Death Valley will be colored orange again this Saturday to cheer on Clemson as they play Boston College at 7:30 p.m. for this year’s annual Homecoming game. Once again, Clemson is the clear favorite to win, with ESPN’s Matchup predictor only giving Boston College a two percent chance of winning.
With Boston College’s starting quarterback, Anthony Brown, out with a season ending knee injury, the Eagles’ offense has relied on its rushing game. Running back AJ Dillion has become the backbone of their offense. Rushing a total of 968 yards this season and averaging about five and a half yards per carry, Dillon is largely responsible for the Eagles being the sixth best rushing college football team. Their style of offense, getting rid of the ball quickly and often running it, allows them to prevent a lot of sacks, as they have the fewest number of sacks in the country. It is no secret what Boston’s game plan is for Saturday’s game. If the Tigers stop the running game and force a lot of third and longs, then this game will be a blowout.
The Eagles defense will not be able to stop the Tigers’ offense. They have some talented players, but ultimately they do not have enough depth on defense. Boston does do a good job producing turnovers, as they are plus seven on turnovers, which is better than Clemson, who has struggled to just barely break even.
It is quite appropriate for Clemson to be hosting Boston College for their homecoming game, especially for Richard Yeargin. Yeargin graduated from Clemson, playing on the defensive line for the Tigers for two seasons. His journey with Clemson was cut short because he got into a life threatening car accident where he broke his neck, fractured other bones and got a concussion. By the time he fully recovered, Yergin had retired from football and lost his spot on Clemson’s team. So, he put his name in the transfer portal and Boston College answered. During this past week’s press conference, Coach Swinney expressed his excitement to see Yeagrin again, saying it is “pretty inspiring to see him play.” Before his injury, Yeargin was on a path straight to the NFL. So, his talent will definitely play a role in Boston’s defense.
As a consequence for punching a Louisville player during the game last week, Clemson will be without cornerback Andrew Booth for the first half against Boston per NCAA rules. When asked about the situation, Coach Swinney said “Great kid, bad moment…we made him ride the bus home…he suffered the consequences and now we’ll move on.” The Tigers should have cornerback Derion Kendrick back this week, while defensive end Xavier Thomas is still questionable.
Even though the Tigers are undefeated, they keep dropping in the AP polls. Even after crushing Louisville 45-10, they were booted down to Number. 4. The ROY bus is back. Coach Swinney knows how talented his team is and he has a lot of confidence in them. But he also recognizes that they are not perfect, saying “We got a lot we have to fix. The good news is our effort is overcoming some of that. Make no mistake, we’ve got to get better.” Although they may be the defending National Champions, they will play this Saturday like they have something to prove and as a result they will win big.
