Boston College Scares The Daylight Out Of Clemson

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CLEMSON, S.C. — Boston College battled top-ranked Clemson but fell, 34-28, on Saturday afternoon at Clemson Memorial Stadium.

Quarterback Phil Jurkovec finished the afternoon going 12-of-24 for 204 yards and two touchdowns. Five different receivers caught a pass on the afternoon, led by CJ Lewis’ five catches for 66 yards and a TD. Zay Flowers hauled in three passes for 63 yards and a TD. Hunter Long made three grabs for 23 yards.

Travis Levy carried the ball 10 times for 40 yards, while David Bailey made 14 rushes for 32 yards and a score.

The Eagles wasted no time finding the end zone on their first series. BC covered 74 yards in four plays, capped by a highlight-reel 11-yard haul by Flowers from Jurkovec. The drive began with a 35-yard connection between the duo, followed by a 13-yard grab by Lewis, and an 11-yard scamper by Jurkovec.

Clemson tied it at 7-7 on its first drive, on a 35-yard touchdown reception by Travis Etienne. But BC would respond, replicating its first possession and driving the ball down Frank Howard Field to the endzone again. David Bailey’s two-yard plunge capped a six-play drive, extending the Eagles’ lead to 14-7 with eight and a half minutes left in the first quarter.

After a pair of stalled drives by the Tigers and Eagles, Clemson used 10 plays to get the ball to the BC two-yard line. Twice Etienne carried the ball, twice the BC defensive line stood strong at the goal line. On the third try, Brandon Sebastian forced the All-American to fumble and recovered the ball for a 97-yard touchdown return. BC would lead, 21-7, with 12:14 to go in the first half.

The Tigers were stopped short on the next drive, settling for a 33-yard field goal, cutting into Boston College’s lead at 21-10.

On 4th and 2, Aaron Boumerhi set up for a 40-yard field goal attempt. But Eagles’ holder John Tessitore set up under center as the Tigers were drawn offsides. On the next play, Jurkovec connected with Lewis for another highlight-reel touchdown grab, further extending the Boston College lead to 28-10. Clemson booted a 50-yard field goal near the end of the half, making it 28-13 at halftime.

Clemson got back in the game, scoring touchdowns on each of its first three drives of the second half and the Tigers took their first lead of the game – 32-28 – with 11:34 to play, on an Etienne rushing touchdown. Point-after attempts on the last two TD’s failed.

On its penultimate offensive drive, Boston College moved into Clemson territory – converting on 4th and 3 as backup QB Dennis Grosel came into the game with 4:47 left and connected with Hunter Long on a four-yard pass. But the Eagles turned the ball over on downs with 2:21 to play. A defensive stand by the Eagles gave BC another chance on offense, but Clemson sacked Jurkovec in the end zone for a safety.

Max Richardson led Boston College with 11 tackles (six solo), while Isaiah McDuffie logged 10 tackles, adding six solo stops to his national-leading total of 40. Brandon Sebastian made seven tackles and scored a touchdown on a forced fumble and recovery. Josh DeBerry also logged seven tackles (six stops).

The Eagles gained 275 yards of total offense, including 21 first downs. BC was 4-of-11 on 3rd down and 1-of-2 on 4th down conversions. The Eagles scored on all three trips to the red zone. Clemson gained 448 total yards and 26 1st downs. The Tigers were 7-of-16 on 3rd down and 3-of-3 on 4th down in the win – necessitating the largest comeback for the No. 1 ranked Tigers in close to six decades.

BC moves to 4-3 overall and 3-3 in ACC play and travels to Syracuse next Saturday – November 7 – to take on the Orange at the Carrier Dome. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game can be seen live on regional sports networks throughout the country.