Clemson football: The positives from the win over Boston College

There were plenty of negative items to take away from the last Clemson football game.

D.J. Uiagalelei completed less than 50 percent of his passing attempts for the second-straight game this season, the play-calling had its questionable moments, the defense allowed things to be way less comfortable than they should’ve been and the Tigers suffered a whole litany of injuries with a list longer than you’d care to read.

But, today we’re going to take a look at some of the positive aspects from the win as Clemson moves forward into the bye week.

The positives from the win over Boston College for Clemson football

• Kobe Pace & Phil Mafah are more than capable of being elite running backs

Kobe Pace had 19 carries for 125 yards (6.6 YPC) and a touchdown while Phil Mafah added seven carries for 58 yards (8.3 YPC) and they both looked explosive in their runs. There were times when they simply didn’t have anywhere to go, but we really liked what we saw from the two and it’s clear that Mafah is going to be a problem for opposing defense for years to come.

• The offensive line took baby steps forward

Putting Hunter Rayburn at center and having Matt Bockhorst back at guard certainly helped the Tigers in their mission to find a competent offensive line. The issues are by no means fixed, but the line looked a lot more comfortable and, honestly, they played their best game of the season this past Saturday.

• The young defenders grew up on Saturday night

The was no Bryan Bresee, Tyler Davis or Mario Goodrich for the Tigers on Saturday. That meant Ruke Orhorhoro, Tre Williams and Sheridan Jones all had to step up. Orhorhoro and Williams played very well and though Jones clearly still has a ways to go in development, you could see him grow up on Saturday.

• The defensive ends are on another level

It’s disappointing that the offense is as bad as it is because this Clemson defensive end group is as deep as we’ve seen. Both Xavier Thomas and Myles Murphy were in the backfield all night long. KJ Henry and Justin Foster made plays, as well. This group– especially Thomas, Murphy and Henry– is shaping up to be one of the deepest we’ve seen at the position in quite some time.

• Clemson got in the win column

The biggest positive that we can mention from Saturday for Clemson football is the fact that the Tigers won the game. Boston College had legitimate chances to win and, somehow, the Tigers escaped. You can say that doesn’t matter, but if this team somehow goes on to improve during the latter half of the season, winning this game will mean everything in terms of ACC Atlantic Divisional standings and the potential of getting to a New Year’s Six  Bowl game.