Boston College Football Voted to Finish 13th in ACC Preseason Media Poll

On Tuesday morning, the Atlantic Coast Conference released the results of their yearly preseason media poll for football standings in 2023. Boston College performed poorly, as the Eagles are expected to finish 13th out of 14 programs in the ACC. The full results are as follows, with 176 total voters:

1. Clemson (103), 2370

2. Florida State (67), 2304

3. North Carolina (5), 1981

4. NC State (1), 1662

5. Miami, 1553

T6. Duke, 1511

T6. Pitt, 1511

8. Louisville, 1344

10. Syracuse, 826

13. Boston College, 561

14. Virginia, 365

After a very disappointing 3-9 season in 2022 that saw BC fall to its worst overall record in seven years, it’s not all that surprising that the media isn’t expecting much success in 2023. But with a revamped offensive line (2 transfers and the return of Christian Mahogany), 13th place does seem to be underrating the Eagles. The terrible 2022 OL led to the worst rushing attack in all of FBS football and completely hampered everything Jeff Hafley and his players were trying to do. If the OL improves to even just mediocre, there will be so much more room for the offense to operate and less time on the field for the defense.

The silver-lining for Boston College in these results is their schedule: the Eagles are set to face an ACC slate that is mostly expected to finish in the bottom half of the conference. Excluding BC itself, the Eagles will face all 4 of the bottom 4 teams, 6 of the bottom 8 teams, and only 2 of the top 5 teams. Such a schedule means that even if the team struggles, their opponents will largely be beatable and fans can still enjoy some close football games.

Overall, this is simply bulletin board material. Expectations are at the floor for Boston College football despite their talented roster. With some big changes over the offseason that should exponentially improve BC’s odds, look out for the Eagles to shoot for a finish well above 13th place.