After demolishing Syracuse by five touchdowns, Clemson will return home to host the Boston College Eagles, who are looking for a statement win.
How to watch Boston College vs. Clemson: Preview, TV schedule, odds and more
The Eagles fly over to Clemson with an upset in mind.
To get to 6-0 and protect its No. 3 ranking, Clemson will have to ground a team that does have some offensive talent -- Andre Williams, the ACC’s leading rusher, will see the ball plenty on Saturday, and he’s been instrumental in carrying BC to a winning record through five games. In fact, this Boston College squad is already much improved -- it won only two games last season, a total it surpassed last weekend after beating Army, 48-27.
Clemson has made short work of all its opponents after a season-opening squeaker against Georgia, and only NC State has even kept within two touchdowns of the Tigers. Could this finally be the year they rid themselves of the dreaded “Clemsoning” label?
For the Tigers, safety Travis Blanks, linebacker Ben Boulware, corner Martin Jenkins and defensive tackle Carlos Watkins are all questionable.
The numbers
Rankings and records: No. 3 Clemson leads the all-time series, 11-9-2.
Vegas: Clemson is a 24.5-point favorite. The over/under has been set at 60.5.
Weather: The forecast in Clemson calls for sunny skies with a high of 82, and a low of 57.
Three names to know
Alex Amidon (Boston College wide receiver) - With 426 receiving yards, the senior is far outpacing the other Boston College wideouts. That number accounts for almost half of the Eagles' passing yardage this season, and is still greater than that of BC's next six leaders in receiving yardage combined. That's right -- Amidon has outproduced six other receivers. Put together. Clemson will undoubtedly be keying in on him in the passing game.
Tajh Boyd (Clemson quarterback) - In a year that has been dominated by fantastic quarterback play, Boyd sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, ignored and passed up for the Marcus Mariotas, Johnny Manziels and AJ McCarrons. Underneath all that, though, Boyd is having his finest season to date and has amassed a sparkling 14:2 TD:INT ratio, as well as a career-best 10.28 yards per pass attempt.
Vic Beasley (Clemson defensive end) - Can someone spot Beasley a T? His play has been nothing short of monstrous this season. Through five games, he leads the country in sacks with a mind-boggling total of 8.0, a total that puts him 1.5 sacks ahead of everyone else. As a result, Beasley has been generating some serious NFL Draft buzz, and there's a good case to be made that he's been the best defensive end in the state this season, if not the country.
Two things at stake
The Tigers are in an extremely unenviable position -- as the third-ranked team, they can do nothing but continue winning and hoping that one of the two teams ahead of them lose. They could, conceivably, go undefeated and still not make the BCS National Championship Game. A huge showdown with No. 6 Florida State is just around the corner, though. A win in that one could earn some serious style points, although they’ll need to escape unscathed here.
Boston College put up a closer than expected battle against Florida State two weeks ago, and it’d love to finish what it couldn’t against the Seminoles, snagging a major upset in the process. The Eagles actually led, 17-3, through the early second quarter. A win could also keep them in striking distance of the ACC Atlantic Division lead. If they could beat Clemson, and Clemson could beat Florida State, they would be tied atop the Atlantic after next weekend. Although the Seminoles would still hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, BC would probably be ecstatic with that.
How to witness
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Further reading
For more, visit Shakin the Southland, our SB Nation Clemson blog, and its Boston College equivalent, BC Interruption.
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