Clemson’s focus on Boston College
Keys for Boston College
Offensive balance: The Eagles relied heavily through the first five games on the throwing arm of quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who has attempted the second-most passes among ACC quarterbacks (224) this season.
But last week against Georgia Tech, the BC rushing attack came alive by producing 264 yards.
The balanced attack proved difficult for the Yellow Jackets to stop. If the Eagles can achieve something similar against Clemson, it would give them a fighting chance.
Wrap up on tackles: Due in large part to some shoddy tackling by Boston College, Virginia Tech gashed the Eagles for 350 yards rushing two weeks ago. There was some major improvement in that area against Georgia Tech as BC limited the Yellow Jackets to 106 yards rushing and an average 3.2 yards per carry.
Failure to wrap up on tackles against Clemson, and especially on running back Travis Etienne, will result in big plays that Boston College can’t afford to surrender.
Keys for Clemson
Don’t be bored: The Tigers are beating everyone so easily in ACC play that it’s easy to get bored, especially against the lower echelon teams.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence felt that happened last week in a first half against lowly Syracuse in which he said Clemson lacked energy. That allowed the Orange to hang around until well into the third quarter.
Get healthy on defense: Clemson was missing three defensive starters who were out with injuries against Syracuse in defensive tackle Tyler Davis, cornerback Derion Kendrick and linebacker James Skalski as well as reserve defensive tackle Darnell Jeffries.
Jeffries has been cleared to play against Boston College. Getting Skalski and Davis would be a big boost against Boston College because they are two of Clemson’s more physical players on defense.
Prediction
Clemson 55, Boston College 17: The Eagles are one of those teams, because of their style of play, that seems to play everyone close. They might hang with the Tigers for a half, but after experiencing a bit of frustration in the first half against Syracuse, you can expect Clemson to be at the top of its game from the outset of this one. And that doesn’t bode well for Boston College.