First Look At Boston College Vs. Clemson: Any Chance Of A W?

Brian: Clemson comes into the weekend's matchup with the Eagles as the toast of the ACC, a perfect 5-0 and the first ACC program to ever beat three ranked opponents in as many weeks. BC's problems are of course well documented. Is there any chance BC can pull out the W? Is BC's only hope that Clemson pulls a Clemson this weekend? Your thoughts?

Jeff: Clemson has gone through a very emotional stretch where they have played very well. Meanwhile, BC has traditionally over performed against Clemson. Clemson is the better team but one of these weeks they are going to underperform as every team does, especially the Tigers historically. Meanwhile, the Eagles are a much better team than their record indicates. Their record would indicate a Minnesota, Indiana, North Texas, Akron or Memphis are coming to town but we all know that none of those teams have Luke Kuechly or Montel Harris suiting up for them. The Eagles' season does not look promising right now but they are good enough and will have a few opportunities to beat a ranked or bowl-bound team on the road before the end of the year.

Brian: The Eagles may earn an upset win in one of these remaining games, but things look pretty damn bleak at this point, especially with five of BC's remaining seven games on the road. BC could sneak up on one of these remaining teams, but I don't think that team will be Clemson. The Tigers are averaging 34.8 points per game on offense, while BC is averaging a shade over 20 (20.6). Take away the UMass game, and BC is averaging 14.5 points per game. Things could get very ugly this weekend. Basically, first one to 20 wins.

Here's a bold prediction. Clemson waxes BC this weekend. On Sunday, DeFilippo announces that Spaz will be fired effective immediately, with DC Bill McGovern serving as interim coach for the rest of the year. Chances this happen? A guy can dream?

Jeff: As long as you are dreaming, dream that Spaz is fired immediately and a currently unemployed former head coach gets announced as his replacement. All assistant coaches must be approved by the new head coach except that Frank Spaziani is retained as defensive coordinator. We are not going to get a better coordinator than Spaz.

Spaz stepping down and asking to remain on as defensive coordinator won't happen but that would be best possible outcome. In all seriousness though, there is no margin of defeat that will demand change after this weekend. The next time something might be announced would be after BC notches its 7th loss of the season and is officially out of the bowl picture. That won't come until at least the Maryland game.

Brian: We are not going to get a better coordinator than Spaz? Have you been watching the same football I've been watching? I have all the respect in the world for the defense that Spaziani has been able to build on the Heights over the years, but this defense is now a shell of its former self. The defense has given up over 400 yards a game so far this season, placing the unit 85th nationally in total defense between 1-4 Indiana and 2-3 Ole Miss. All this against the incredibly easy portion of the 2011 schedule.

Again, I appreciate the defense that Spaz has built over the years, but I can't agree with your statement that BC cannot land a better defensive coordinator than Spaz. That's simply no longer the case.