BC-Clemson Game Recap
by Matt Seelig
For an October night in New England, there couldn’t be a more beautiful night for football. A clear night in the lower 60’s drew a sharp contrast from last week’s rainy game against Buffalo. Also unlike in the Buffalo game, the Eagles were back facing top-level ACC competition in the #3 Clemson Tigers.
The game started out looking like a defensive battle. BC stopped Clemson off the kickoff on the 9-yard line, and forced them to punt after a single set of downs. Clemson did the same to BC, forcing an early punt. However, the Clemson returner, Ray Ray McCloud, fumbled the ball with BC recovering on the Clemson 9. BC failed to turn the opportunity into a touchdown after two failed rushing attempts, and a Towles incompletion. They put 3 on the board after a short field goal from Mike Knoll.
Clemson responded with a powerful offensive attack, scoring touchdowns on its next three possessions. The Tigers scored their first touchdown when Wayne Gallman found an open stretch of field and ran 59 yards to the end zone. The other two drives went similarly, with Clemson picking up yards mainly on big plays.
While the Clemson offensive machine rolled on, BC was having trouble gaining momentum against the Tiger defense. The Eagles failed to get the ball into Clemson territory on all three possessions following the Tiger touchdowns. Two of the three possessions ended with the Eagles punting on a three-and-out.
Both the BC offense and defense found momentum in the second quarter. The Eagles stopped Clemson after only two sets of downs. BC then produced its most successful drive of the half by yardage. After Towles ran to convert a 3rd and one off of the Eagles’ first possession, he completed a 26 yard pass to Jeff Smith to get into Clemson territory. BC again converted, this time on 4th and two to keep themselves alive. Immediately after, Towles completed a 22 yard pass to Tommy Sweeney to bring to the Eagles to 1st and goal. BC ran the ball on each of the four downs, but failed to cross the plane each time, turning the ball over to Clemson.
The Eagles found some success later in the quarter, driving 40 yards on 6 plays. However, Towles fumbled on a first down play, giving the ball to Clemson in the final minute of the half.
The Eagles went into the locker room with a decent amount of momentum, despite the score. Offensively, they had a two rather successful drives. They were also tied with Clemson on first downs at nine apiece. Despite giving up three early touchdowns, the Eagles defense held Clemson at 21-3 for the rest of the half.
Clemson, however, dominated the game on both sides of the ball coming out of halftime. BC started the half with the ball after deferring in the first half, but they punted after a three and out. Clemson responded with a 63-yard drive ending with a well targeted 29 yard pass to Deon Cain in the left corner of the Eagles’ end zone. After another BC punt, Watson found Cain again in the end zone for his second touchdown of the night.
As the third quarter drew to a close, BC found its first successful touchdown drive. BC slowly worked the ball downfield starting from its own 45. The Eagles worked their way down to a 1st and goal on the 1 yard line. After failed 1st and 2nd down runs, Towles found Bobby Wolford for the Eagles’ only touchdown of the night.
With the exception of a pick-six from Clemson’s Mark Fields, BC would spend the rest of the game punting from deep in their own territory. With about ten minutes left in the game, Clemson put their second string quarterback, Nick Schuessler, into the game. On its next possession, BC inserted its backup quarterback: Darius Wade. Wade, however, only attempted one pass, which fell incomplete.
The game ended with the final score 56-10. This is despite some success on defense, especially in the second quarter, when the Tigers failed to put up any points on the scoreboard. Both the line and secondary performed well throughout the first half, generally holding Clemson back from first downs. Clemson only had 9 first downs in the first half, the same number as BC. Clemson’s first half successes mainly came from big plays where they got downfield with room to maneuver the ball toward the Eagle end zone. Ty Schwab led the defense in tackles with an impressive 9 unassisted against Clemson’s strong offense.
BC’s offense did have a number of successful drives against the Clemson defense. The Eagles managed to make it into the red zone three times, coming away with a touchdown and field goal. Towles can find success in getting the ball downfield, even against the Clemson defense, completing 11 out of 22 passes for 91 yards. Clemson was particularly notable on defense in the red zone. Of BC’s three times in the red zone, Clemson stopped them twice, once ending in a field goal, and once in a turnover on downs.
Boston College’s next game comes in two weeks when they host Syracuse on Saturday, October 22. The Orange will be BC’s fourth ACC opponent. Syracuse, like BC, is winless in the ACC at this point, although they play Wake Forest Saturday. Whatever the result of the that game, BC will be facing a more similar ACC opponent compared to Clemson.