CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — It’s Game Day in Alumni Stadium where No. 2 Clemson battles No. 17 Boston College in an Atlantic Division showdown. The Tigers hope to win the Atlantic Division and punch their ticket for the ACC Championship.
Location: Alumni Stadium
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m.
Television: ABC
Announcers: Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler, Maria Taylor
2018 Record: Clemson 9-0, Boston College 7-2
ACC Record: Clemson 6-0 , Boston College 4-1
Series History: Clemson leads 16-9-2
Last Meeting: Clemson won 34-7 in 2017 at Louisville
CLEMSON SEEKS FOURTH STRAIGHT ACC ATLANTIC DIVISION TITLE ON SATURDAY
No. 2/2 Clemson will be in search of its fourth consecutive ACC Atlantic Division title when it travels to face the No. 17/14 Boston College Eagles on Saturday, Nov. 10. Kickoff from Alumni Stadium is scheduled for
8 p.m. ET.
Head Coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers list five goals at the start of each season: Win the opener, win the division, win the state, win the conference and win the closer. Clemson accomplished goal No. 1 in September, and this week represents an opportunity for Clemson to secure goal No. 2. With a victory Saturday, Clemson can win the Atlantic Division and become the first team to win four straight division titles since the ACC’s formation of divisions in 2005. A division title would be Clemson’s sixth overall in that span, which would add to the most of any ACC Atlantic program and tie Virginia Tech for the most of any ACC program in either division.
A win would also represent the 50th by the Clemson senior class since 2015, which would tie school and ACC records for wins by a senior class. A victory would give Clemson its eighth consecutive 10-win season to tie
Miami (1985-92) and Virginia Tech (2004-11) for the fourth-longest streak of 10-win seasons in FBS history.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK
– Clemson attempting to open a season 10-0 for the fourth time in program history, joining 10-0 starts in 1948, 1981 and 2015. Including ties, it would be Clemson’s fifth undefeated start through 10 games including a 9-0-1 season in 1950.
– Clemson winning the first 10 games of a season for the second time under Head Coach Dabo Swinney (2015). Swinney would become the first coach in
Clemson history to coach the school to multiple 10-0 starts, as legendary coaches Frank Howard and Danny Ford only accomplished the feat once each, in 1948 and 1981, respectively.
– Clemson winning 10 games for an eighth consecutive year, adding to its current school-record streak. In pushing the streak of 10-win seasons to eight, Clemson would tie Miami (1985-92) and Virginia Tech (2004-11) for the
fourth-longest streak of 10-win seasons in FBS history.
– Clemson winning its 10th game of the season to tie for the ninth-most wins in a season in team history.
– Clemson winning its 50th game in the last four years to tie the 2018 senior class with the 2017 senior class for the most wins in school history. It would also tie for the most wins of any class in ACC history.
– Clemson playing its final true road game of the season. With a win, Clemson would finish undefeated in true road games three times in a four-year span for the first time in school history.
O’ROURKE-McFADDEN TROPHY
This year’s matchup represents the 11th time that Clemson and Boston College will play for the O’RourkeMcFadden Trophy, which the Boston College Gridiron Club began sponsoring in 2008. Clemson has won nine of
the 10 years the trophy has been awarded.
The trophy features a leather helmet replica of those used by Charlie O’Rourke of Boston College and Banks McFadden of Clemson, when they competed against each other in the 1940 Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. In
addition to the trophy presentation, the Boston College Gridiron Club presents a replica leather helmet to the MVP of the winning school in the locker room.
C.J. Spiller won the award for the 2008 game when he had 242 all-purpose yards, and Clemson kicker Richard Jackson won the award for the 2009 game. He kicked six field goals in the Clemson victory, the only kicker at the
FBS level to kick six field goals in a game in 2009.
ORANGE BRITCHES
This week’s contest should mark the 2018 debut of Clemson’s orange pants, known adoringly in Clemson parlance as the orange britches. Head Coach Dabo Swinney has typically reserved Clemson’s orange pants for games in which championships are at stake, whether it be for the division, for the state, for the conference, for a bowl or for a national title.
The orange britches made their debut on Nov. 22, 1980, when Clemson surprised its fan base by debuting the orange pants prior to a 27-6 win against No. 14 South Carolina. Tim Bourret and Sam Blackman described the
surprise in their 2016 book If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Clemson Tigers Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box:
NIGHT MOVES
This week’s contest represents only Clemson’s second night game of the 2018 season. Entering the year, Clemson had played 23 of its 44 games since 2015 at night.
Including a victory in their 2018 night debut at Texas A&M earlier this year, Clemson is 21-3 in night games since 2015, including a 10-1 record in true road games. Clemson has not lost a Saturday night game in that time frame, as the team’s only three evening losses since 2015 have come on two Mondays (postseason games vs. Alabama) and a Friday (at Syracuse).
COMIN’ TO THEIR CITY
Saturday’s contest will mark Clemson’s 19th apearance in ESPN College GameDay’s featured game. The Tigers enter the contest with an 11-7 record
in the presence of College GameDay, including victories in their last seven appearance.
A RETURN FOR REED
Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed is a 1995 Boston College graduate. He was a four-year lettermen for the Eagles from 1991-94 and was the Eagles team captain in 1994.
Reed started his last two years, including 1993 when Boston College had a 9-3 record, including a victory over No. 1 ranked Notre Dame in South Bend that eliminated the Fighting Irish from the National Championship game.
Reed had a tackle and a pass breakup on Notre Dame’s first possession, then suffered a broken jaw when Boston College blocked a punt and he was not able to return. Reed was a second-team All-Big East selection in
1993.
TCI Predictions
Robert – Clemson 55, Boston College 17
Will – Clemson 45, Boston College 20