The Boston College secondary and pass rush were exploited by explosive pass plays in last Saturday’s 56-28 loss at Louisville.
BC has lost consecutive ACC matches to No. 5 Florida State and Louisville, two of the four undefeated first-place teams in a realigned league. The Eagles (0-2, 1-4) have their best opportunity to notch an ACC win when they host Virginia (0-1, 0-4) on Saturday afternoon (2) at Alumni Stadium.
Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer completed 18-of-21 passes for 388 yards that averaged out to 21.5 yards per catch. Louisville had six receivers with catches of 27 yards or more that included touchdown strikes of 45, 42, 75 and 55 yards.
Those numbers were especially disconcerting to BC head coach Jeff Hafley, who built his coaching portfolio as a defensive coordinator and defensive backfield instructor.
“It is going back to what we do, our defense is built to eliminate explosives,” said Hafley. “We normally play the free safety in the middle of the field and he needs to be where he is supposed to be and make good breaks on the quarterback.
“In certain situations, they have to stay on top and know where their help is. Now it is just hit the reset button because we really haven’t given up explosive plays in the past. I don’t foresee it becoming an issue.”
Hafley anticipates the Cavaliers will look to jump-start their passing game using two quarterbacks. Freshman Anthony Colandrea beat out several incumbents and a portal jumper to win the starting job and has taken most of the snaps this season.
Colandrea has completed 63-of-102 passes for 923 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. Tony Muskett, a senior transfer from Monmouth, is also expected to play.
“I anticipate both playing,” said Hafley. “(Muskett) has thrown for a ton of yards in his career and he was an FCS All-American and he started the season against Tennessee.
“He has a quick release and throws a real catchable ball with a great touch and is very accurate. I give Colandrea a lot of credit, he is gritty guy and is really quick and athletic and keeps it moving around.”
Wide receivers Malik Washington and Malachi Fields account for 50 of the Cavs’ 72 completions and 726 of their accrued 1,017 receiving yards.
