FINAL: #2 Clemson 34, Boston College 7 — It Was Fun While It Lasted

For three and a half quarters, Boston College Football was right there with the defending national champions. The Eagles shut out the Clemson Tigers for the first quarter and took it to the locker room with only a 7-0 deficit — and let’s be honest, that was miraculous in itself.

But despite having the ball on Clemson’s side of the field repeatedly, the Eagles couldn’t manage to get any points off exceptional field position until AJ Dillon punched it in for a one yard score late in the third quarter after a drive that started on Clemson’s 37 yard line.

Clemson did eventually take over the game, putting up four touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away before the Tiger fans really had to get too concerned, but the takeover was much, much later in the game than anyone could have predicted. Until things unraveled late, the Boston College defense looked like a throwback to the Don Brown years. BC forced two interceptions and nearly forced two fumbles lost, although the Tigers were able to recover both.

What to think about this game... Was this good? Does it not matter? It’s hard to just throw the whole thing out just despite losing big at the end. Moral victories aren’t worth anything, but this is the defending national champion — a Clemson team that routinely dismantles lesser opponents without any trouble at all — and we had the ball with a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

Of course, then we gave up four touchdowns.

We’ll have plenty to analyze this week. There’s a lot to talk about. Check back for full coverage as we break things down over the next few days!