Clemson vs. BC: 3rd Quarter Film Review

Boston College ball, BC 22, 14:55

1^st and 10, 11 vs. 4-2, Pagano splits a combo block and stops the inside zone… 2^nd and 9, 12 unbalanced vs. 4-3, jet sweep to the two tight end side, Ryan Carter flies up to make the tackle in the backfield…

All images via Tigertv (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8n6eO7ZJ8s)

3^rd and 10, 10 vs. DOD, Clemson almost is able to get a sack with a three man rush, Ferrell ate the left tackle alive, Boulware makes the tackle on Towles as a spy… PUNT

Boston College can’t block Clemson up front and lacks the speed to get outside the defensive line. Not a ton you can do in that scenario.

Clemson ball, Clemson 38, 12:52

1^st and 10, 11 vs. 4-2, Boston College is playing quarters and Scott is able to split the space between the linebacker and safety on a post route for 17 yards…

1^st and 10, 10 vs. 4-2, Clemson attempts to run speed option to the short side with power blocking, Cain misses a block and the boundary corner tackles Gallman immediately… 2^nd and 10, 11 vs. 4-3, Boston college keeps seven in the box and elects to play Scott/RRM3 with a corner and deep safety, Scott is able to get open on an out route behind a RRM3 fade…

1^st and 10, 12 vs. 4-3 under, jet sweep fake to the two tight end side, Deon Cain is able to bully a cornerback on a one on one fade route… TOUCHDOWN

Putting two tight ends, a running back and a motioning receiver to one side of the formation is a great way to get a smaller defender into an impossible one on one situation. Scott is showing off an expanded repertoire of routes to get open underneath against seemingly anyone.

Boston College ball, BC 6, 11:30

1^st and 10, 21 vs. 4-3, D’oD should account for the weak side b gap but gets picked off by a wide receiver block, wide open hole, RB runs for 18 yards…

1^st and 10, 12 unbalanced vs. 4-3 over, pin pull sweep to the two tight end side, Wilkins is able to set the edge and force the running back into pursuit… 2^nd and 12, 12 vs. 4-3, Towles runs into the sideline before making a decision on a bootleg pass (a tendency of his), short gain before stepping out of bounds… 3^rd and 7, 11 vs. DOD, C1 blitz, K’Von Wallace almost arrives on the blitz and Towles throws the ball wide of his intended target but pass interference was called…

1^st and 10, 11 vs. 4-3 under, play action speed option and D’oD is in the backfield before Towles can find a receiver, like so much of the Eagles offense it’s a cool idea they’re not talented enough to execute.

2^nd and 21, 11 vs. 4-2, inside zone dive goes nowhere, the nickel is extremely quick to help off the edge vs. inside runs because Boston College has shown no ability to reliably get open for or throw quick passes… 3^rd and 19, 10 vs. DOD, three man rush almost gets home, Towles steps up and throws at Ryan Carter’s receiver again, who drops it, well short of a first down either ways… PUNT

A blown assignment gives the Eagles their first first down of the half. Otherwise BC has shown little ability to keep down and distance manageable or to convert on third and long without a pass interference call. The glacial page of Boston College is another factor, their offense took two and a half minutes of game time to move the ball twenty yards downfield.

Clemson ball, Clemson 41, 7:45

10 vs. 4-2, gain of five on a Gallman zone read handoff… 2^nd and 5, 11 vs. 4-2, zone read bootleg and Watson finds Leggett open in the flat for an easy first down…

1^st and 10, 10 vs. 4-2, cover zero blitz gets in Watson’s face quickly and he throws the ball where no one can get it… 2^nd and 10, 11 vs. 4-2, the Eagles show cover zero again, both linebackers on the line of scrimmage, Clemson runs power to the weak side and no second level defenders are left to tackle Gallman before a first down…

1^st and 10, 11 vs. 4-2, inside zone cutback, BC’s end does a good job closing down but Gallman bounces outside… 2^nd and 3, 11 vs. 4-3, reverse to Artavis Scott tackled just short of a first down… 3^rd and 1, 12 vs. 4-3, both safeties in the box with corners playing off man, quick curl route to Deon Cain and he simply cannot be covered one on one today… TOUCHDOWN

It’s nice to not be the tired defense, BC is already having trouble getting set before Clemson snaps. Deon Cain has been an absolute nightmare for the Eagles this quarter. This is the Clemson offense we were talking about in the offseason.

Boston College ball, BC 45, 5:17

1st and 10, 11 vs. 4-2, play action roll out, Towles finally completes the comeback route against Carter the Eagles have gone for four times this quarter…

1^st and 10, 21 unbalanced vs. 4-2, inside zone read and the running back finds a cutback lane, one of Tre Lamar or Van Smith should have accounted for that gap but Clemson has done no one any favors with their alignment…

1^st and 10, 21 unbalanced vs. 4-2 and the same alignment issues lead to a wide open C gap to the unbalanced side, kudos to the BC staff for finding a play Clemson wasn’t ready for and going right back to it…

1^st and 10, 23 vs. 4-3, power weak side and Cordrea lays the wood, both corners have been sure tacklers on the edge today… 2^nd and 8, 21 unbalanced vs. 4-2, dive to the short side of the line this time goes nowhere, Tankersly makes the tackle again… 3^rd and 6, 11 vs. 4-2, the running back gets lost releasing to the trips side and nearly turns a flare route into a touchdown…

1^st and goal, 21 vs. 5-3, Patrick Towles and three lead blockers almost get the two yards needed for a TD on QB power but get stopped inches short, 2^nd and goal, 32 vs. 5-3, dive with two lead blockers out of the backfield, the defensive line pushed the line of scrimmage into the backfield across the board, nowhere to go…

3^rd and goal, 23 vs. 5-3, play action power, fullback leaks into the flats for one of the timeless goal line plays… TOUCHDOWN

A mixture of a questionable decision to kick the ball onsides, a couple of runs out of an unbalanced formation (and Venables was legitimately outcoached there), and losing the running back in the flats twice is enough for Boston College to manufacture a touchdown drive. They’re just so glacial, it’s hard to be that afraid of five minute touchdown drives with a twenty five point lead going into the fourth quarter.