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At best, it appeared that the Tigers would have to win this game in overtime, a game that they dominated for nearly 3 quarters. Boston College, trailing 16 – 13 had driven to the Tiger 15 yardline with 30 seconds remaining. BC, who was out of time outs and had driven from its own 20 with a minute and a half to play, had just picked up a first down and was looking at 3 shots into the endzone to win the game. It was here that the Clemson defense stepped up to make a play and seal the win. Safety Rashard Hall, who had dropped into the flats, stepped in front of a bad throw by the BC QB and returned it for a game saving TD and a 23 – 13 victory for the tigers, their first of the year.
It shouldn’t have been that hard for the Tigers to pull this one out. After forcing a 3 and out from BC, Clemson took the ball and drove to the BC 10 before Kyle Parker overthrew a wide open receiver in the endzone on third and four. Parker’s inconsistent play, particularly in the redzone has plagued the Tigers all season and this looked to be a bad omen despite the three points on the board. In addition, the Tigers were flagged for three penalties for 35 yards on the opening drive. The Tiger defense again stepped up and intercepted the BC QB deep in BC territory and yet again, Parker missed a target in the endzone, forcing the Tigers to settle for a 6 – 0 lead after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Tigers again had a long sustained drive inside the BC 20, and again Parker cost his team points by throwing an interception. Fortunately this would be his only turnover of the game. BC capitalized on the turnover with a long field goal to pull to within 6 – 3. Clemson took over with just over a minute left to play in the half and was on the move, when Parker hit TE Dwayne Allen on a short pass. Allen with open field in front of him raced toward the sideline and was met about a foot short of the sideline, and fumbled. The ball miraculously stayed in bounds for a BC defender to recover. BC then moved to FG range with three straight completions to knot the score at 6-6 despite being thoroughly outplayed in the half.
In the second half Clemson, despite losing momentum, again drove inside the BC 10 yardline only to have Parker again overthrow an open man in the endzone and settle for another short Richard Jackson FG for a 9 – 6 lead. Boston College, gaining confidence on offense, responded quickly with a long TD pass to the tight end whose man inexplicably fell down on the coverage leaving him wide open.
With BC leading 13 – 9 and the tigers feeling that they were letting this one slip away, Parker guided his team down to the 2 yardline, making several key third down conversions including one of 18 yards that was necessitated by more Tiger penalties. All in all the tigers were flagged 7 times for 70 yards including 5 holding calls, one clipping call and one offsides. On second and goal from the one, backup tailback Andre Ellington took the ball off tackle for the TD, giving the tigers a 16 – 13 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
With two minutes remaining the tigers forced BC to punt and got the ball back hoping to run out the clock, however the BC defense made two solid stops on first and second down and Parker AGAIN missed a wide open receiver on third down forcing the tigers to give the ball back with a minute and a half to play, setting up BC’s drive for the win and Hall’s interception to seal the Clemson victory.
Though the Tigers claimed their first win of the season, getting a huge conference road victory, their play continues to be mediocre. On a positive note, Parker was only sacked once and the defense, despite the one mistake on the TD pass, was dominating all day long. However Parker continues to miss open receivers and the offense is putrid in the red zone. These things will have to improve if the Tigers have any hope of winning their division. A win is a win and Clemson will hope to build on this when they travel to Wake Forest next week for their 4th road game in 5 weeks.
It shouldn’t have been that hard for the Tigers to pull this one out. After forcing a 3 and out from BC, Clemson took the ball and drove to the BC 10 before Kyle Parker overthrew a wide open receiver in the endzone on third and four. Parker’s inconsistent play, particularly in the redzone has plagued the Tigers all season and this looked to be a bad omen despite the three points on the board. In addition, the Tigers were flagged for three penalties for 35 yards on the opening drive. The Tiger defense again stepped up and intercepted the BC QB deep in BC territory and yet again, Parker missed a target in the endzone, forcing the Tigers to settle for a 6 – 0 lead after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Tigers again had a long sustained drive inside the BC 20, and again Parker cost his team points by throwing an interception. Fortunately this would be his only turnover of the game. BC capitalized on the turnover with a long field goal to pull to within 6 – 3. Clemson took over with just over a minute left to play in the half and was on the move, when Parker hit TE Dwayne Allen on a short pass. Allen with open field in front of him raced toward the sideline and was met about a foot short of the sideline, and fumbled. The ball miraculously stayed in bounds for a BC defender to recover. BC then moved to FG range with three straight completions to knot the score at 6-6 despite being thoroughly outplayed in the half.
In the second half Clemson, despite losing momentum, again drove inside the BC 10 yardline only to have Parker again overthrow an open man in the endzone and settle for another short Richard Jackson FG for a 9 – 6 lead. Boston College, gaining confidence on offense, responded quickly with a long TD pass to the tight end whose man inexplicably fell down on the coverage leaving him wide open.
With BC leading 13 – 9 and the tigers feeling that they were letting this one slip away, Parker guided his team down to the 2 yardline, making several key third down conversions including one of 18 yards that was necessitated by more Tiger penalties. All in all the tigers were flagged 7 times for 70 yards including 5 holding calls, one clipping call and one offsides. On second and goal from the one, backup tailback Andre Ellington took the ball off tackle for the TD, giving the tigers a 16 – 13 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
With two minutes remaining the tigers forced BC to punt and got the ball back hoping to run out the clock, however the BC defense made two solid stops on first and second down and Parker AGAIN missed a wide open receiver on third down forcing the tigers to give the ball back with a minute and a half to play, setting up BC’s drive for the win and Hall’s interception to seal the Clemson victory.
Though the Tigers claimed their first win of the season, getting a huge conference road victory, their play continues to be mediocre. On a positive note, Parker was only sacked once and the defense, despite the one mistake on the TD pass, was dominating all day long. However Parker continues to miss open receivers and the offense is putrid in the red zone. These things will have to improve if the Tigers have any hope of winning their division. A win is a win and Clemson will hope to build on this when they travel to Wake Forest next week for their 4th road game in 5 weeks.
