Clemson's Defense, Running Game Push Tigers Past Boston College
CLEMSON — No. 25 Clemson knocked off Boston College 19-13 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium with an old-school style.
The Tigers rushed for 233 yards and had its most productive running attack against an FBS opponent of the year by the first half and relied on its defense to create turnovers and sacks to down the Eagles and earn their second ACC victory.
A week after suffering a 27-21 overtime loss at NC State, Clemson (3-2, 2-1 ACC) once again found itself in a barn-burner with BC, which reached Tiger territory with about three minutes to play in the game and down six.
But the defense, like two weeks ago against Georgia Tech, made a late-game stop on fourth-and-9 with 2:22 to play. After the Tigers did nothing on offense, BC again reached Clemson territory with less than two minutes to play, but K.J. Henry recovered a fumble on a bad snap with 49 seconds to go to kick off October with a win.
However, the injury bug continued to strike, though. The Tigers lost tight end Braden Galloway to an injury in the first half, and then receiver Justyn Ross later left the game. Neither returned. The Tigers went into the game without starting right guard Will Putnam.
But the offensive line played its best game of the season with Matt Bockhorst moving from center to Putnam's spot. Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei went 13-of-28 passing for 208 yards via the air and another 50 on the ground.
Key play: Holding on to a 16-13 lead with six minutes to play and facing a third-and-12, Uiagalelei found Joseph Ngata on a pass that led to a 54-yard play. That set up a 42-yard field goal by B.T. Potter to give Clemson some breathing room.
Player of the game: Not only did Kobe Pace lead the team in rushing with 124 yards on 18 carries, but he also caught a 31-yard pass. He scored on a 59-yard touchdown run behind a huge hole from his offensive line in the most important game of his young career with starter Will Shipley out.
Freshman impact: Pressed into duty after Shipley suffered a leg injury that has him out a month, Phil Mafah saw his first action of the season and impressed right away. Three of his first four carries went for at least 10 yards, including a spinning 28-yard scamper. He finished with an average of 8.3 yards on seven carries.
Coach's decision: Up three points in the fourth quarter, Clemson opted for a speed-option play on third-and-1 at the BC 43 that went for a 3-yard loss. The odd play call then led Dabo Swinney to punt instead of going for it on fourth down. The latter decision at least paid off as the Tigers' defense got a sack on third down to force the Eagles to punt it back.
Stat of the game: The Tigers racked up 440 yards on offense, the most against an FBS opponent this season. They came into this game averaging an ACC-worst 295 yards per game.
Up next: Clemson gets the week off to regroup and heal some bumps and bruises before getting back to action on Oct. 15 at Syracuse.
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