by Austin Silvey @SilveyESP
CLEMSON, SC -- Saturday night turned into another blowout win for Clemson as they routed the Eagles of Boston College 59-7. The offense exploded early and often in this one.
Boston College started with the ball but went three-and-out. The Tigers' opening drive went down the field with no problem but stalled once they got inside the 10-yd line. They settled for a 23-yard BT Potter field goal to take an early 3-0 lead over the Eagles.
After another BC drive stalled the Tigers got the ball back and took advantage of the struggling Eagle defense. With the help of two defensive pass interference calls, Clemson drove down the field and Travis Etienne punched it into the endzone from three yards out to extend the early lead 10-0.
The Eagle's inability to move the ball forced them to punt quickly again and the Tigers took just three plays to go 75 yards and score again. This time it was a 22-yd touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Diondre Overton to make it a 17-0 game with over four minutes left in the first quarter.
Boston College converted on two fourth downs and AJ Dillon punched in a nine yard, second quarter touchdown run to cap off a 15-play, 75-yard scoring drive.
Clemson answered right back with a 74-yard drive that ended with an Etienne 4-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up 24-7 with 10:29 remaining in the first half.
The next Clemson possession extended the lead even further as Amari Rodgers took a Lawrence pass 19 yards for a touchdown to make it 31-7 with just over six minutes left in the first half.
With just 38 seconds left in the second quarter, Etienne scored his third touchdown of the night to send the Tigers into halftime up 38-7 over Boston College.
In just the first half, Clemson put up 394 yards of offense, averaged 9.6 yards per play, went 5-5 in their redzone opportunities, and were extremely efficient in First Down Efficiency.
Logan Rudolph got the third quarter scoring started with a 39-yard scoop and score on a fumble caused by Chad Smith.
Diondre Overton added to the scoring with his second touchdown catch of the game. He went for 63 yards on a pass from Trevor Lawrence. And again, with 13:37 left in the game, Overton took a Chase Brice pass 34 yards for his third score of the game. This was Overton's first game with multiple touchdown receptions.
“I’m really proud of our team. I thought the guys had a great mindset tonight. I’m really proud of our tone," Dabo Swinney told the media in his postgame press conference.
"The offense set the tone tonight. We had a fast and efficient offense. It was awesome, especially when your offensive line coach is coaching in his 500th game. That’s the first game we’ve had no turnovers since the National Championship last year. Hopefully, that’s a sign of good things to come.”
Co-Offensive Coordinator Tony Elliott commented after the game as well about the team's performance. “The guys have a lot of confidence right now and they know that the way we play on Saturdays is determined by the rest of the week. It’s that Tuesday practice when you have stuff going on. Can you focus in and have your best Tuesday practice? I think the guys have really bought into the preparation process."
"They’ve had some success and they’re growing in their confidence," Elliott continued.
"The offensive line is taking advantage of the opportunity to lead this football team. They’re taking pride and working to meet our standards. If we can continue to be consistent upfront it’s going to give our playmakers opportunities to make big plays.”
The Tigers finished with 674 yards of total offense (372 passing, 302 rushing) and averaged 8.4 yards per play. Clemson improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in ACC play. This was by far Clemson's best outing in regards to their First Down Efficiency [see graphic below].
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