Vote now for The Globies sports awards

Three forgettable weeks could have been discouraging for Boston College’s football team. But the Eagles (1-3) are hoping to leave behind losses to Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and Clemson as they look for a new start against Central Michigan Saturday.

“There’s always optimism,’’ safety Lukas Denis said. “We’re always going out there and just trying to win every game. Every week is like a new week. We start off 0-0 and try to get to 1-0. So, hopefully this week, we can go out there and give it our best shot and get to 1-0 after this game.’’

It can be tempting to look ahead, as well. The Eagles present an offense with freshmen at key positions, guided by quarterback Anthony Brown, who is on pace to challenge team passing records.

Brown has 75 completions, tied with Josh Jackson of Virginia Tech (next week’s opponent) for most in the nation among freshmen. Brown’s 658 passing yards are third behind Jackson and North Carolina’s Chazz Surrette.

At this rate, Brown would surpass Glenn Foley’s 182 completions (1990) and, after completing five touchdown passes, he could approach Dave Shinskie’s 15 (2009), records for BC freshman quarterbacks.

“He’s done a really good job as a young guy, showed a lot of poise,’’ BC coach Steve Addazio said. “He’s still in development. He’s done a lot of good things. He’ll just get better and better, sky’s the limit there.’’

Brown started his collegiate career with a 26-for-42, 191-yard performance in a 23-20 win over Northern Illinois Sept. 1. He produced respectable numbers as BC struggled against Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and Clemson. Though the Eagles have not come within 24 points of a victory since the opener, Brown can chalk those games up to experience.

“Like any first-year quarterback, there’s a lot of firsts that happen — and he knows it,’’ Addazio said. “Little things he’s going to see, like, ‘Wow, I wish I could get that back again, wish I could do that again.’

“But managing big-time game atmosphere, big-time game environment, crowd noise, stadium, everything, that was a first for him [at Clemson] and he handled that pretty well.

“Notre Dame game, that was a first for him, he handled that pretty well. Wake game, he had to handle the adversity of someone playing center [Ben Petrula] that never played before — the whole new feel of how the ball’s coming back at him.

“People probably don’t understand how unsettling that was to a young guy, and that showed in that game. Not just whether the snap was good but just the confidence factor.

“These are all things that are going to be an annuity for this guy. The apex of our offense — center, quarterback, and a lot of times the tailback — are guys that haven’t played before. And you can all see the promise and future in all of them. But there’s a lot of firsts that are happening and that will probably continue.’’

Before collapsing in the fourth quarter, the Eagles played Clemson to a 7-7 draw and came within a field goal attempt off the upright by Colton Lichtenberg of taking the lead.

“We’re a little bummed we didn’t finish the game but now we know where we are,’’ Brown said. “We have to come out every game the same way we came out against Clemson and just execute and finish our games.’’

Another part of the freshman equation has been running back A.J. Dillon, who had a season-high 58 yards rushing against Notre Dame and led BC with 57 rushing yards and his first collegiate touchdown against Clemson.

“If we don’t establish a run game, it doesn’t really open up our pass game, it doesn’t pull defenders down,’’ Brown said. “It’s great to establish that game.

“We started off pretty hard — Clemson is one of top defensive lines in the country — we started picking up better and better as the game went on.’’

The Clemson game was Brown’s least productive performance, his numbers reduced partly by the Tigers’ fourth-quarter dominance, and because he was benched in the late going as a precautionary measure.

Brown might be a work in progress but he is learning fast. Talking about his immediate goals, he said, “Just more focus, probably being more prepared. Taking the game for what it is. Just attacking it or letting it come to me, slowing down, starting to ease into it. Being more comfortable.’’

Addazio believes Brown is on the verge of a breakthrough.

“We had an opportunity, an early breakdown in man coverage, and weren’t able to get the ball to Tom Sweeney, who was wide open in man coverage,’’ Addazio said. “Would have put us at the 10-yard line.

“Those are things, with a little more experience, those are great learning experiences. Those things are going to happen. Those kinds of teams — a very finite amount of opportunities, and you’ve got to connect on those. Some of them we did but not enough of them.’’