Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Lessons Learned: What It Takes
October 09, 2016 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Friday night showed where the gold standard sits in the ACC
There's a certain amount of respect that should go with being ranked third in the nation. To earn that recognition is to make people believe that you're capable of being in the College Football Playoff with the potential to win a national championship. From a field of nearly 130 teams, you're one of the most elite teams, and you're very much at the head of the pack.
Coming out of Friday night's game, we all learned just how good the Clemson Tigers really are. We saw what a Heisman Trophy candidate looks like, and we saw what happens when you give him weapons at every position. We saw what happens when a team is capable of replacing seven NFL draft picks on defense with deep talent. Most importantly, we saw where the gold standard is.
Overall, the Tigers gained 503 yards against the nation's top-ranked defense. They gained 274 yards in the air, scoring four times, and they gained 229 yards on the ground, scoring three times. They averaged 8.4 yards per play on 60 offensive plays, gaining 21 first downs, and they did it with explosive plays.
On three separate occasions in the first quarter, BC fell victim to the Clemson explosiveness after taking a 3-0 lead. On a second down play from the Clemson 41, the defense had a chance to wrap up running back Wayne Gallman. Instead, Gallman broke free, evaded defenders and took it 59 yards for a score.
On their ensuing drive, Deshaun Watson hit Mike Williams down the sideline. Williams was in one-on-one coverage, blanketed the entire way, until he outstretched his entire body to make an acrobatic diving catch. That set up another touchdown, making it 14-3, Clemson.
Before the end of the first quarter, they did it again, with a 56-yard play to Jordan Leggett. It didn't matter that the Eagles had been holding Clemson pretty well at that point. All it took was three explosive plays and the Tigers had a 21-3 lead.
"Their offensive explosions hurt because really we were playing pretty consistently," said BC head coach Steve Addazio. "(For example) we had pretty good coverage on the one long pass down the field. I mean, it wasn't like it was bad coverage - and they made a hell of a throw and a hell of a catch.
"I think the first one was a run that we had caged, and it bounced back out into the perimeter and we didn't fit it out there," he continued. "And then the third one we had a breakdown on a Y-shooter play through the center of defense."
Those three plays are emblematic of just how talented the Atlantic Coast Conference is. Five conference schools are in the AP Top 25. Of those five, BC plays four, including three in its division. For a team trying to build and move forward, a game like Friday teaches you just how good you have to be to get to that level. Winning a few of those games can jump a team immediately into the nation's elite, but that's something that's substantially easier said than done.
Here's some more takeaways from the Clemson loss:
***The long second quarter drive for the Eagles was a thing of beauty, so it's a real shame that it didn't end in points.
Starting at its own 19-yard line, BC balanced their attack and used creative play calls to drive the length of the field. On third-and-one, the Eagles ran a wide receiver run with sophomore Jeff Smith for 26 yards. Later, graduate QB Patrick Towles hit sophomore TE Tommy Sweeney for 22 yards, taking the drive inside the Clemson 10. Two plays later, BC apparently scored, but the officials marked redshirt sophomore RB Davon Jones short of the goal line at the one-foot line.
On third down, Towles attempted a sneak but was stuffed. Electing to go for it on fourth, Towles did it again but was stopped again, only to earn another play thanks to a Clemson offside penalty. Earning a second shot at fourth-and-one, Towles ran it a third time, only to find himself stopped short again.
"I'd like to think I could have gotten in there," said Towles. "We had a new center, and I have to do a better job at getting the snap. That's my fault. We got it fixed as the drives went on, but that was my fault, and I will fix that."
Starting center junior Jon Baker had been injured early in the game, forcing Towles to work with new batterymate Jim Cashman. It's hard to state how tough that is because the center/quarterback combination requires two players with very different roles to be in synergy.
***BC held Clemson scoreless in the second quarter, holding the ball for almost 11 minutes. They gained 130 yards to Clemson's 60. They had eight first downs to the Tigers' four. With a chance to pull the game within 11 points and receiving the third quarter kickoff, the Eagles had a chance to go into the locker room with momentum and slowly whittle away at the Clemson lead.
"Against a good opponent like that, I really felt we could be 21-10 at the half, and that was very realistic," said Addazio. "Even coming out in the second half, we still felt strong that we could get the ball moving and get a score in there."
By holding the Eagles off the board, Clemson absorbed shots but didn't go down. In a game of momentum, the Tigers held when they could've lost it, which set the tone for their putaway third quarter.
***The first half of the season ends with a bye week and a chance to reset.
The schedule's been an incredible case study. Opening up in Ireland against a tough conference opponent, BC came within one play of beating Georgia Tech. The Eagles then handled three opponents in UMass, Wagne, and Buffalo, and they lost to two nationally-ranked teams in Virginia Tech and Clemson, both of which wound up in lopsided scores.
Halfway through the season, BC hasn't played a team that feels like an "in the middle" type opponent. The scheduled has consisted of two mid-major opponents, an FCS team and three very tough opponents. The Eagles finally get to level set against Syracuse in two weeks. That means this one goes to bed and the process of getting ready for the Orange starts almost immediately.
