Clemson’s defense put together a very impressive performance in the fifth-ranked Tigers’ 31-3 victory over Boston College at Alumni Stadium on Saturday night.
The Tigers dominated defensively for most of the game in Chestnut Hill, Mass., shutting down the Eagles’ offense and keeping them out of the end zone for the duration of the contest.
Clemson (6-0, 4-0 ACC) allowed just one field goal, which came early in the second quarter, and those three points allowed are the fewest the Tigers have given up this season — seven less than the 10 points Clemson yielded in the season opener against Georgia Tech.
Overall, Clemson’s stifling defensive unit limited Boston College (2-4, 1-3 ACC) to just 254 total yards of offense, including only 34 rushing yards on 30 carries (1.1 average yards per carry).
Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec, meanwhile, went 19-of-40 passing for 188 yards.
The Tigers consistently harassed Jurkovec and took over the game with their defensive pressure, especially in the second half.
Clemson brought its fair share of pressure in the first two quarters, but the Tigers did not come away with a sack of Jurkovec in the game’s first 30 minutes. In the final two frames, however, the Tigers recorded four sacks, and overall, they racked up 13 quarterback hurries.
Playing in his first game of the season after injuring his foot during preseason camp, defensive end Xavier Thomas notched two of those sacks, one of which resulted in a Jurkovec fumble in the third quarter.
Linebacker Barrett Carter had a sack and forced a fumble on the sack that was recovered by defensive tackle Payton Page in the fourth quarter for Boston College’s lone turnover of the game. Defensive tackle Tre Williams posted the other sack.
The Tigers totaled 11 tackles for loss and eight pass breakups, led by cornerback Nate Wiggins, who had two PBUs — including perhaps one of the biggest plays of the first half when he broke up a would-be touchdown connection from Jurkovec to Jaden Williams. On the ensuing play, following an Eagles’ timeout, Carter pressured Jurkovec into making an off-platform throw, which was broken up by Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. and ended Boston College’s drive on a turnover on downs.
Boston College managed just 13 first downs, went 5-of-18 on third downs and averaged 3.5 yards per play.
Making Clemson’s defensive effort even more impressive is the fact the Tigers were without a number of key contributors on that side of the ball, including cornerback Sheridan Jones, safeties R.J. Mickens and Tyler Venables and star defensive tackle Bryan Bresee.
Clemson will return to action next week at Florida State. Kickoff in Tallahassee is set for 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
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