Boston College vs Clemson Preview & Gambling Picks
After a dominant win over NC State, can BC keep it going against... oh crap we're traveling to Clemson this week? Oh well. Let's get to the preview.
Who: The defending National Champions. The #4 and 7-0 Clemson Tigers. Dabo Swinney's team lost a ton of talent from last year's team, especially on defense, but reloaded and has another National Championship contender. Having said that, they did survive quite a scare earlier this season when they beat Mack Brown's North Carolina 21-20, needing to defend a 2-point conversion late to avoid the upset.
Where: Death Valley. Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
Weather: 60 degrees and a 90% chance of rain. Let's hope it pours.
When: 7:30PM/ET, 5:30PM/Mountain Time.
What Channel: ACC Network Extra
Where I'll Be Watching: The Long Island Game Watch.
What's the Spread: Currently, Boston College are 34.5 point underdogs. Lose by less than five touchdowns and we got a winner!
What Else? Take a guess what Steve Addazio's record against Top 25 opponents is at BC. 1 win. 15 losses. Leaves a lot to be desired. I know some folks thinks he's like a poor man's version of Tom O'Brien, but Steve's going to need to win a few more games against Top 25 opponents to even come close to TOB's status. For all the faults of Tom O'Brien, he had a knack for usually pulling off one big upset a season. If Addazio had even just a couple more big Top 25 wins on his resume, his seat would be a lot cooler than it currently. is.
Most Important Dude(s)
Safeties Mike Palmer and Mehdi El Attrach
Clemson has some serious offensive weapons. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Running back Travis Etienne. Wide receiver Tee Higgins. I could go on. They're loaded. It's going to take a Herculean effort from our entire defense to even remotely slow them down. Our starting safeties, who have struggled plenty, are going to need to play their best game of the year to even have a chance. They can't bite on all of Lawrence's play-action and head fakes. They have to be able to tackle Etienne in space. They'll need to stay prevent Higgins form beating them deep. It's going to be a tall task. Let's see if they're up for it.
3 Keys to #SOAR'N
1) Convert 3rd Downs, Control Clock – Forget the tempo. This game is going to be about moving the ball down the field at a methodical pace and limiting possessions. Does this mean just pounding the rock? No. But it does mean that we need to be able to have long drives that keep our own defense fresh, Clemson's offense off the field and hopefully resulting in BC points.
2) Make Clemson Dink and Dunk – The one thing that can make time of possession pointless is if Clemson's offense is scoring off big plays left and right. If we miss tackles that turn into touchdowns or let their speedy receivers score on deep bombs, we're toast.
3) Get Lucky – We need weird stuff to happen to have a shot. They have to fumble it a few times. We need tip balls bounce into our hands. Dropped passes. Muffed punts. Missed kicks. The rain should help in this regard. Grab your lucky rabbit's foot and give it a rub.
Final Prediction
Clemson 52
Boston College 14
I don't think we get lucky. The talent gap is too extreme for us to keep up with Clemson.
Giblin's Gambles
This Will Be Where I Make A Few CFB Picks Each Week - Use At Your Own Risk My Season Goal: Over 57%
2019 Record: 37-29-1, 56.1%
5-2 week last week. We'll take that every time. Almost had 6-1 too if only Bob's Stoops walk-on son didn't drop a relatively easy pass. Sigh. We'll take the winning week though.
1) Iowa at Northwestern UNDER 37 – Two good defenses. One okay offense and one offense that resembles the 2015 BC offense. This game should produce four touchdowns or less.
2) South Carolina -4.5 at Tennessee– Think there are some lingering affects here for the Vols after almost beating Alabama and dealing with the aftermath of the Pruitt facemask. Muschamp wins.
3 & 4) LSU -10.5 vs Auburn AND LSU/Auburn Under 59 – Auburn has a decent defense that I think can slow LSU down slightly. Meanwhile, I think Auburn will struggle to move the ball. Think this is a 31-17 type win for LSU. So lay the points and take the under.
5) Texas at TCU OVER 56 – Sam Ehlinger will score points for Texas. Texas defense will give up points to practically anyone. Take the over.
6) Memphis -10.5 vs Tulsa – The Tigers are rolling right now and are clearly better than Tulsa. Think they win comfortably.
7) Notre Dame at Michigan UNDER 51.5 – Cold, rainy weather expected. Ian Book expected. John Harbaugh's offense expected. Low scoring expected.
8) Washington State at Oregon UNDER 65 – The number is only this high because of name recognition. And okay Washington State has given up 60+ to a team earlier this year. But Oregon actually has a really strong defense but also lost a key cog in their offense recently in TE Breeland. Take the under.