Editor’s note: Saturday Road’s annual Crystal Ball preview series continues today with Boston College. Sunday, we’ll preview Notre Dame. Next week, we’ll predict every game for every ACC Coastal team.

Consistency is the goal of every college football program. Just not the kind of consistency achieved by Boston College.

It’s not that the Eagles have been consistently bad since 2013. They’ve just been stuck on a treadmill of mediocrity.

They’ve finished with either 6 or 7 wins in 7 of the past 8 seasons – 1 game over .500, 1 game under .500 or in the case of last season with its canceled bowl game, right smack in the middle.

At least there was an extenuating circumstance in 2021.

BC appeared to be well on the way to breaking its pattern after getting off to a 4-0 start that included an overtime win against SEC opponent Missouri. But with star quarterback Phil Jurkovec sidelined with an injury to his throwing hand, the promise quickly faded.

The Eagles managed only 2 more wins from that point on. While that was enough to earn bowl eligibility, it’s not the kind of result coach Jeff Hafley would term a success.

“You look at the body of work; 6-6 is not good enough,” he said. “We know that. We know we can be better. I know I can be better because it definitely all starts with me. We use that as motivation. We learn from it. We’re going to play with a little more edge to us this year. I’m going to do a better job coaching the team.”

One thing that will help Hafley do a better job is the return of a healthy Jurkovec. The former Notre Dame transfer completed 61% of his passes while throwing for 2,558 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions two seasons ago.

Without him for a majority of last year, the Eagles finished dead last in the ACC in total offense.

A return to form would make a huge difference in the numbers BC puts onto the stat sheet, though with a schedule that leaves little margin for error, even that might not be enough to break that 6-7 win rut.

Let’s break it down.

Not so solid Mahogany

Keeping Jurkovec upright and healthy for the entire season is priority one. It’s a job that was already going to be a challenge with the loss of 4 starters from the offensive line. The task became even more difficult late in the summer when the one returner, guard Christian Mahogany, tore the ACL in his right knee during a workout at his home in New Jersey.

His absence is a huge blow to the offense, not only because of the redshirt junior’s 6-3, 335-pound build.

In addition to being the Eagles’ only experienced lineman, Mahogany has been projected as the No. 2-ranked guard prospect in next year’s NFL Draft. He’s so highly regarded that he was voted to the preseason All-ACC team even though it had already been announced that he would miss the entire year.

The front-runner to fill his spot in the lineup is Kevin Cline, a redshirt sophomore with exactly 14 snaps of experience. The only other returning linemen to have started games for BC are tackles Ozzy Trapilo and Jack Conley, with 2 each. Redshirt senior guard Finn Dirstine and redshirt freshman center Drew Kendall are projected as the other starters.

It’s a situation Jurkovec summed up concisely when he said, “It’s not ideal.”

But other than hoping he’s in good enough shape to limit the hits he takes while running for his life, there’s not a lot either Jurkovec or Hafley can do about the situation.

“We’ll have some big guys up front, but there will definitely be some inexperience,” Hafley said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys competing for jobs that have a chip on their shoulder. I think they’re going to play with an edge.

“Are they going to have some growing pains? Yeah, they probably will. We won’t make that an excuse. We have to coach them. We have to figure out quickly what they do well and let them do it.”

Feeding the Flowers

The Eagles are blessed with one of the best receivers in the ACC in preseason all-conference selection Zay Flowers. Now all they have to do is figure out how to take full advantage of him.

They didn’t last year.

While the speedy receiver still managed to rank 10th in the league with 746 receiving yards, he did it on just 44 catches. Flowers was 1 of only 2 members of the top 10 in receiving yardage to earn a spot on the list with fewer than 70 receptions.

Some of that lack of production can be traced to Jurkovec’s injury and the inability of his replacement, Dennis Grosel, to throw the ball accurately downfield. The rest can be blamed on the scheme.

To that end, new offensive coordinator John McNulty has promised to make changes designed to improve an attack that ranked last in the ACC in total offense (350 yards per game). The top priority is finding new, more frequent ways of getting the ball into the hands of BC’s best, most explosive playmaker.

“Without getting into too much detail of what it’s going to look like, there will be some similarities of what we did in the past, but then we have to find out what guys like this can do very well and we have to get guys like Zay the ball,” Hafley said of McNulty, who has an extensive pro and college resume, including the past two seasons as tight ends coach at Notre Dame.

“I’m really excited about John being here and seeing where we can take the offense. Do I think we played well enough on offense last year? We didn’t. That’s my fault. I need to do a better job as head coach and make sure my vision stays intact throughout the year.”

Defense beyond the numbers

Statistically, the Eagles fielded one of the best defenses in the ACC last season. They ranked No. 3 overall in scoring at just 22.2 points per game allowed, No. 4 in total defense at 344.3 yards per game and were No. 1 against the pass, limiting opponents to an average of 173.5 yards per game.

Despite that success, there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

BC had trouble stopping the run, allowing 170.8 yards per game to rank just 9th in the league. And while the pass defense stood out, it only managed 10 interceptions and finished 12th in the conference with only 20 sacks.

Creating more turnovers and putting more pressure on the quarterback have been points of emphasis for Hafley and his team heading into the new season.

“We’re going to get a lot more mileage this year,” All-ACC defensive back Josh DeBerry said. “We’re looking to put some points on the board in terms of a couple of pick sixes.”

