There’s some comfort in predictability—in knowing exactly how microwavable Kraft mac and cheese tastes, or that a fairytale will always end happily ever after.
In many ways, Boston College football has become predictable. But the Eagles’ season has been closer to a nightmare than a fairytale.
Disastrously-timed turnovers, missed tackles, and a lackluster offensive attack defined BC’s (1–5, 0–3 Atlantic Coast) 41–10 loss to Clemson (3–3, 2–2) in a packed Alumni Stadium on Saturday night.
It’s nothing new, though—the Eagles have lost five straight games, repeating similar mistakes in each one.
The Eagles’ rush game has been an issue throughout this season, and that was no different on Saturday as Clemson picked up 226 rushing yards to BC’s 85. The Eagles’ leading rusher Turbo Richard got 13 touches in the first half and just five in the second.
BC held Clemson to one touchdown in the second half, but a 24-point second quarter from the Tigers put the game out of reach by the time halftime rolled around.
“Those guys fought,” BC head coach Bill O’Brien said. “I got a lot of respect for the guys in that locker room. Nobody quit. Everybody played hard. We had chances to score on offense, we just didn’t get it done.”
It was a 17–10 game with nine minutes left in the second quarter after Richard ran it in two yards for a BC touchdown.
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Dylan Lonergan looked quick and under control as he marched his team up the field, connecting with Lewis Bond twice for 34 yards. BC capitalized on pass interference and roughing-the-passer penalties on the Tigers to score its first—and what turned out to be its only—touchdown of the game.
Then came the Tigers’ monster second quarter, including a walk-off 50-yard field goal at the end of the half. The game was never close after that.
It took about three minutes, six plays, two 20-plus-yard receptions, and an eight-yard rush through multiple defenders for Clemson to score its first touchdown of the evening and stretch its lead to 10–0 following an early 46-yard field goal from Nolan Hauser.
And although Luca Lombardo put BC on the board with 1:37 remaining in the first quarter, Clemson quickly answered with a two-yard touchdown from 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive tackle Peter Woods.
A direct snap to Antonio Williams ended in a 24-yard run, then a zippy pass from Cade Klubnik to Williams at the 2-yard line set the Tigers up for Woods’ score.
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Alumni Stadium got loud with about six minutes to go in the first half while Clemson was attempting to score in front of BC’s student section.
The Tigers took their final timeout of the half and reset. Then, Klubnik used his legs to pick up a first down on 3rd-and-8. Missed tackles by the Eagles allowed the senior quarterback to score a 6-yard rushing touchdown directly after, making it 24–10 Clemson.
“I don’t think we stopped [Klubnik] one time in the first half,” O’Brien said. “Did a better job in the second half, obviously, but did not stop him one time in the first half.”
With the Eagles on Clemson’s 22-yard line with two minutes to go in the first half, Sammy Brown came down on Lonergan for a strip sack, ending the Eagles’ drive prematurely as they looked to make it a one-score game.
“Really the turning point was the strip sack, because we were going to cut the lead there,” O’Brien said. “It was a big, big swing. Could have handled that better than I did at the end, no doubt.”
Bryant Wesco made a tough catch in the endzone on Clemson’s next drive to make its lead even larger, and Hauser’s 50-yarder ended the half on an ugly note for the Eagles.
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“Whenever you have turnovers—especially turnovers late in the half, or you’re driving, it’s hard to overcome, but we just got to come out next drive and respond,” Bond said. “We got to respond better.”
BC kept Clemson scoreless in the second half, but the damage was already done, and BC’s offense remained unable to generate any sort of rhythm.
Freshman quarterback Shaker Reisig got into the game for Lonergan at the end of the third quarter, and ended the game 3-10 for 19 yards after throwing his first career touchdown in last week’s blowout loss to Pittsburgh.
“They know that it’s not good right now,” O’Brien said. “But they’re not gonna quit.”
