Game Predictions – Clemson

For every Football, Hockey, Basketball, and Baseball game this year, the board members of WZBC Sports will be offering their picks on whether the Eagles will win or lose. Throughout the year, we will be tracking who has the best prediction record, crowning a winner at the conclusion of Baseball season. Here are our picks for the Clemson. 

Standings:

TJ Hartnett: Well, 1-2 is not where I expected the Eagles to be. With two straight losses, BC needs a big W to turn things around. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be this weekend. The Eagles march into Death Valley to take on the reigning Natty Champs as 3 decade underdogs. With the way the defense has been torched by the run and inconsistency on offense, especially against the #8 defense in the country, BC is going to need to have the game of the century to defeat the Tigers. The good news is BC can literally try anything this weekend. Throw trick plays, new schemes, honestly anything and see if it sticks. Could be fun to see what BC can pull out of its hat. I’ll be calling the game and I for one am stoked to see all Clemson has to offer. Really looking forward to this one despite the expected outcome. Shock the world Eags. Clemson 49, BC 12

Quinn Kelly: Decided to head down to Clemson early this weekend, visit a buddy, check out the night life.  Got in Thursday night and hit the town.  Looks like I’ll be in a battle with the team to see who got their ass kicked worse by Clemson this weekend.  I set the bar high, but I’m certain the Eags will be up to the challenge. Clemson 56, BC 13

Steve McAlee: Clemson is really, really good, in some ways better than last year even though Deshaun Watson has graduated. Their front seven dominated two of the best players in the nation over the last two weeks in Jarrett Stidham and Lamar Jackson. We know the run game will be a big part of BC’s plan as always, and I’m not sure how effective it can be with a still-forming offensive line and hot-and-cold running backs against that group up front for Clemson. At QB, Kelly Bryant is even more explosive than Notre Dame’s Brandon Wimbush and we saw the problems he presented to BC on the ground. With Strachan out and the continued mystifying use of Harold Landry, BC can’t overcome the best the ACC has to offer, especially on the road. Clemson 45, BC 16

Landon Komishane: Boston College is coming off an incredibly disappointing second half against Notre Dame while Clemson pulled off a statement win in Louisville. Clemson looks like a team with something to prove after starting the year as #5 in the country. Kelly Bryant has played very well through three games, and his speed could hurt the BC front seven. The Eagles are still inconsistent on offense, and a trip to Death Valley won’t help things. Anthony Brown is improving, and Jon Hilliman had a great day on the ground last week. However, BC needs to be more aggressive if they want to be competitive. With the injuries to Connor Strachan and Jon Baker and the lack of production for Harold Landry, BC will struggle against Clemson in all phases. Clemson will take care of business ahead of their showdown in Blacksburg a week from Saturday against Virginia Tech. Clemson 52, BC 14

Matt Seelig: There are no two ways about it, this is going to be a rough game. BC struggled offensively and defensively against Notre Dame, and the national champions are a big step up from the Fighting Irish. Even Harold Landry’s stats fell this past week, with just one tackle on the day. We simply are not a team that can beat the national champions. I don’t see Dabo Swinney’s defense making any big mistakes, so we might only find the end zone once, maybe twice on Saturday. And even our defense, which still has some decent talent, is probably not enough to make things competitive. It’s going to be a rough day for the Eagles, but in a week they’ll be back home against an easier team. Clemson 42, BC 10

Kyle Maslan: BC is coming off of a game that was competitive for about 40 minutes before falling apart, and they need to recoup fast as the schedule does not get any easier than ND last week. Clemson is the defending National Champion, number 2 in the country, so they are pretty good at football. New QB Kelly Bryant has shown promise early on under Dabo Sweeny and this defense if for real after silencing Auburn and Louisville’s offenses in consecutive weeks. Skill wise the BC offense does not stack up to those other two, but maybe this could be a trap game for the Tigers as they have faced back-to-back ranked opponents, and have a top 15 team in Virginia Tech next week. However, i would not put money on that. BC’s defense may be able to keep the game interesting for a while, but look for Clemson to roll. Clemson 38, BC 9

Ben Neuwirth: Clemson looks weel on their way to another playoff run and new QB Kelly Bryant have stepped up to fill Deshaun Watson’s shoes. The Tigers have a littany of RBs and after BC gave up 515 yards to Notre Dame, it will be crucial they control the ground attack. The defense needs to be better than it was against Wake and the Irish otherwise we could see this game get away from BC fast. Offensively Anthony Brown needs to have a big game with his legs and his arm, he’ll likely be running for his life from the fearsome Tiger pass rush. Jon Hillman had the best game of his career last week and his sucess and the ability for BC to control the clock and keep the Clemson offense off the field will be key. The talent disparity may be too large for BC to overcome here, especially on the road. Clemson 50, BC 17

Al Preziosi: To put this simply, Clemson has more talent on both sides of the ball and a better coach. Clemson is one of the better rushing teams in the country, averaging almost 250 yards on the ground per game, so expect the Tigers to take advantage of BC’s porous rush defense. To top it off, Clemson has the advantage of being home, so this one could get ugly. Clemson 41, BC 10

Sam Parsons: Remember that scene in “The Shawshank Redemption” when Red is narrating, and says, “I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight and that the Sisters let him be?” Well…I wish I could tell you that BC has a chance to win this game. I wish I could tell you that the matchup with all the makings of a trap game (Clemson is coming off two straight wins vs ranked teams and plays another ranked team next week) would be close. I wish I could tell you that, even though Clemson is the #2 team in the country and fresh off a game in which they successfully contained arguably the best player in college football on the road in Lamar Jackson; even though BC plays this team on the road, they still have a fighting chance. I wish I could tell you all of that. But I can’t. Clemson 52, BC 13

Matt Sottile: Boston College travels to Death Valley to try to pull off the unthinkable. Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant has proven to have no problem taking over for Deshawn Watson and, coming off a primetime victory at Louisville, and breaking apart defenses tough the air and courtesy of his physicality and downhill running courtesy of the read option. He will have no problem slicing through BC’s defensive line, a unit that allowed over 450 rushing yards last Saturday vs. Notre Dame. Clemson’s front four tallied 10 sacks in their season opener vs. Auburn, and they will dominate the Eagles’ offensive line. BC simply doesn’t have the experience or the talent to think about making this a game. Clemson 53, BC 10

Andrew Linnehan: Boston College faces potentially their toughest matchup of the entire season as they play the defending champion Clemson Tigers on the road. This is a tall task to ask of any team, but considering BC’s youth, health (or lack thereof), and struggles on both sides of the ball, this one has a real chance of getting ugly. Clemson is coming off a commanding win over #13 Louisville where they held the defending Heisman winner in Lamar Jackson to just 21 points. Swinney’s defense looks as stingy as ever and their offense is not far behind. As for the Eagles, Anthony Brown continued to have some growing pains but truly had some impressive passes against ND, including 2 touchdowns. Although, Brown hasn’t yet faced a defense as dominant as this yet and he will not get a warm welcome. The defense struggled immensely against the run after surrendering over 500 yards on the ground to the Fighting Irish. To have any chance in this game, the defense has to maintain ths run and contain the multitalented Kelly Bryant within the hash marks. I believe the #2 Clemson Tigers are arguably the best all-around team in the nation and they’ll look to expose the Eagles’ youth and health early and often. Coaches say you learn more when you lose than when you win. If that’s the case, the Eagles are going to be doing a lot of learning on Saturday. Clemson 49, BC 6.