Clemson Football: Bless your Heart – Call the OOBA edition

Clemson football travels to New England this weekend to take on the (it’s not in) Boston College Eagles. The foliage will be in full swing. The weather will have a crispness to it. And if you ask the random guy at South Station in downtown Boston for directions, you might hear “well it might be more efficient to call an OOBA”.  Man, y’all Yankees have a funky accent. Bless your heart.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love the opportunity to go to BC in the future for a game. Boston is a fun time. If you can pair your Clemson weekend with one of Boston’s other historic teams, it can turn into a solid weekend in the fall.

Sidenote for those making the trip up this weekend: Mike’s Pastry’s in Little Italy, go there and thank me later. Also, if you’re into comedy and have a weekend away from the kids, just down the street is Improv Asylum. There are tons of things to do in Boston, it’s a solid weekend, and somewhere I would love to eventually catch a game.

As far as the game, there seems to be a common word being shared among Clemson fans and several media members as a whole for this game:

Letdown.

The assumption is this game is the common “sandwich game” for a team aspiring to do greater things later in the year. A game that falls between 2 emotionally charged wins and another road game against a big rival on national television. But I don’t want to just glance over the fact that Chestnut Hill always seems to be a dogfight even when Clemson is able to pull away.

Even the 2018 team had to gut through a tough, cold, red bandana game to eventually pull away from BC 27-7. Games like ’12 and ’14 were closer than anyone wanted for different reasons, but the Tigers were still able to manage wins. It’s a game Clemson has to take seriously.

BC has a quarterback who will be on an NFL roster. Phil Jurkovec can make most throws, has a big arm, and is even harder to bring down in this play action offense. But the real showman on offense is Zay Flowers, the spectacular receiver who essentially took over the game last week against Louisville. Pair this with an always disciplined defense, and this becomes a game where Clemson (if they come in asleep) could find themselves in yet another hard-fought battle.

All that to say, Boston College has some serious offensive issues. They have a putrid average 77 rushing yards per game, and that’s rounding up from the actual 76.6 yards per game. It’s good enough to put them at 129th in the country in rushing, out of 131 teams in the FBS. Being that one dimensional is a major issue coming in against Clemson’s defensive front. And while BC has play makers like Jurkovec and Flowers, even the passing game is not immune to some legitimate problems. With long term injuries to 4 of its 5 starters on the offensive line from the beginning of the season, the Eagles have racked up an astonishing 18 sacks in 5 games. Despite being better than where they stand in rushing yards, its only a slight improvement to 124th in sacks allowed.

The fan in me is always going to be worried about the possibility of a slip up, a nail-biter, and a game that gets way too close for comfort. Still, the rational side of me can’t help but notice some GLARING issues for the Eagle’s offense as they face Clemson’s defensive front that keeps gaining steam week to week.

Clemson football will take control if they can weather the early haymakers

BC will, like they normally do, come out with a plan to jump out. If Clemson weathers the early haymakers, and lands a few of their own, the Tigers could take firm control of this game early like everyone wants.

And I think they will.

Bless your hearts, ya dad gum Yankees.

Go Tigers!