Boston College, Hafley Excited For Notre Dame Challenge
Two weeks after playing the #1 team in the country, Boston College will host the #2 team in the country when Notre Dame comes into town this weekend.
“It’s a great opportunity and I don’t know how often that will happen or if it will ever happen again,” BC head coach Jeff Hafley said on Tuesday. “We’re excited.”
The Eagles hung with the Tigers and even held a 28-10 lead in the second quarter, but Clemson stormed back and grabbed a 34-28 victory.
After knocking off Clemson this past weekend, Brian Kelly’s unit will arrive as the nation’s #2 team.
“Obviously, Coach Kelly has done a really good job building this thing,” said Hafley, in his first year as BC’s head coach following seven years as an NFL assistant and one season as Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator.
“You can see it. Guys are playing confident. They’re big, they’re physical, they’re strong. I always look at, ‘Do they have really good players?’ They do, just like Clemson did. But they’re well-coached. That’s the difference.
“There are a lot of teams that have really good players. But just like Clemson, they’re a team that has really good players, but they’re very well-coached. Three good schemes; offense, defense and special teams. Fundamentals and technique are really sound, which is why they won the game, which is why they’re the #2 team in the country.”
Hafley has great respect for Notre Dame’s defense and it’s leader, coordinator Clark Lea.
“They have really good players,” he said. “They’re really good upfront. #9 (Daelin Hayes) is really good. 14 (Kyle Hamilton), the safety is really good. #6 (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah), the linebacker, is really good. They’re strong.”
Hafley focuses on getting the Eagles’ defense ready each week, focusing in on the opposing offense, but said he’s taken a glimpse at the Irish defensive unit to try to help out his offensive staff a bit.
“Coach Lea does a great job, they’re very sound,” he said. “I say that truthfully. There are a lot of teams who try to do too much and get exotic. They’ve got great gap integrity, they run to the ball, they tackle, they play with good fundamentals and technique. They mix up playing some Quarters, Man, Three Deep…they’ll pressure.
“Really a good football coach, a very disciplined team. Again, when you have a good group of players like they do and I mean maybe the most talented group as a whole that we’ve seen and combine that with a really good coach in Coach Lea, the numbers speak for themselves. It’s a credit to them. I have a ton of respect for him and their players.”