Boston College Eagles (3-3 SU, 2-3-1 ATS) vs. No. 5 Clemson Tigers (5-0 SU, 3-2 ATS)
College Football Week 7
Date/Time: Saturday October 17th, 7:00PM EST
Where: Memorial Stadium Clemson, S.C.
TV: ESPNU
by Jay, NCAA Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: BC +15.5/CLEM -15.5
Over/Under Total: 36.5
The no. 5 Clemson Tigers silenced doubters once again last week with their 43-24 victory over Georgia Tech. The win moved the unbeaten Tigers to 5-0 and earned them a top 5 spot in the AP Poll. Clemson has emerged as the favorite in the ACC and their date with destiny against Florida State on November 7th could have college football playoff implications. Just do not mention the dreaded Clemsoning word to Coach Dabo Swinney who expressed his frustration with the phrase this past week. Call it what you want, but the Tigers will try to avoid the Clemsoning mantra this Saturday when they host Boston College inside Memorial Stadium in Death Valley.
This Saturdays matchup between Clemson and Boston College will feature one of the best offenses in the ACC against the best defense in the conference. Despite Boston Colleges 3-3 SU record and horrid offense, the Eagles own the best defense in the entire country. In fact, Boston Colleges defensive stats have been downright ridiculous as they have held opponents to just 140 total yards per game on average this season. The Eagles have not allowed an opponent to score more than 14 points all season which includes games against some very respectable offenses in Wake Forest, Duke, and Florida State.
Boston College has simply been outstanding on the defensive side of the ball. The bad news is that they have been a polar opposite story on the offensive side of the football. The Eagles have been held to just 7 points total in their 3 conference games combined heading into this weekends matchup with Clemson. The Eagles were shut out by Florida State 14-0, lost to Duke 9-7, and then were shut out again last week to Wake Forest by a whopping score of 3-0. Quarterback play for the Eagles has been horrendous to the point that Boston College has kept the ball on the ground at a near 3:1 clip. In total, the offense has averaged just 323 yards per game of total offense (118th in the FBS).
Those struggles on offense combined with the superb play of the Boston College defense is the reason that the total for this Saturdays contest with Clemson is listed at a rock bottom 36.5 points. In fact the 36.5 point total, is the lowest total of any matchup in college football this weekend which may be a bit surprising given Clemsons explosive offensive reputation. However, the Tigers will have to find ways to execute and manufacture points to win the football game.
Clemson did not exactly light up the scoreboard in their wins against Notre Dame and Louisville. Therefore it would not be surprising to see Boston College hold the Tigers to another relatively low number. However, Clemson has one of the best defenses in the ACC which should help them stay on the short side of the field against a poor Eagles offense. From there it will be a question of if this Clemson offense can make plays to win the football game and if they can make even more plays to cover the spread?
Quarterback Deshaun Watson is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the ACC with a strong arm and a keen running ability. It will be interesting to see how Coach Swinney use Watson in this game. If they try to run Watson with the zone read, I am not sure the Tigers will have much success running the football. However if they can get Watson moving outside of the pocket to make throws down the field, I like that matchup a lot better against Boston Colleges pass defense. Either way it is going to be Clemsons toughest challenge to date on the offensive side of the football.
Jay’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: I know Boston Colleges offense is horrible but I do not see their defense letting this game get out of hand. The Tigers are not as potent as they have been in recent years on the offensive side of the football and I think Boston College will have the defensive game plan to keep them at bay. Take Boston College +15.5
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