(17) Boston College vs. (2) Clemson: Final Thoughts And Predictions

It is here. The biggest game in the past 10 years for the Boston College Eagles will be happening on Saturday, in front of a sold out crowd, hopefully still delirious after a morning spent with ESPN’s College Gameday. On the other side line will be the #2 Clemson Tigers, a team that has no glaring weaknesses, an out of this world defensive line, and a freshman quarterback who looks like he will be heading to the NFL in a few years for a long career. The odds are stacked heavily against the Eagles, but for many, this could be the game that defines this program. Steve Addazio has talked for years about building a program, one with depth and talent, and he has done just that, now it is his turn to show that he can coach a four quarter game, one that his team is a heavy underdog, and defeat Goliath. On his front line will be Anthony Brown, AJ Dillon and Zach Allen, players who can change the game in a heartbeat. But will they be enough? Let’s break it down.

Keys To Victory

1. Maulers Up Front: Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, and Austin Bryant make up the best defensive front in the nation. This isn’t an opinion, this is a fact. In fact Clemson’s defensive line may be the best in college football in recent memory. This is going to be an enormous challenge for BC’s offensive line. But BC’s offensive line has already showed up big once this year against an elite defensive line. Chris Lindstrom, Jon Baker, Ben Petrula and Co. dominated an excellent Miami front two weeks ago, what is to say that can’t do it again?
2. Prevent The Big Plays On Defense: Clemson has a huge arsenal of weapons on offense, many of them who can take it to the house on an play. Travis Etienne, Tee Higgins and others are lightning quick and very talented. We already saw BC struggle against Rondale Moore and Kelvin Harmon earlier this year. The defense is going to have a stronger game against good offensive weapons if BC is going to sneak out this win.
3. Make Some Stops Early: Alumni Stadium is going to be rocking tomorrow, there is no doubt it is going to be the loudest it has been in over a decade. BC’s defense is going to be jacked up as well, and if they can get to Trevor Lawrence early, and maybe rattle him a little, they could force the freshman to do something he really hasn’t had to do before: play from behind. And in the cold, that could make things VERY interesting.
4. Continue To Cause Turnovers/Prevent them on our end: It happened again last week as BC had a fumble recovery and an interception by Brandon Sebastian. If the goal is to try and rattle Lawrence, an early turnover would hopefully do just that. On offense, Anthony Brown teetered on disaster last week, with a few botched snaps, and a few ill advised throws, especially in the first half. He has to avoid these mistakes against Clemson.
5. GO ALL OUT: I know it’s redundant, but if BC tries to line up and run AJ Dillon 40-50 times they are going to lose. Clemson’s defense is #1 in the country against the run, so the Eagles are going to have to figure out ways to loosen up that D. Whether that is end arounds, play action plays, or gadgets, Steve Addazio needs to continue to play with the gameplan he displayed against VT.

Beer of the Week:

Frosty Goggles- Woodstock Inn Brewery. A Red Pale Ale from a brewery located right next to Loon Mountain in Lincoln New Hampshire. I have to give a shout out to my Mom, this is her favorite beer, and one that is constantly in stock at her cabin up in NH. Selected this one for frosty weather, and to welcome a group of southern boys up north who haven’t played in this kind of weather. Enjoyyyyy.

Absolutely Necessary Rap Song Of The Week

LL Cool J: Mama Said Knock You Out. Don’t call it a come back, we’ve been here for years. Ok, so maybe we haven’t been here for years, but it’s time to step into the spotlight and knock out the vaunted Tigers. GET IT!

AJ’s Power of Positivity Thought Of The Week

This Boston College football team has shown a ton of grit and fortitude the last few weeks. As I talked with Eric on this week’s podcast, BC has shown that can come back from deficits and make adjustments. These are signs of a good team, and more importantly of a well coached team. Steve Addazio, we believe in you, go out there and coach your butt off!

Pregame Food Of The Week-

Anything BBQ: Every week I talk on the podcast with Eric Hoffses, who has his own BBQ company, and every week I finish the podcast craving pulled pork, or brisket, hell anything slathered in BBQ sauce. I am sure that someone from the south is going come here and BBQsplain me, but guess what? DON’T CARE

Staff Predictions (Coach JF got a point, but a lot of the writers were pretty close this week)

Next we have....wait...no it can’t be you. We thought you were dead!

CAW CAW!!!

CAW CAW! WELCOMES BAK BYRDS AND BYRDETTES! I, BAWDWIN JUNYOR IS BACK FOR A SPECHUL GUEST PREDILICTION FOR THIS WEEKENDS EPICALLY MATCHED UP GAME BETWEEN THE EAGLES AND KITTY CATS. WHERE HAS BAWDWIN JUNYOR BEEN? I HAZ BEEN HIDINGS FROM THE HATERZ AND DA NAYSAYERS, BUT I IZ SCARED NO MORES! NOWS, I HAS SOME INSIDERLING INFORMATION TO DILUTE ONTO YOU! I WAS OUTS YESTERWEEK WITH THE CLEMSUN TIGER, AND IN BETWEEN PUTTING SNOW UP HIS NOSEY NOSE, HE TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE SCURRED OF OUR BIGGY BAD RUNNING BACK ADOLPHUS JASON DILLON! HE SAID THAT THEY DIDN’TS NO WHATS THEY COULD DO ABOUT WYATT EARP, QUARTERBACKER ANTONIO BROWN, OR SWEENEY TODD. I WILLS BE AT THE GAME MYSELF, ENJOYING A PRETZEL WITH SALT, HOPEFULLY THE KIND THEY USE TO PROTECT ROADS, THATS MY FAVORITEST! WELL, THIS IS BAWDWIN JUNYOR SIGNING OFF, BEE CEE WILL WIN 65-10! CAW CAW

Prediction Poll: What do you think will happen?

WHAT ARE YOU PREDICTING?? LEAVE YOUR PREDICTIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW

Superfan Thermometer: 11/10.

Oh my god I couldn’t be more excited for this game. Will BC win? Will they shock the world? All I know is that I am so excited that I can’t sleep or think straight.

Plugs: Make sure to follow all of us on Twitter. The main site account is @BCInterruption, AJ Black is @BCHysteria, Eric Hoffses is @EJHoffses, Rich Rapp is @RichRapp, Patrick is @choppintoppin, and Grant is at @Salzano14. Follow us on Facebook for updates, and our new Instagram account is definitely a must follow as well.

Podcast: Eric and AJ returned this week, make sure to listen and please share our podcast with your family and friends!

GO EAGLES!