Clemson Football Players Find That Boston College Brings the Best Out of Its Opponents: ACC Daily

The Boston College Eagles’ football program has not hosted the mighty Clemson Tigers, who are favored to win the Atlantic Coast Conference this year and be a College Football Playoff contender with potential 2026 Heisman Trophy quarterback Cade Klubnik under center, since the 2022 season.

The Eagles lost, 31-3, at home in the annual Red Bandanna Game when No. 5 Clemson last visited Chestnut Hill on Oct. 8, 2022, and BC is winless against the Tigers since 2010 in the 12 matchups since.

However, playing on the road at Alumni Stadium in weather which Clemson’s players are not accustomed to is always a tall task, according to the Tigers’ 2025 ACC Football Kickoff representatives.

Back when the Tigers were last in Alumni, Klubnik was a back up to former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Even then, despite taking just a few snaps, Klubnik felt that the environment in Chestnut Hill, Mass. put some intense pressure on the opposition.

Clemson football @ClemsonFB quarterback Cade Klubnik, a Heisman Trophy front runner, on heading up to Chestnut Hill in October to face @BCFootball:

“They’re a hard-fighting team. They’re gritty and they’re not a team ever to bow down.”@BostonCollegeSI pic.twitter.com/07uiDmqHgO
— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) July 24, 2025

“I got to go in that game, it’s a really neat stadium,” Klubnik told BC Eagles On SI. “It’s a cool spot, so I'm excited to go up there. It’s always a fun place to play. My roommate’s from Boston so I always give him a hard time about Boston and being from the Northeast.”

Klubnik agreed with the fact that BC tends to bring out the best in opponents, even if they are perennially stronger in the FBS than the Eagles.

“I think so, because they’re a hard-fighting team,” Klubnik said. “They’re gritty, and they’re not a team to ever bow down. They fight until the end. Obviously they had some success last year and it’s definitely a big game.”

Clemson wide receiver and all-purpose back Antonio Williams had five receptions for 29 receiving yards and a couple of carries in the Tigers’ blowout win over BC in 2022. He remembers that the atmosphere in Alumni stadium was heightened due to the bone-chilling conditions and brutal fan atmosphere that night.

“I remember how cold it was and how hard them boys was hitting,” Williams said. “They were hitting pretty hard and you felt it—every hit—because of the temperature. Boston College definitely has my respect and those players there are definitely some dogs. It’ll be fun to go back up there. Tough place to play.”

Besides the cold, according to Williams, the Boston College fan atmosphere was brutal as well.

“The fans was talking,” Williams said. “Coming out of the locker room and they were throwing stuff, throwing up f-bombs and stuff like that. It’s what you really love in a college football atmosphere, so it makes it tough in that aspect.”

Defensive end T.J Parker, a highly-touted NFL prospect who is a projected first-rounder when the 2026 National Football League Draft rolls around next April, didn’t play for the Tigers when they last visited Alumni, but he said he’s had an eye on the BC football program the past two seasons and more because of one player who he has taken countless lessons from.

That player is former BC defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku, the Dallas Cowboys’ second-round selection in 2025, who plays the same position as Parker and is the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Parker said he studies Ezeiruaku’s college tape for tips on edge moves and pass rushing and that he is hoping to live up to his greatness this upcoming season.

“I did look at his tape, he’s a great player,” Parker said. “His pass rush, all over the field, you see his presence everywhere. Big respect to him, we watched him a lot, obviously.”