Clemson vs Boston College Film Review: 1st Quarter

Well that wasn’t fun, until suddenly it was. Last week I said Boston College’s defense wasn’t as bad as it seemed in its loss to Notre Dame, and they beat Clemson soundly up front for 3 quarters. I figured BC and their lack of depth would run out of gas in the 4th and ultimately allow Clemson to cover the spread with a fresh Travis Etienne, but their effort up front was so great, Etienne had to put the game out of reach rather than satisfy the bettors once the Eagles’ thin defense finally fell prey to fatigue.

Many will complain about the offensive gameplan, but it’s difficult to do much when your offensive line won’t allow you to run the ball against only a 6 man box and you’re backed up inside your own 10 yard line seemingly every drive. So why not attack the edges of a slow defense? Why not make them run sideline to sideline to wear them out sooner? I expected Clemson to get more creative in finding ways to get playmakers in space outside, but it never happened aside from the horrible screen passes.

Compounding the issues up front was the frequent substituting, which of course finally paid off in the end. With its ability to control Clemson’s ground game with its front, BC didn’t have to compensate and leave themselves vulnerable elsewhere; Clemson was unable to hit anything behind 2 deep safeties in cover 4 all day. BC brought it to Clemson and they deserve credit, sure, but BC seriously sat in cover 4 (albeit tighter than Louisville’s cover 4) all day. Nothing exotic or aggressive. Clemson was ultimately able to run away with the win because it had more and fresher bodies. This should provide a wake up call for the entire offensive unit and staff.

Kelly Bryant is still way off on his screen passes (should be easy yardage) and in general had his worst performance through the air. He was affected by BC pressure but did well on the ground to keep a few crucial drives moving. It was good to see Tavien Feaster get the start and it’s now clear that he and Etienne should be the 1-2 punch as the year progresses. Adam Choice is always good to churn something out of nothing, and was solid in that role. CJ Fuller will see his snap count drop further after another fumble, but this will still be a four-man rotation in the short term; it’s simply obvious which two backs should get the bulk of the carries now.

Tough to complain about much defensively against an improving BC offense. They missed a few open plays and were able to move the pile a bit too much for my liking, but the defense still played well with few exceptions. If BC had any semblance of skill outside, this could’ve ended horribly for Clemson since the defensive line didn’t play nearly as well as the secondary did. This is clearly Venables’ deepest secondary and it’s now crucial with Mullen, Fields, and Edmond out and Smith still perhaps recovering. Can’t overstate the luxury of a 5 star boundary corner stepping in and playing well immediately; Terrell probably starts against VT with Mullen’s concussion.

Since the 1st quarter was something of a B1G snoozer, enjoy an Etienne highlight before committing yourself to the yawns found thereafter.

End of quarter.