Eagles run out of gas
Tigers wear down BC defense in 4th
CLEMSON, S.C. — Boston College’s plan against second-ranked Clemson was to take the game into the fourth quarter and hope for a break.
The Eagles defense accomplished the former only to see all the breaks go Clemson’s way at the end. The defending national champion Tigers scored 27 points in the fourth quarter and 20 inside the final six minutes in a 34-7 victory over BC yesterday at Memorial Stadium.
BC fell to 1-3 on the season and will host Central Michigan on Saturday at Alumni Stadium. Clemson improved to 4-0 in will take on Virginia Tech in a huge ACC showdown at Lane Stadium.
“I would rather focus on what we did in the belly of the game,” said BC coach Steve Addazio. “This was the No.2 team in the country and we took them late into the fourth quarter and our kids played their tails off and that is the story line of the game.
“We went after them with everything we had and we made plays on offense and made plays on defense and I was proud of the way our kids fought.”
The two teams entered the game from opposite extremes. Clemson scored a convincing 42-21 victory over No. 14 Louisville last weekend where Tigers quarterback Kelly Bryant outplayed the Cardinals Lamar Jackson, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
BC entered Death Valley following an embarrassing 49-20 loss to Notre Dame where the Irish rushed for 515 yards, 308 of which came on six plays.
The Eagles defense struggled against dual-threat quarterbacks in consecutive losses to Wake Forest and Notre Dame but managed to contain Bryant until late.
Bryant netted 106 rushing yards on 22 attempts and was 17-of-26 passing for 140 yards with two interceptions. Clemson recorded 218 of its 482 yards of offense in the fourth quarter. BC safety Lukas Denis led the Eagles with 13 tackles, nine solo tackles with a forced fumble and an interception.
“We focused this week on containing (Bryant) as much as possible,” said defensive end Harold Landry. “We contained him in the back end and we contained him in the rush.”
BC’s defense took advantage of the favorable field position provided by punter Mike Knoll. Clemson began five drives inside its 10 and was forced to punt six times.
The Tigers scored first on a 94-yard, 13-play drive in the second quarter that was extended 12 yards on an advanced fumble by guard Taylor Hearn. Bryan capped the drive with an 11-yard sweep.
BC tied the game 7-7 with 3:30 to play in the third on a short drive executed by redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Brown. Freshman tailback A.J. Dillon scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard dive.
Clemson regained the lead with a 10-play, 67-yard drive. A 52-yard punt return by Ray-Ray McLeod set up Clemson’s third score. Freshman tailback Travis Etienne made it 27-7 on a 50-yard run. He added a 10-yarder with 50 seconds to go.