"We have Syracuse rolling in in two weeks," said Towles. "We're going to become a lot better football team, and we're going to give Syracuse all we've got."
Coming out of Friday night's game, we all learned just how good the Clemson Tigers really are. We saw what a Heisman Trophy candidate looks like, and we saw what happens when you give him weapons at every position. We saw what happens when a team is capable of replacing seven NFL draft picks on defense with deep talent. Most importantly, we saw where the gold standard is.
Overall, the Tigers gained 503 yards against the nation's top-ranked defense. They gained 274 yards in the air, scoring four times, and they gained 229 yards on the ground, scoring three times. They averaged 8.4 yards per play on 60 offensive plays, gaining 21 first downs, and they did it with explosive plays.
On three separate occasions in the first quarter, BC fell victim to the Clemson explosiveness after taking a 3-0 lead. On a second down play from the Clemson 41, the defense had a chance to wrap up running back Wayne Gallman. Instead, Gallman broke free, evaded defenders and took it 59 yards for a score.
On their ensuing drive, Deshaun Watson hit Mike Williams down the sideline. Williams was in one-on-one coverage, blanketed the entire way, until he outstretched his entire body to make an acrobatic diving catch. That set up another touchdown, making it 14-3, Clemson.
Before the end of the first quarter, they did it again, with a 56-yard play to Jordan Leggett. It didn't matter that the Eagles had been holding Clemson pretty well at that point. All it took was three explosive plays and the Tigers had a 21-3 lead.
"Their offensive explosions hurt because really we were playing pretty consistently," said BC head coach Steve Addazio. "(For example) we had pretty good coverage on the one long pass down the field. I mean, it wasn't like it was bad coverage - and they made a hell of a throw and a hell of a catch.
"I think the first one was a run that we had caged, and it bounced back out into the perimeter and we didn't fit it out there," he continued. "And then the third one we had a breakdown on a Y-shooter play through the center of defense."
Those three plays are emblematic of just how talented the Atlantic Coast Conference is. Five conference schools are in the AP Top 25. Of those five, BC plays four, including three in its division. For a team trying to build and move forward, a game like Friday teaches you just how good you have to be to get to that level. Winning a few of those games can jump a team immediately into the nation's elite, but that's something that's substantially easier said than done.
Here's some more takeaways from the Clemson loss:
***The long second quarter drive for the Eagles was a thing of beauty, so it's a real shame that it didn't end in points.
Starting at its own 19-yard line, BC balanced their attack and used creative play calls to drive the length of the field. On third-and-one, the Eagles ran a wide receiver run with sophomore Jeff Smith for 26 yards. Later, graduate QB Patrick Towles hit sophomore TE Tommy Sweeney for 22 yards, taking the drive inside the Clemson 10. Two plays later, BC apparently scored, but the officials marked redshirt sophomore RB Davon Jones short of the goal line at the one-foot line.
On third down, Towles attempted a sneak but was stuffed. Electing to go for it on fourth, Towles did it again but was stopped again, only to earn another play thanks to a Clemson offside penalty. Earning a second shot at fourth-and-one, Towles ran it a third time, only to find himself stopped short again.
"I'd like to think I could have gotten in there," said Towles. "We had a new center, and I have to do a better job at getting the snap. That's my fault. We got it fixed as the drives went on, but that was my fault, and I will fix that."
Starting center junior Jon Baker had been injured early in the game, forcing Towles to work with new batterymate Jim Cashman. It's hard to state how tough that is because the center/quarterback combination requires two players with very different roles to be in synergy.
***BC held Clemson scoreless in the second quarter, holding the ball for almost 11 minutes. They gained 130 yards to Clemson's 60. They had eight first downs to the Tigers' four. With a chance to pull the game within 11 points and receiving the third quarter kickoff, the Eagles had a chance to go into the locker room with momentum and slowly whittle away at the Clemson lead.
"Against a good opponent like that, I really felt we could be 21-10 at the half, and that was very realistic," said Addazio. "Even coming out in the second half, we still felt strong that we could get the ball moving and get a score in there."
By holding the Eagles off the board, Clemson absorbed shots but didn't go down. In a game of momentum, the Tigers held when they could've lost it, which set the tone for their putaway third quarter.
***The first half of the season ends with a bye week and a chance to reset.
The schedule's been an incredible case study. Opening up in Ireland against a tough conference opponent, BC came within one play of beating Georgia Tech. The Eagles then handled three opponents in UMass, Wagne, and Buffalo, and they lost to two nationally-ranked teams in Virginia Tech and Clemson, both of which wound up in lopsided scores.
Halfway through the season, BC hasn't played a team that feels like an "in the middle" type opponent. The scheduled has consisted of two mid-major opponents, an FCS team and three very tough opponents. The Eagles finally get to level set against Syracuse in two weeks. That means this one goes to bed and the process of getting ready for the Orange starts almost immediately.
"We have Syracuse rolling in in two weeks," said Towles. "We're going to become a lot better football team, and we're going to give Syracuse all we've got."
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