Ups and Downs: Clemson Finishes Strong at Boston College

Clemson had its share of good and bad in Saturday night's 31-3 victory road victory over the Eagles.

It wasn't pretty, but Clemson got the job done on the road. 

The No. 5 Tigers improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in ACC play with a 31-3 victory over Boston College (2-4, 1-3). Clemson scored 21 unanswered points to get their 12th consecutive victory in the series with the Eagles. 

Here's what went well and what didn't for the Tigers: 

Ups

Defensive pressure: Clemson's defensive front made a huge impact in this game. BC entered the night with the highest pressure rate against them in the country, so the game plan was simple: get home on QB Phil Jurkovec. And the Tigers made his life miserable. They recorded four sacks, 13 QB hurries and forced two fumbles. Xavier Thomas returned from an injured foot and made his season debut with two sacks. Tré Williams got one. Barrett Carter got through on the blitz numerous times to affect Jurkovec. KJ Henry spent the night in the backfield. Clemson racked up 11 tackles for a loss. 

Pitching a TD shutout: For the first time this season, the Tigers didn't allow a touchdown by the opponent. They had given up one to Georgia Tech and Furman each, two to NC State and Louisiana Tech each and six to Wake Forest. But the Eagles only had two red-zone trips. It marked the first time Clemson's held a team out of the end zone since the 30-0 win over South Carolina last November. The Tigers had three games total in which the opponent didn't score a touchdown in 2021. 

Finish strong: Clemson treated the second half completely differently than the first. The Tigers opened the third quarter with two chunk-yard plays, including a 38-yard touchdown pass from DJ Uiagalelei to Joseph Ngata. The defense forced five punts, a blocked field goal and a fumble on the next seven possessions. Despite holding onto a 21-point lead with 6:34 to play in the game, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney opted to keep his starting offense on the field and get another score because of a lackluster start. 

Downs

Sluggish start: It was a rough first half for the Tigers, who looked flat after last week's emotional win over NC State. On Saturday, the offense got a quick field goal, but then DJ Uiagalelei threw a first-quarter interception, his second of the season, and the next four drives resulted in just 41 yards and four punts. Meanwhile, the defense gave up most of its big plays in the first half as BC outgained the Tigers 168-131 and kept the game within reach at 10-6 going into the locker room. 

Special teams: This facet of the game was not good Saturday night. Punt returner Will Taylor had two drops, although one was because a teammate ran into him. The other put him on the bench, and the Tigers were fortunate to recover both muffs. Aidan Swanson had punts of 39 and 35 yards on his first two boots, but he did bounce back nicely after that. Kicker BT Potter missed a 42-yard field goal, his second failed attempt of the season. 

Third downs: Clemson came into this game converting 52% on third down. It was one of the big catalysts to the team's offensive success this season. But against the Eagles, the Tigers were 5-of-14 on third downs. It was the lowest conversion rate (35.7%) of the season. Uiagalelei was 2-of-8 passing for 31 yards on third down.

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