Rubbing the Rock
Fansided

Boston College Eagles at Clemson Tigers: Series History and Game Notes

By M Shannon Smallwood

facebooktwitterreddit

The Boston College Eagles will travel to face the Clemson Tigers at Death Valley this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 or ABC. Here is the full breakdown of everything you need to know for the Eagles and the Tigers according to Clemson’s Sports Information Game Day Release.

Hall of Fame Day
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Kick Off: 3:36 PM
Television : ABC/ESPN2
Series: Clemson leads 11-9-2
at Clemson: Clemson leads 4-3-1
at Boston College: 6-6-1
Since BC Joined ACC in 2005: 4-4
Last Year: Clemson 45-31 at Boston College

Clemson vs. Boston College Series

  • Clemson has an 11-9-2 lead in the series that dates to the 1940 Cotton Bowl. Clemson has won each of the last two games, 36-14 at Clemson in 2011 and 45-31 last year at Boston College. Boston College’s last win was in 2010 in Boston by a 16-10 count.
  • Clemson has averaged 40.5 points a game against Boston College for the two years Chad Morris has been offensive coordinator. The Tigers averaged just 21 per game in the six games prior to that, or since Boston College joined the ACC in 2005.
  • The Tigers have won four of the last five, all under Dabo Swinney. Clemson won 27-21 in Chestnut Hill in 2008 and 25-7 at Clemson in 2009. The 2008 win in Boston was Swinney’s first career win as a head coach.
  • The series dates to the 1939 season and the January 1, 1940 Cotton Bowl. That was a landmark victory for the Clemson program, the school’s first bowl game and the school’s first ever win over a top 20 team. Boston College was ranked 11th in the nation entering the game. Clemson won 6-3 behind 115 yards rushing from Charlie Timmons and four pass deflections in the fourth quarter by Clemson legend Banks McFadden.
  • Five of the eight meetings between the two teams since Boston College joined the ACC in 2005 have been decided by a touchdown or less. The two schools are 4-4 against each other since BC joined the ACC.
  • Two of Clemson’s victories in the series took place during undefeated Tiger seasons. Clemson won 26-19 in 1948 on the way to a perfect 11-0 season, and won 35-14 in 1950 on the way to a 9-0-1 season.
  • In 1983, at Chestnut Hill, the Eagles gained a 31-16 win behind Doug Flutie. Clemson had a 16-3 lead with 25 minutes left in the game, but the Eagles went on a 28-0 run to end the contest behind Flutie. The 1984 Heisman Trophy winner, was 20-36 for 223 yards and two touchdowns against a Clemson defense that featured All-American William Perry. The Eagles gained 504 yards of total offense on the night, 281 rushing and 223 passing. It was Clemson’s only loss in 1983 (9-1-1).
  • The two teams tied in a 1982 game in Death Valley. The game was televised by CBS on a regional basis, the first CBS broadcast from Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. Clemson had a 14-0 lead at intermission, but sophomore quarterback Flutie led Boston College back to take a 17-14 lead. The Tigers tied the game in the fourth quarter, on a field goal by Donald Igwebuike, who played soccer and football for the Tigers that fall. He then had another attempt from 43 yards with eight seconds left, but the kick missed and the game ended in a 17-17 tie.
  • Clemson had just two losses and two ties over a three-year period from 1981-83. One of the losses and one of the ties came against Boston College in that 1982-83 period.
  • The 2005 game at Clemson was an overtime meeting, a 16-13 Boston College victory, It was the first between the two schools as an ACC matchup. The game was tied 10-10 at the end of regulation. The two teams played a double overtime affair in 2006, a 34-33 Boston College victory. A missed extra point in overtime proved costly for the Tigers.
  • In 2009 when Clemson won it was the Tigers first win over the Eagles at Clemson since 1958. Clemson won that 1958 game, 34-12.
  • The two teams played three games at famed Fenway Park in Boston, the home of the Boston Red Sox. Clemson won the first meeting there in 1941 (just 13 days after Ted Williams finished his .406 season for the Red Sox) by a 26-13 score. The same two teams met at Fenway the following year, and Boston College won, 14-7. The two teams played to a 14-14 tie in 1953 at Fenway. So the series stands at 1-1-1 in games played at Fenway Park.
  • The two teams also played at Braves Field in Boston, then the home of the National League’s Boston Braves (now the Atlanta Braves). Clemson had a 3-1 advantage in games played at Braves Field all between 1942-52.
  • The two schools are now tied 6-6-1 in games played in Boston or Chestnut Hill.
Home/Clemson Tigers News