Clemson came away with a convincing win last week against Georgia Tech as the game was never really in doubt. The Tigers will look to build upon that win this weekend against a BC team that has been good defensively and not so good offensively. The Eagles seem to always play well against the Tigers. The winner gets the O’Rourke-McFadden Trophy.
Clemson’s Offense vs Boston College’s Defense
BC is a stingy team defensively. They are 1st nationally in yards allowed per game and 2nd nationally in points allowed. Have they benefited from an early schedule of teams with poor offenses? Yes. But you can’t deny they have done an exceptional job; even holding Florida State to only 14 points. Linebacker, Steven Daniels, leads the Eagles in tackles but has not put up high tackle numbers like most of the good BC linebackers of years past. Their defensive success has been a team effort.
Clemson, if not well prepared, could struggle. They were very balanced last week. Wayne Gallman will have to rush good again this weekend. Deshaun Watson should get a good share of rush attempts this weekend. Even though Watson and Gallman have been effective running the ball, Saturday the Tigers will have to be good through the air. Jordan Leggett will look to put together another good game and Tay Scott needs to be Tay Scott the playmaker. Also, the rest of the receiving corps will need to be ready to perform well. If the Tigers slack a little offensively, the game could be close.
Boston College’s Offense vs Clemson’s Defense
The Eagles have struggled offensively. They’ve been shut out twice in the past 4 games and haven’t been able to do anything offensively. The quarterback play hasn’t been good. Troy Flutie and Jeff Smith have split the QB duties in the past few games. Flutie is the better passer and Smith is effective as a runner averaging 6.8 yards per carry. Running back, Tyler Rouse, will get plenty of opportunities to carry the football as well.
Defensively, Clemson has been stout. The Tigers will play a lot of guys near the line of scrimmage to stop the BC run game. Ben Boulware and Jayron Kearse have been lead the way for the Tigers against the run. Look for a bunch of guys to be in on the action and making plays to slow BC. The secondary will look to be opportunistic as Brent Venables game plan should put the Eagles in many 3rd and long situations.
Special Teams
While Clemson has shown holes in their special teams, BC has been terrible on special teams. They’ve had botched snaps on punts and field goals. Eagles’ kickers have went 2 of 6 on field goal attempts. Look for Clemson to be aggressive with their punt block and defensive field goal units. Also, the lack of athletes for BC should prevent them from exposing the holes in the Tigers kick coverage.
X-Factor
Turnovers will be a big factor in the game Saturday. BC has always seemed to be able to keep games with Clemson close. The Tigers should be okay with having 1 more turnover than the Eagles but any more than that could lead to a close game.
Prediction
This will be a good matchup for the Tiger offense. They will hope to prove that the BC defense is overrated. Because of the Eagles defensive success so far this year Clemson should be focused and not overlook them. Defensively, Brent Venables will have the guys ready. They know this is another opportunity to have another great defensive performance. Prediction: Clemson wins 34-10.
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