That increased aggressiveness isn’t limited to the secondary.

“We have a lot of firepower coming back,” DeBerry said, calling out senior ends Marcus Valdez and Shitta Sillah, by name. “They want to get it more than anybody else.”

Game-by-game predictions

Week 1: vs. Rutgers (W)

The Eagles soared to a 4-0 start last season, and their current schedule sets them up almost as well to get off to a fast start. Jurkovec will be looking to make a splash now that he’s back to full strength and while Rutgers figures to be improved in Year 3 of coach Greg Schiano’s second act with the Scarlet Knights, their struggles defending the pass last season will give him the opportunity to accomplish his goal.

Week 2: at Virginia Tech (W)

They’ll play “Enter Sandman” as the Hokies come out of the tunnel, but Lane Stadium won’t be anywhere near as intimidating as it’s been in the past with the rebuilding group new coach Brent Pry will put on the field for Tech. Getting this team early is a huge advantage.

Week 3: vs. Maine (W)

The game plan is simple against the overmatched Black Bears: Jump on them early, build a comfortable lead and get Jurkovec off the field in one piece as quickly as possible.

Week 4: at Florida State (L)

The standings might say that BC is 3-0, but this is where the season actually begins. And it’s an incredibly challenging opener, especially for the Eagles’ rebuilt offensive line. Mahogany’s absence and the collective inexperience up front promise to make this a very long, forgettable day for Jurkovec against one of the best, most physical groups of pass rushers in the ACC.

Week 5: vs. Louisville (L)

A toss-up game both teams desperately need to fuel their quest to move up the Atlantic Division pecking order. The Eagles have the better defense, the Cardinals the better offense. Strength against strength. In the end, the x-factor that decides it will be the running ability of Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham.

Week 6: vs. Clemson (L)

The Tigers have won 11 straight against BC dating to 2008, but the past 2 have been a struggle. In 2020, the Eagles led 28-13 at halftime only to give up 21 unanswered points over the final 2 quarters to lose by 6. Last year, the teams battled to a 13-13 tie before a pair of late field goals finally put Clemson over the top. This year’s game in Chestnut Hill could be just as close. But the result will be just as familiar.

Week 7: Open

Week 8: at Wake Forest (L)

The Eagles limped into last year’s regular-season finale with a crippled lineup and a quarterback that was just a shadow of himself because of a hand injury. This year, the roles could potentially be reversed depending on the status of the Deacons’ Sam Hartman. Even without Hartman, who is sidelined indefinitely with an undisclosed medical issue, this will be a tough one for BC against a defending division champion that enters the season on a nine-game home winning streak.

Week 9: at UConn (W)

Here’s all you need to know about the Huskies: They were 1-11 last year, with their only win coming against Yale. They lost by 10 to Holy Cross and made Vanderbilt, the undisputed dregs of Power 5 football, look like a legitimate team. Forget the walk-ons, the waterboy might actually get into this game.

Week 10: Duke (W)

It’s not certain who decided to make the Clemson game homecoming. This is the one they should have chosen. Want to make the alumni happy enough to pull out their ATM cards and donate to the cause? You’ve got a better chance of it happening by putting a hurting on the worst team in the ACC than putting up a good fight in a losing effort against a national championship contender.

Week 11: at NC State (L)

Brimming with confidence after 2 easy wins, the Eagles will be poised to pull off an upset in what could potentially be a trap game for Wolfpack on their Senior Day. BC is 2-1 in its past 3 trips to Raleigh, but this is a different NC State team. There’s just too much talent and experience on both sides of the ball.

Week 12: at Notre Dame (L)

Once known as The Holy War, this used to be an annual series. Now, because of Notre Dame’s scheduling arrangement with the ACC, it happens much less often. This will be the first meeting between the Catholic schools since 2017. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t familiar with one another. Jurkovec, new offensive coordinator McNulty and transfer tight end George Takacs all came to BC from Notre Dame and will be eager to leave with a victory. Their efforts, however, will be spoiled by the defense’s inability to stop the Irish’s strong ground attack.

Week 13: vs. Syracuse (W)

Although the season hasn’t played out the way the Eagles had hoped, they at least get to celebrate with a bowl trip after knocking off the Orange for win No. 6.

2022 projection: 6-6 (3-5), 6th in ACC Atlantic

#ForBoston

The Eagles caught a scheduling break by drawing lowly Duke and rebuilding Virginia Tech as their cross-divisional opponents rather than having to face Coastal Division front-runners Miami and Pittsburgh.

They also have two nonconference cupcakes in Maine and UConn to go along with a winnable opener against Rutgers.

After that, things get dicey.

Other than the annual showdown against national championship contender Clemson, which is a handful no matter where it’s played, BC’s most difficult tests are all on the road – at defending Atlantic Division champion Wake Forest, top contender NC State, Florida State and Notre Dame – with 4 of those the trips coming in the final 6 games.

Is the potential there for the Eagles to finally break their pattern and become this year’s version of Wake Forest – a sleeper team that comes out of nowhere, stuns the big boys and wins the Atlantic?

Sure, as long as Jurkovec stays healthy, the young offensive line grows up in a hurry and the defense figures out how to stop the run. Throw in a little luck and the treadmill of mediocre might just stop long enough for BC to finally get off.

But the odds are against it.