching 20 balls over the last two years. He averaged 3.09 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 20.7% of his attempts. There’s a good chance he rises to change-of-pace back alongside Garwo.
Wide Receiver
Boston College has massive shoes to fill with Zay Flowers departing for the NFL. They also lost Jaelen Gill to the transfer portal. Fortunately, they added UCF transfer Ryan O’Keefe, who caught 74 balls for 750 yards and five scores last year. O’Keefe stands 5-10, 170 pounds and played out wide 54.5% of the time. He has back to back seasons over 2.0 yards per route, which is elite.
From there, Boston College returns Joseph Griffin and Jaden Williams. Griffin caught 18 balls for 181 yards last year. He is 6-4, 200 pounds and played out wide on 96.1% of his snaps. He also registered a mediocre 1.05 yards per route, but he was just a freshman last year. Griffin is a former four-star recruit and entered the program as the 342nd ranked player in the 2022 class.
Williams battled injury last year, but he caught 11 balls for 170 yards in six games. He is 5-9, 184 pounds and played in the slot 93.9% of the time. He also registered a mediocre 0.97 yards per route. For depth, Boston College will rely on Lewis Bond, Taji Johnson, and Dino Tomlin. All of these players saw a bit of time last year and should provide quality depth. Tomlin previously played at Maryland before transferring over. All in all, replacing Flowers will be difficult, but this offense actually has a decent receiver group.
Tight End
At tight end, Boston College returns their top two options in George Takacs and Jeremiah Franklin. Takacs originally transferred to the program from Notre Dame and played 464 snaps last year. He stands 6-6, 243 pounds and blocked on 39% of his snaps. A better receiver than blocker, Takacs caught 26 balls for 256 yards, ranking third on the team in receiving. Franklin stands 6-3, 238 pounds and blocked on 42% of his 254 snaps. Franklin only caught five balls last year, but he provides quality depth. This position should be in pretty good position for a step forward with both tight ends back.
Offensive Line
Boston College’s offensive line was decimated last year, starting freshman and walk-ons throughout the year. However, this allowed a lot of players to receive valuable experience. Ozzy Trapilo should be the favorite for left tackle after he played 647 snaps last year. He actually started Week 1 at left tackle, so this is a solid bet.
At center Drew Kendall returns after 733 snaps in his first year as the starter. At right guard, Boston College returns Christian Mahogany after a preseason injury. He played over 700 snaps the two prior seasons with plenty of NFL Draft buzz. His return will be enormous for this group. Right tackle should be Jack Conley after 792 snaps last year. Conley actually began the year at guard, but kicked out to tackle in Week 2.
The other guard spot likely comes down to a transfer or a reserve from last year. Boston College added Lucas Taylor from South Alabama. He did not see the field last year. Kyle Hergel also comes over from Texas State. He has 2,309 snaps of experience to his name. From there, Jackson Ness played 512 snaps last year at every interior line position. Nick Thomas filled in for 280 snaps at both tackle positions. Dwayne Allick also played 748 snaps last year. Most of that came at right guard, but he rotated between both guard positions. Boston College had a brutal offensive line last year, but their returners and transfers should set them up for a big step forward.
2023 Boston College Football Season Preview: Defense
Boston College ranked 100th on defense in 2022. This included the 67th-ranked run defense, 59th-ranked pass rush and 121st-ranked secondary. This defense lost three starters in their secondary and two on the defensive line. However, they added three secondary transfers and retain most of the quality snaps from their front seven.
Defensive Line
The edge group lost just Marcus Valdez from the main contributors last year. He ranked second on the team with 8.5 tackles for loss, so his departure will be felt. However, the team does return Donovan Ezeiruaku and Neto Okpala on the edge. This pairing played 528 and 341 snaps last year. Ezeiruaku played particularly well with 14.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. Okpala finished with seven tackles for loss and two sacks himself. Khris Banks also returns 233 snaps off the edge, giving Boston College some solid depth on this front.
On the interior, Chibueze Onwuka departs, leaving behind 41 tackles and six tackles for loss. Fortunately, Cam Horsley returns after 425 snaps. Horsley stood up well against the run, finishing with 30 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. The next man up should be Kwan Williams after 190 snaps last year. Owen Stoudemire also logged 101, but this position group looks relatively inexperienced behind Horsley. Boston College did add Michigan transfer George Rooks, but he only has 62 snaps over the last two years. Rooks originally came to Michigan as a four-star recruit, so he should be a welcomed addition to this defensive line. Overall, Boston College should come in with defensive line as a strength in 2023.
Linebacker
At linebacker, Boston College returns both Vinny DePalma and Kam Arnold after 603 and 795 snaps last year. Both played at a league average level, with DePalma leading the team in tackles. Overall, DePalma logged 87 tackles and seven tackles for loss, while playing decent coverage. Arnold proved to be a liability in coverage, but he still logged 75 tackles and two pass breakups.
Behind them, Boston College also returns their third linebacker Bryce Steele, who played 413 snaps last year. Boston College actually uses three backers more than a lot of teams. This allowed Steele to log 51 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. He still proved to be the largest liability of the group. Ultimately, the returning production is solid, but this group started with middling talent to begin with.
Defensive Back
At corner, Boston College lost Josh DeBerry this offseason. However, they return Elijah Jones and Amari Jackson at the position. Jones played particularly well on his 628 snaps last year. He led the team with 13 pass breakups and two interceptions last year. Jackson only played 310 snaps, but he still broke up three passes.
Moreover, the Eagles brought in Alex Washington from Harvard. Washington earned first team All-Ivy League honors, but he will not need to make the jump to the power five level. Behind these three, there is very little experience. This means Jackson and Washington will be relied upon heavily, which presents a major question for this defense.
At safety, Boston College lost Jaiden Woodbey and Jason Maitre this offseason. They do return Cole Batson, but he only played 289 snaps last year. With that said, Batson played excellent football on the small sample. He broke up two passes, logged an interception, and recorded 30 tackles.
From there, Boston College brought in a pair of transfers in Victor Nelson (Long Island) and Khari Johnson (Arkansas). Nelson finished as a first-team All-NEC honoree. However, this will be a big jump for him. Johnson only played 258 snaps last year, but he played a starting role for Arkansas prior to injury. He has some up and down moments, but overall he should be relied upon heavily here. Similar to last year, the secondary remains the biggest concern on this Boston College defense in 2023.
2023 Boston College Football Predictions & Schedule
2023 Boston College Football Schedule
The Eagles play a non-conference schedule consisting of Northern Illinois, Holy Cross, Connecticut, and Army. Inside the ACC, this team draws Florida State, Louisville, Miami, and Pittsburgh. Fortunately, they dodge Clemson and North Carolina, which sets them up for multiple games against the bottom half of this conference.
2023 Boston College Football Futures Bet & Prediction
The Eagles over/under 5.5 wins is juiced to -125 towards the over. This team plays a weak non-conference overall. While Connecticut could be a tricky game, this team has a solid shot at going 3-1 or 4-0 in non-conference. With Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech on the schedule, this team has multiple outs to six wins this year. For that reason, over 5.5 wins looks like a strong play for Boston College this year.
Best Boston College Football Futures Bet: Over 5.5 Wins (-125 at DraftKings)
You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!
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