Here is a look at the top matchups for today’s game between Boston College and No. 5 Clemson. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU. The Eagles enter the game with a 3-3 record and are 0-3 in the ACC, while the Tigers are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.
Wayne Gallman vs. BC run defense: The Eagles defense is allowing just 41.7 yards per game on the ground, and just 1.4 yards per carry. Both rank No. 1 nationally. Just how good are they? They held Florida State’s ground game, and ACC leading rusher, Dalvin Cook to 54 yards. The Seminoles, who are averaging 203.4 yards per game running the football, were held to 98 yards by the BC defense. Gallman is the ACC’s second leading rusher with 536 yards and five touchdowns. He has rushed for 365 yards in the last three games against Louisville, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. Gallman is averaging 6.0 yards per carry. Advantage: Boston College
Deshaun Watson vs. BC secondary: Against Georgia Tech, Deshaun Watson was finally able to cut it loose a little as he completed 21 of 30 passes for 265 yards, including two touchdown passes to tight end Jordan Leggett. The Eagles lead the nation in passing defense and pass efficiency defense, while opponents are completing 45.7 percent of their passes. But let’s be honest here, Boston College has not played a quarterback of Watson’s caliber yet. FSU’s Everett Golson is a good quarterback and it talented, but he is still limited in what he knows and can do in the Seminoles’ offense and was even more limited back in Week 3. Watson understands this Clemson offense very well and he is far advanced for his age when it comes to decision making, maturity and leadership. Advantage: Clemson
Clemson’s offensive speed vs. Boston College’s defensive speed: All week, all we heard from the coaches and players is how aggressive and how BC comes at you going downhill. In other words, don’t go up the middle or you not going to find much success there. That tells me the Tigers will try to use its speed at wide receiver to take advantage of the edges and see if the Eagles are just as good moving laterally as they are going north and south. Look for Clemson to throw even more screens, tunnel passes and pop passes to Artavis Scott, Ray Ray McCloud and Deon Cain so they can utilize their athletic ability more in space. Offensive Coordinators Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott will also test the Eagles deep early in hopes to loosen up the run defense and to keep the backers from being so aggressive. Advantage: Clemson
Clemson’s rush defense vs. Boston College’s rush offense: The only thing Boston College does well on offense is run the football so you can see why this is the key to this game on this side of the football. The Eagles rank third in the ACC at 214 yards a game on the ground. The Eagles rely heavily on the quarterback to run the football, which Jeff Smith does well. The freshman is averaging 6.8 yards per carry and has scored six touchdowns. He leads the team with 253 yards. That can bode well for a Clemson defense that is good at shutting down running quarterbacks. Clemson held Georgia Tech running back Justin Thomas to a career low five rushing yards in last week’s win. Tech, as a team, averaged just 1.7 yards per carry, producing its lowest rushing total in the seven years Paul Johnson has been the head coach. Brent Venables is a master at taking away what the opposition does best. That should be the case today as he will try to force BC into obvious passing situations, which will take Smith out of the game and force the Eagles to throw the football more than they want to, which at 109 yards a game it is something they are not very good at doing. Advantage: Clemson
Bottom line: Boston College is very good on defense and it is crazy to think how good it could really be if the offense had its starting quarterback, running back, tight end and wide receiver still playing. But they don’t and it causes the team to have to rely on the defense way too much to make stops. Against a team like Clemson, that can be dangerous. If you give Deshaun Watson more opportunities, he is eventually going to find you in a mistake or blown coverage and he will exploit it. Also, Clemson’s offense is starting to grow up and is getting into a rhythm, especially with its young, but very talented wide receivers. BC will keep this game close early because of its defense and it will make the natives a little restless, but in the end, Clemson will have too much for BC on offense and the Eagles’ inefficient offense will not be able to counter against a Clemson defense that is just as good and even more talented than theirs.
Prediction: Clemson 35, Boston College 3