10. Boston College Eagles (0-0)
This season should be a zero year for new head coach Jeff Hafley. You have to hand it to the Eagles, however. Plucking from the Ohio State coaching tree was not a bad idea. Hafley is a crack recruiter and a coach with both college and NFL experience. Hiring him was a signal that they can be more than a lower-tier ACC team with a six-win floor.
The question here is, “Can they be more?” Boston College is one of the worst recruiting footprints in college football. The recruits they get from Florida — and elsewhere — are players that no one else wanted. If Hafley can raise the floor, it is because he executed a plan to make Boston College one of the better developmental programs in the country.
Hafley does fit the mold of what Boston College should want as a coach. He’s a defensive coach who fits Boston College’s identity. It will be hard to recruit good enough skill players to compete with the top of the ACC. However, you can build a defense that can keep you in games.
We’ll see the beginning of the Hafley era at Boston College when they open this weekend on the road against Duke.