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Preview: Boston College (2-0) at Clemson (1-1)
Posted September 16, 2009
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FACTS & STATS: Site: Clemson Memorial Stadium (86,473) -- Clemson, South Carolina. Television: Raycom. Home Record: BC 2-0, Clemson 1-0. Away Record: BC 0-0, Clemson 0-1. Neutral Record: BC 0-0, Clemson 0-0. Conference Record: BC 0-0, Clemson 0-1. Series Record: Tied, 8-8-2.

GAME NOTES: After two wins in Chestnut Hill, the Boston College Eagles now hit the road and open their ACC slate against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium.

The Eagles kicked off the 2009 campaign with a 54-0 blanking of Northeastern and moved to 2-0 following a 34-7 triumph over Kent State this past weekend. Both wins came at home and they improved Frank Spaziani to 3-0 all-time as a head coach. A longtime assistant, Spaziani replaced Jeff Jagodzinski, who was fired after interviewing for an NFL job following last season, and will now try to make a splash in his ACC head coaching debut this weekend.

As for the Tigers, they began ACC play last Thursday and despite a valiant effort, the team was clipped in the final minute, 30-27, by nationally-ranked Georgia Tech. It was the first road bout of the year for Clemson, which opened the season with a 37-14 triumph over Middle Tennessee.

In a series that dates back to the 1939 season, the Tigers and Eagles are knotted at 8-8-2 in 18 all-time meetings. Clemson won last year's encounter, 27-21, in Chestnut Hill, giving then interim coach Dabo Swinney his first victory.

After rolling up 441 total yards in their opening win over Northeastern, the Eagles managed a far less, but decent, 349 yards in a victory over KSU this past weekend. Dave Shinksie and Justin Tuggle both saw significant time under center once again for the Eagles and they combined for 223 yards and three touchdowns on 15-of-28 tosses. Both players were effective in the opener and they will continue to battle for the right to start each week. Following a zero catch first game, Rich Gunnell was the primary target last weekend, pulling in six balls for 114 yards and a pair of scores. In the backfield, Montel Harris went for 68 yards and a score on 19 carries, helping BC rack up 126 yards on the ground. Harris had over a 100 yards and a pair of scores in the opener, when the Eagles dialed up 236 rushing yards in a rout.

BC owned one of the top defenses in the nation last year and after the first two games, this unit hasn't shown any signs of letting up. The Eagles have surrendered just seven points over the first eight quarters and have held each of their two opponents under 180 total yards. Last weekend, BC limited KSU to just 60 rushing yards and 119 passing, while forcing three turnovers. The unit is allowing opponents just 2.0 rushing yards per carry, but the group could use a few more sacks, registering just one on the young season. Luke Kuechly, who paced the team with seven stops in the opener, had four tackles and a fumble recovery this past Saturday.

In their ACC opener on Thursday, the Tigers showed their resiliency, but were done in by a pair of late field goals, including the decisive one with 57 seconds left in a 30-27 loss to GT. Clemson trailed 24-0 early in the second quarter before responding with 27-unanswered points for a lead early in the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman Kyle Parker did a nice job bringing his team back and he finished the night 15-of-31 for 261 yards three touchdowns. He was picked off twice, but Parker has shown capable thus far and he had a pair of touchdown passes with no interceptions in the opening win over MT. Jacoby Ford was once again his main outlet, as he pulled in five passes for 109 yards and a score. In the opener, Ford made three receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown and he should continue to be a big part of the offense. Tailback C.J. Spiller got involved last week with four catches for 69 yards and a score and he also toted 20 times for 87 yards. An explosive player, Spiller was limited in the opener with a minor foot injury, but showed he was well past that against Tech.

Defensively, Clemson faced two completely different offense, so its hard to measure this units success. Against MT, the Tigers allowed 299 total yards against a pass oriented offense, surrendering 207 of those yards through the air and only 92 on the ground. Last week, Clemson faced a run based offense in GT, which gained 301 of its 418 total yards on the ground. To their credit, the Tigers allowed most of their yards to Tech in the first half and only gave up a total of nine points after the opening quarter. The Tigers have also registered five interceptions through the first two games and that is a big positive for the defense. DeAndre McDaniel recorded eight stops and both picks this past week, a nice follow up to his 12-tackle, one-interception performance in the opener.

The Tigers showed their resiliency last week and that should only help them the rest of the way. BC hasn't faced an opponent like Clemson yet and will need solid play from its quarterbacks to hang around. Go with the Tigers who have a few more weapons to make the big plays necessary to win this game.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Clemson 27, Boston College 20


 
Related:
Clemson

Boston College

Jeff Jagodzinski
  Boston College Head Coach

Dabo Swinney
  Clemson Head Coach