Boston College
Clemson
BC Scares The Daylight Out Of Clemson
October 31, 2020 | Football
Eagles race out to 28-10 lead before No. 1 Tigers claw their way back.
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Boston College battled top-ranked Clemson but fell, 34-28, on Saturday afternoon at Clemson Memorial Stadium.
Quarterback Phil Jurkovec finished the afternoon going 12-of-24 for 204 yards and two touchdowns. Five different receivers caught a pass on the afternoon, led by CJ Lewis' five catches for 66 yards and a TD. Zay Flowers hauled in three passes for 63 yards and a TD. Hunter Long made three grabs for 23 yards.
Travis Levy carried the ball 10 times for 40 yards, while David Bailey made 14 rushes for 32 yards and a score.
The Eagles wasted no time finding the end zone on their first series. BC covered 74 yards in four plays, capped by a highlight-reel 11-yard haul by Flowers from Jurkovec. The drive began with a 35-yard connection between the duo, followed by a 13-yard grab by Lewis, and an 11-yard scamper by Jurkovec.
Clemson tied it at 7-7 on its first drive, on a 35-yard touchdown reception by Travis Etienne. But BC would respond, replicating its first possession and driving the ball down Frank Howard Field to the endzone again. David Bailey's two-yard plunge capped a six-play drive, extending the Eagles' lead to 14-7 with eight and a half minutes left in the first quarter.
After a pair of stalled drives by the Tigers and Eagles, Clemson used 10 plays to get the ball to the BC two-yard line. Twice Etienne carried the ball, twice the BC defensive line stood strong at the goal line. On the third try, Brandon Sebastian forced the All-American to fumble and recovered the ball for a 97-yard touchdown return. BC would lead, 21-7, with 12:14 to go in the first half.
The Tigers were stopped short on the next drive, settling for a 33-yard field goal, cutting into Boston College's lead at 21-10.
On 4th and 2, Aaron Boumerhi set up for a 40-yard field goal attempt. But Eagles' holder John Tessitore set up under center as the Tigers were drawn offsides. On the next play, Jurkovec connected with Lewis for another highlight reel touchdown grab, further extending the Boston College lead to 28-10. Clemson booted a 50-yard field goal near the end of the half, making it 28-13 at halftime.
Clemson got back in the game, scoring touchdowns on each of its first three drives of the second half and the Tigers took their first lead of the game - 32-28 - with 11:34 to play, on an Etienne rushing touchdown. Point-after attempts on the last two TD's failed.
On its penultimate offensive drive, Boston College moved into Clemson territory - converting on 4th and 3 as backup QB Dennis Grosel came into the game with 4:47 left and connected with Hunter Long on a four-yard pass. But the Eagles turned the ball over on downs with 2:21 to play. A defensive stand by the Eagles gave BC another chance on offense, but Clemson sacked Jurkovec in the end zone for a safety.
Max Richardson led Boston College with 11 tackles (six solo), while Isaiah McDuffie logged 10 tackles, adding six solo stops to his national-leading total of 40. Brandon Sebastian made seven tackles and scored a touchdown on a forced fumble and recovery. Josh DeBerry also logged seven tackles (six stops).
The Eagles gained 275 yards of total offense, including 21 first downs. BC was 4-of-11 on 3rd down and 1-of-2 on 4th down conversions. The Eagles scored on all three trips to the red zone. Clemson gained 448 total yards and 26 1st downs. The Tigers were 7-of-16 on 3rd down and 3-of-3 on 4th down in the win - necessitating the largest comeback for the No. 1 ranked Tigers in close to six decades.
BC moves to 4-3 overall and 3-3 in ACC play and travels to Syracuse next Saturday - November 7 - to take on the Orange at the Carrier Dome. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game can be seen live on regional sports networks throughout the country.
