Boston College Review

by Mickey Plyler - Radio Host - Mon Oct 14 09:19:21 GMT-04:00 2013

Boston College Review

Saturday afternoon's 24-14 win over Boston College was tougher than almost anyone expected and I think a couple of things contributed to that.

First, you have to give Boston College credit. I knew they have some talented seniors and I wrote about Andre Williams, Chase Rettig, Alex Amidon and Kevin St. Pierre last week. What I did not know was that Boston College would come up with brilliant game plans on both sides of the ball.

On defense, BC limited Clemson by sending creative blitzes from their 3-4 scheme. The Clemson offensive linemen rarely had a chance to pick up the extra attackers. The Eagles were much more aggressive than I thought they would be on defense.

On offense, the Eagles tried to run the ball with Williams but were more successful with the bootleg and the play action long ball.

Another factor that made the game closer than expected was Clemson's blunders. The Tigers missed a chip shot field goal, they botched a snap on a field goal, they fumbled the ball five times and they had several bad penalties.

The defense played well once again. The Tigers have now held opponents to 14 points or less in five straight games. That is the longest such streak since the Tigers did it in six straight games from the end of 1989 to the first game of 1990.

Clemson’s defense held the nation’s leading rusher Andre Williams to just 70 yards rushing and an average of 2.9 yards per carry. He entered the game averaging 153.6 rushing yards per game and 5.8 yards per carry.

The Eagles were held to 286 total yards, including only 94 on the ground. BC had only 12 first downs and went 3-16 on third and fourth downs.

The defensive line was dominant. Vic BeasleyVic Beasley
RS Jr. Defensive End
#3 6-3, 225
Adairsville, GA
View Full Profile became the first defensive player to win the Leather Helmet Award. He had five tackles, including one sack and two tackles for loss plus a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Tony StewardTony Steward
Jr. Linebacker
#7 6-0, 235
Hastings, FL
View Full Profile recorded the first sack of his career, which forced the fumble that led to Beasley’s touchdown.

Shaq LawsonShaq Lawson
Fr. Defensive End
#90 6-4, 260
Central, SC
View Full Profile played perhaps his finest game. Corey CrawfordCorey Crawford
Jr. Defensive End
#93 6-5, 270
Columbus, GA
View Full Profile , Grady JarrettGrady Jarrett
Jr. Defensive Tackle
#50 6-1, 290
Conyers, GA
View Full Profile , DeShawn WilliamsDeShawn Williams
Jr. Defensive Tackle
#99 6-1, 285
Central, SC
View Full Profile and the linebackers pressured Rettig throughout the entire game.

I thought Robert SmithRobert Smith
Jr. Safety
#27 5-10, 210
St. George, SC
View Full Profile had his best game yet. The first-year starter at safety tied his career-high of nine tackles, which he set last week at Syracuse.

Spencer ShueySpencer Shuey
Gr. Linebacker
#33 6-3, 230
Charlotte, NC
View Full Profile and Stephone AnthonyStephone Anthony
Jr. Linebacker
#42 6-2, 235
Polkton, NC
View Full Profile helped shutdown Williams with terrific tackling. Anthony had 11 tackles, including three tackles for loss and two sacks.

Clemson now has three defensive touchdowns on the season. That is the most since 2006, when the Tigers recorded four defensive touchdowns.

The Tigers lead the nation in sacks per game and entered with a 3.8 mark. The defense recorded five sacks in the game to give them 24 sacks for the season, an average of four per game. Besides Anthony's two sacks, Steward had one, Beasley had one and Crawford had one.

The offense stumbled with a comedy of errors in the first half. The Tigers fumbled five times in all and lost possession after two.

The running game was stuffed for most of the game with Clemson only gaining 162 yards on the ground.

Tajh BoydTajh Boyd
RS Sr. Quarterback
#10 6-1, 225
Hampton, VA
View Full Profile and Sammy WatkinsSammy Watkins
Jr. Wide Receiver
#2 6-1, 205
Fort Myers, FL
View Full Profile bailed out the offense with big plays in the second half. Boyd threw for 334 yards to become the all-time leader in passing yards in Clemson history with 9,836 yards. He also moved in to fourth place in ACC history in career passing yards.

Boyd was 30 of 44 with a touchdown and no interceptions. He now has 14 300-yard passing games in his career. That moves him in to sole possession of second place in ACC history in that category.

He also earned his 27th win as a starting quarterback with today’s victory.

Boyd is now second in total offense in ACC history. He has 10,788 yards in his career, trailing only Philip Rivers of NC State. He passed former Georgia Tech signal-caller Joe Hamilton in today’s game for second on the list.

Watkins had seven catches for 101 yards and a beautiful deep ball touchdown. He now has 11 100-yard receiving games in his career, just one shy of the Clemson record of 12. He also moved in to fifth place in Clemson history in career receiving yards with 2,509.

Adam HumphriesAdam Humphries
Jr. Wide Receiver
#13 5-11, 190
Spartanburg, SC
View Full Profile recorded a career-high nine catches for 81 yards. Mike WilliamsMike Williams
Fr. Wide Receiver
#7 6-5, 205
Vance, SC
View Full Profile had a couple of big catches as did Martavis BryantMartavis Bryant
Jr. Wide Receiver
#1 6-5, 200
Calhoun Falls, SC
View Full Profile , but the Eagles defense played well and came up with a great blitzing scheme that had the offensive line confused.

So, in the end, the Tigers have now won 11 straight ACC games. That is the longest streak since Clemson won 20 straight against ACC foes from 1981-84. Clemson has now won 14 straight games by double-digit points over unranked teams.

Clemson survived a slight scare but the win now sets up one of the biggest games in Atlantic Coast Conference history.

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Defensive Tackle
#98 6-2, 310
Thomasville, GA
View Full Profile , Alvin Sammons, Georgine McAlhaney, Glen Davis, Mike Price, Clay Childers, Aaron Knight, Danielle Johnston and family, Nicholas Abrams, Lana Kuykendall, Gary, Gary G., William Huggins, Jim Bennett, Chantz Fowler, Ethel McElveen, Michele Gurganus, William Gentry, Lewis Usher and Tanya Sanders, Shon Cooper, Nick Collins, Amanda Peake, Danny Hammond, Chip Turner, Nick Collins, Allen Steen, the Sturkey family, the Lance family, Nick Chrisley's family, Allison Williams, Lt. Kyle Walker, Summer and Joel Johnson, Nicole O'Donnell, James O. Johnson, Joy Pruett and family, Bill Schmidt, Jack Bailey, Gardner Family, Charles Turner, Kathy Bartholomew, Ray Sanders, David and Robin Blocker, J.R. Ray, Kenneth Kowe, Lauren Sielicki, Doug Bailey and family, Jenna Phipps, Mark Lawrence, Harlan Sullins, Peter Laboy, Kat and Carlisle Jones, Elizabeth Galloway and family, Anita McDonald, Willard Harryman, Liz Surratt, Molly Senn, Jackie Shearer, Richard Sellers, Tim Drisdelle, Edward Easterling, Dawson Bourne, Susan and Mike Brown, Julie Goodman Marshall, Willard and Dorothy Harryman, Justin Jernigan, Jack Cunningham, Mia Daughtery, Tee Senn, Jim Lanier, Bob Garrett, Skylar, Joseph Thomas, Mrs. Nelis, and our great country and the men and women in uniform that protect and serve it every day, plus their families.