Clemson went into Chestnut Hill and took care of business with a 41-10 blowout win over Boston College on Saturday night.

The Tigers had more than 200 yards passing and more than 200 rushing yards in the victory and moved to 66-2 all-time under Dabo Swinney when doing so.

Defense Stepped Up When Needed

Sure, this defense gave up far too many chunk plays, particularly in the first half, but when the Tigers needed it the most, Tom Allen’s unit stepped up. And it happened twice in the first half.

The first time, it was Sammy Brown sacking BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan and forcing a fumble. The Eagles were driving, looking to pull back to within seven points, and that play was what really halted any momentum the opposing team was trying to build.

The second time came later in the second quarter, with BC approaching midfield. Allen’s squad turned the Eagles over on downs with just 10 seconds left in the half. That helped set up Nolan Hauser’s 50-yard FG as time expired, putting the Tigers up 34-10.

Early in the fourth quarter, after Clemson muffed a punt and with BC facing a 4th and 2 inside the 10-yard line, Ricardo Jones picked off a pass in the end zone for the Tigers’ second forced turnover of the game.

The defense finished with five sacks and got some pressure when they needed it. The Eagles finished the night with just 221 yards of offense and only averaged 3.6 yards per play.

Make no mistake, there are still some things this group needs to keep working on, but the name of the game is trying to keep the opponent off the scoreboard, and the Eagles only scored 10 points.

Klubnik With Another Stellar Outing

Cade Klubnik had another big game before leaving with an injury late in the third quarter. The senior finished 22-of-30 for 280 yards with one touchdown throw. He also rushed for a team-high 48 yards, with another touchdown via his legs.

Klubnik completed passes to 10 different receivers, with Antonio Williams leading the way with seven catches.

He did throw one interception, and he was getting killed for making a bad decision on social media, but he was throwing it to an open receiver, and the ball appeared to slip out of his hand.

Wesco Keeps Delivering

Bryant Wesco finished with a team-high 106 receiving yards, the third time he’s gone over the century mark this season. He averaged over 21 yards per catch, and his 38-yard touchdown grab was a thing of beauty, as he went up and made the contested catch.

Why Was Klubnik Still In Game?

With Clemson up 34-10, late in the third quarter, Klubnik took off on a QB run and was absolutely lit up inside the BC 5-yard line. The senior would leave the game and was seen limping on the sideline after. The question becomes, with that kind of lead at that point in the game, why not put in your backup, even if you only let him hand it off? With the way Chris Vizzina has looked in limited action, any injury to Klubnik is possibly devastating.

Hauser Back Into Form

It was good to see Nolan Hauser hit a field goal from 50 yards in this one. He had been 0-for-2 on attempts from 50 or beyond coming in. After hitting on both attempts tonight, he is now 6-of-8 on the season.

Photo by Eric Canha-Imagn Images