Clemson Tigers (5-0 SU, 3-2 ATS) vs. Boston College Eagles (3-2 SU, 2-2-1 ATS)
College Football Week 6
Date/Time: Friday, October 7, 2016 at 7:30PM EST
Where: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
TV: ESPN
By Loot, NCAA Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Betting Odds: CLEM -16.5/BC +16.5
Over/Under Total: 46
The Clemson Tigers come to Chestnut Hill to face the Boston College Eagles on Saturday in ACC action from Alumni Stadium. Clemson had their hands full against third-ranked Louisville on Saturday, emerging with a hard-earned 42-36 win. Two touchdowns in the final half of the fourth quarter put a stop to a huge Louisville rush, as Clemson escaped with what will go down as a memorable win in Death Valley. Meanwhile, Boston College moved to 3-2 on Saturday with a 35-3 win over Buffalo, their second straight win in a row after a demoralizing 49-0 loss to Virginia Tech. In last season's matchup, the Eagles were actually somewhat-competitive against the eventual CFP runner-up, losing 34-17 and giving them something to think about. Will this game be competitive?
The Eagles now have Patrick Towles behind center, as he threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday against Buffalo. He continued to make a strong connection with Jeff Smith, while Charlie Callinan and Michael Walker each caught touchdown passes on Saturday. Still, it's the ground-game responsible for most of the heavy lifting for the BC offense. Jon Hilliman and Davon Jones each ran in a TD score, as Towles has also shown himself to be nifty with his legs.
It's important to know where the Eagles are coming from to appreciate where they are, having already equaled their win total from a rough 2015 season. They should get to bowl-eligibility this season if the trajectory continues. But last season, the offense was putrid, averaging 230 total yards of offense and under 10 points per conference game. But that was with an offense that returned very little from the previous season. This year, a lot of guys are back, including a line with some experience. Look for those numbers to go up, though this offense was flummoxed badly against V-Tech and is now facing a good Clemson defense.
It may have been hard for many to notice with Boston College not being good last season, but their defense under Don Brown had been epic. Assistant coaches on this defense became highly sought-after, as teams try to replicate the Boston College recipe for success. Don Brown became the coordinator at Michigan for his efforts. Under new coordinator Jim Reid, there have been good and bad signs. Well, actually, there has been one bad game, the 49-0 smashing to the Hokies. They held Georgia Tech to 17, UMass and Wagner to 10, and 3 to Buffalo. And with 7 returners from a bang-up 2015 unit, they should form into a better "D" as time goes on with a new coordinator in place. If they can just replicate some of last season's play when they picked Deshaun Watson off twice and held the Tigers to just over 3 yards a run, good things might happen.
It's hard to get a bigger win than what Clemson got on Saturday. Despite being the College Football Playoff runner-up, a lot of eyes were off Clemson and on Louisville. The Tigers opened without much fanfare and many expected Louisville to run over them. By beating the third-ranked team and the team that had looked the most impressive in the country up until this point, the Tigers scored a signature win, maybe the best win in college football this season so far.
Clemson and Louisville began their expected high-powered battle with a scoreless first quarter. Clemson soon came alive with a 28-point second quarter. Deshaun Watson hit Deon Cain on TD throws of 33 and 37 yards and Artavis Scott for five yards, with Wayne Gallman adding a rushing TD and the Tigers were up 28-10. After halftime, the Clemson offense slumbered a bit, as Louisville narrowed it to 28-26. Two more Louisville scoring drives, giving them five straight scores, made it 36-28, Cardinals, with just half a quarter remaining, Watson hit Mike Williams for a score, before Jordan Leggett delivered with a TD catch and two-point conversion to give Clemson the 42-36 lead.
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The Clemson defense then had to withstand the Lamar Jackson Louisville onslaught. Jackson is certainly the most exciting player in the game and his magic was on full display in the final drive as he commandeered the offense for what looked to be shaping into an almost-inevitable winning drive. That made it all the more impressive when the Tigers' defense was able to make a stop, getting a turnover on downs deep in their own territory. What we also saw on Saturday beyond the pieces Clemson possesses on offense and defense is battle-earned experience. There's no easy way to get there. After a 14-win season where the Tigers experienced a broad spectrum of different things, we saw a team on Saturday that was battle-tempered and poised when faced with adversity.
Clemson is in a somewhat-typical spot for a letdown here against the unthreatening Eagles. But with the BC defense and their ambition, they are likely to be looking at this game with an exponentially higher degree of urgency than their opponent. It can be hard to go from a scary Louisville team to Boston College and be able to match the same high mental level. Not that they'll be in danger of losing, but with the BC defense and a little letdown, this sets up nicely for BC to cover the number.
Loot's Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting on the Boston College Eagles plus 16.5 points. Did you know... that you could be wagering on Clemson vs. B.C. game at discounted odds? There's a better than good chance that you're laying -110 odds (or more) with your book. Stop overpaying TODAY by making the switch to 5Dimes Sportsbook! You will be so glad that you did!
