Few teams, if any, have played defense as well as Boston College has this year. The Eagles lead the nation in total defense, passing defense and rushing defense, and not surprisingly are second in the country in scoring defense.
“Right now, they are the standard in the country,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said on Wednesday. “I mean, they lead the nation in just about every major defensive category. They have given up one touchdown all year, so it’s a huge challenge for us this week.”
That touchdown came against Florida State in a 14-0 loss. The Seminoles used a Boston College fumble to score one of their two touchdowns.
In fact, BC became the first team since 1993 to hold two consecutive opponents without a touchdown and lose both games. Coincidently, it was the last team to do it, too. The Eagles lost to both Duke and Wake Forest by a combined score of 12-7.
And therein lies the reasoning on why, despite having the nation’s best defense, Boston College is 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the ACC.
The Eagles, who lost starting quarterback Darius Wade for the season due to a broken foot, are averaging 323 yards a game, which ranks last in the ACC and 118th in the country. They rank 13th in the conference in scoring (20.7) and 111th nationally.
“Listen, we have a great defense, and I’m real proud of our defense, of (defensive coordinator) Don Brown. Our defense is playing phenomenal, that’s not deniable,” Boston College head coach Steve Addazio said. “We are going to face a real strong offense right now. So that’s what we’re going to find out from in Saturday’s game.
“On offense, we have a young, immature offense that is playing against the fourth top 20 defense we have seen. So we’re talking about 13th in the country in total defense. So this is an offense that’s depleted and is playing really good defenses each week.”
Clemson (5-0, 2-0 ACC) ranks 13th nationally in total defense, allowing just 288 yards per game. The Tigers’ defensive front has owned the line of scrimmage all year, dominating every offensive line they have faced, including a Notre Dame team that has been running all over everyone else. Clemson head the Irish to 111 yards on the ground.
Georgia Tech, which leads the ACC in rushing offense, was held to 71 yards on the ground, the second lowest total for a Paul Johnson team since he became a head coach.
“They have good players playing on that defense right now. They’re stout inside. They run. They’re physical, and their scheme is real good,” Addazio said.
The Tigers’ offense isn’t too bad, either. After some who questioned the passing game following the Notre Dame game, Deshaun Watson came out and completed 21 of 30 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia Tech.
Clemson finished the game with 336 yards through the air as a team. The Tigers have also been able to run the football. Running back Wayne Gallman has produced three straight games in which he produced at least 111 yards, while as a team they have rushed for at least 200 yard in all but one game this year.
“I’m impressed with their offensive line, and I’m very impressed with Deshaun Watson,” Addazio said. “And then in addition to that, they have playmakers. So when you put a good, strong offensive line with an experienced, heady quarterback, and then you sprinkle in the speed and the skill players that they have, this is all not rocket science.
“You win when you have good players and then you put them in good positions.”
Addazio believes without a doubt Clemson’s offense is the most balanced BC has faced all year. The Tigers are averaging 195.4 yards per game on the ground and 236.4 through the air.
“We have a really good defense, and our defense is going to get challenged by a really good offense. That’s why, at the end of the year, you get a good (look) at all of this because a lot of the things that happen statistically early have to do with who you’re playing against,” he said. “We played Florida State, and we played with our hair on fire. We were able to hold the thing down to seven points. We fumbled the ball in our own area for the other one. So we played real strong against a really good team. The Duke offense is a really strong team. We played really well against that offense. This will be another tough contest.”