Addazio says Tigers "most talented team we've played this year"

BC head coach Steve Addazio says Clemson is the most talented team the Eagles have played this season.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Wed Oct 14 07:01:02 GMT-04:00 2015

Boston College squared off against undefeated and talented Florida St. back in September, and Eagles head coach Steve Addazio knows the defending ACC champs have talent across the board. However, he thinks Clemson will be the most talented team the Eagles have faced to date.

Boston College (3-3) travels to Clemson (5-0) for a 7 p.m. mathcup with the No. 5/6 Tigers Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, and Addazio couldn’t say enough about the Tigers’ talent and the daunting challenge of playing in Death Valley at night.

"Without a doubt I would say they're the most talented team we've played this year,” Addazio said during his Tuesday press conference. “It's only our second road trip, but it's certainly one of the most daunting places to play on the road. So that will pose a great challenge for us. We worked yesterday on our silent cadence, which is something we've never done. We'll continue to work and have a great week. We're playing a great football team, so our focus is completely on that and having a great opportunity to go down and play on a national stage and play a great team and improve and play better and let it hang out.

“We have a tough one at Clemson, as you all know. It's a tough place to play at night. They're an outstanding football team. On offense, [Deshaun] Watson is playing great. He's the key to their offense and one of the huge keys to them being 5-0. He's a fantastic dual-threat quarterback that is throwing the ball well. He's got a great arm. He is really talented. He is athletic and he can extend plays and he has a really good supporting cast around him. So I think he is a real good player They've got other great players like Atavis Scott, Ray-Ray McCloudRay-Ray McCloud
Fr. Wide Receiver
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View Full Profile and Jordan LeggettJordan Leggett
Jr. Tight End
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Navarre, FL
View Full Profile . I think they're outstanding on offense and they're explosive.”

Addazio also likes what he sees out of Clemson’s defense.

"Defensively, they are 13th in total defense in the country,” he said. “They're 18th against the run and 29th against the pass. They only returned four starters, but most of that group that's out there has played a lot of football. They're not new to playing. Their safety Jayron KearseJayron Kearse
Jr. Safety
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Jr. Safety
#15 6-3, 203
Sylacauga, AL
View Full Profile , defensive end Kevin DoddKevin Dodd
RS Jr. Defensive End
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View Full Profile ; they have excellent talent.”

The Eagles have gone with a two-quarterback system with Troy Flutie and Jeff Smith. Flutie, a redshirt freshman, has started the last three games. However, both Flutie and Smith have played extensively since the Eagles lost starter Darius Wade for the year to a broken left ankle in a 14-0 loss to Florida St. in the season’s third week. Addazio said that he wants to settle on one quarterback for this weekend’s games.

“I am going to settle on one quarterback. I'm going to announce that later in the week,” he said. “As I said from the beginning, [rotating quarterbacks] wasn't what I wanted to do, but it's what I needed to do to amply figure out which guy [would start]. First, I wanted to get experience for both of them and also I needed to see if one of them could really separate [himself]. So until that point, that's what we thought was best. I think now we're getting to that point where we're going to settle in a bit and see where that brings us right now. That's where it is.”

Boston College has scored just seven points in three ACC games, and Addazio said the Eagles won’t get a break this week in playing a “sensational” Clemson defense.

"We are not scoring points right now. But you have to look at [whether] you're a long way away or a little bit away. Right now, I'd say we're a little bit away,” he said. “Now, that little bit can be grand, especially when you're playing the defenses that we're playing. We're talking about a top-10 defense, a top-20 defense, a top-15 defense. We are playing some of the finest. This defense we are playing this week is sensational. That's not coach speak. They just are. Put that in perspective for a minute now. We're going to go down there and play a great defense on their home field on a Saturday night, one of the hardest places to play in America.

“That's a fact. I'm not complaining about it. It's just what it is. You have to think that through a little bit. It's all a part of it. Just like Duke's defense was in the top 20 when we played them. They're a top-25 team right now. We had a great opportunity to beat Duke in a lot of fronts. Wake Forest's defense was ranked in the top 25. Florida State's defense was in the top 10. We are measuring ourselves against some pretty good foes right now, which, when you're struggling, that combination sometimes can be a bit overwhelming. But that will all come through.”