Boston College Head Football Coach Jeff Hafley couldn’t wait for this past week — the first game week of BC's 2020 season — to arrive.

“Truthfully, when we’re in the building, we’re on the field, it feels like life is normal again. And I think that’s so important. It makes me feel better," he said. "I think it makes our guys feel better. It’s kind of the only time where you just kind of get away and your mind's free and you’re just locked in.”

The first-year head coach is getting his team geared up to head down to North Carolina to take on Duke, a game that wasn't always promised as COVID-19 nearly brought college football to its knees.

But as the team readies for the season, the school is coping with an outbreak of its own.

It's a road unlike any other the team has ever faced. But for the players, it's something they have earnestly worked for.

“God is good. It feels really good. We’ve come such a long way from the time we got sent home from school in March to where we are now," said linebacker Max Richardson. "Every morning I just feel blessed to wake up and be able to strap it up. And we are overly excited. We are ready to go and get down to Duke and play our first game. We're preparing hard for it."

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