Boston College Eagles (3-2 SU, 3-2 ATS) vs. No. 3 Clemson Tigers (5-0 SU, 3-1-1 ATS)
College Football Week 7
Date and Time: Saturday October 12th, 2013. 3:30PM Eastern
Where: Memorial Stadium Clemson, S.C.
TV: ABC
by Jay, Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: BC +24/CLEM -24
Over/Under Total: OFF
In two weeks, the Clemson Tigers have a colossal showdown
with Florida State that will not only determine the ACC Atlantic Division
but could also have National Championship type of implications on the line.
That game will undoubtedly be the Game of the Year in the ACC. However before
we look too far ahead, Clemson has to make sure they are not looking ahead
when the no. 3 Tigers host the Boston College Eagles this Saturday at Memorial
Stadium.
So far this season, the Tigers have been overwhelmingly impressive on the offensive side of the football. Clemson QB Tahj Boyd is posting Heisman Trophy type numbers by completing 66% passing for 1,449 yards with 14 touchdowns and just 2 picks through the first 5 games. Boyd has been rock solid and helped Clemson establish the 11th best passing attack in college football by averaging 343 passing yards per game. Additionally WR Sammy Watkins has bounced back from a disappointing sophomore season which has been a big boost for the offense by catching 29 passes for 481 yards (3rd in ACC) and 3 touchdowns.
While Clemson’s potent offensive statistics may or may not surprise people, one area of improvement that should surprise everyone is the play of the Tigers’ defense. Over the last few years, Clemson’s defense has been torched in big games. Just look back to the 70-33 Orange Bowl debacle from 2011. However things have been much different under 2nd year defensive coordinator Brent Venables this year. Clemson has held opponents to just 16.6 points per game which ranks 16th best across the country. Perhaps even more surprising is that Clemson leads the nation with 19 sacks through their first 5 games. As a result, Clemson has been largely uncontested this season outside of the big win over Georgia and they are very much a legitimate National Championship contender.
Clemson should be able to roll this Saturday against a struggling Boston College football team. Not only has Boston College struggled to find wins, but they have struggled to move the football. The Eagles own one of the worse passing offenses in college football averaging just 178 yards per game and have scored just 26 points (80th in NCAA) per game. Needless to say those numbers do not hint towards any possible upsets this Saturday. However the Eagles do have one extremely talented weapon at their disposal in senior running back Andre Williams.
Williams has been outstanding this year and has racked up 768 yards in just 5 games. Williams exploded last week for 263 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 48-27 win over Army. The senior tailback has been solid all season with 4 of his 5 games going over 114 yards on the ground. In fact, Williams nearly single handedly kept the Eagles in close contention with Florida State just two weeks ago by rushing for 149 yards against the Seminoles top rated defense. Therefore expect Williams to be a factor no matter what defense is on the opposing side of the field and maybe even keep Boston College hanging around if Clemson gets caught looking ahead to Florida State this weekend.
Jay’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Outside of a Thursday night 26-14 victory over North Carolina State, Clemson’s offense has averaged just a shade under 50 points per game. I do not believe Boston College’s defense can match-up with the talented Clemson receivers especially in space. I think Clemson’s offense rolls here and Boston College flounders in Death Valley. My money is on Clemson -24 as they will be ramping up more momentum for a showdown with Florida State next week.
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