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Clemson cruises past Boston College
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- Clemson cruises past Boston College
CHESTNUT HILL – Boston College 's race to the bottom of the ACC reached a new low.
Clemson rolled up 34 points in the first half and went on to defeat BC 41-10 in an ACC match on Saturday night at Alumni Stadium. Clemson accumulated 504 yards of total offense, 226 rushing and 278 passing with 28 first downs. BC had 221 total yards and 10 first downs.
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The attendance was listed as 42,265 but the only folks remaining in the stands for the fourth quarter were wearing orange sweatshirts.
The Eagles (1-5, 0-4) have an opportunity for a get right victory when they host UConn in a non-league match next Saturday at noon.
"We go back to work tomorrow and no doubt, we have to regroup," BC coach Bill O'Brien said. "It's starts with me, I'm the head coach and I can't figure out how to get this team to play and the coaching staff to coach it right.
"It's on me, I have to do a better job of coaching the team and doing a better job helping the coaches. This was just a terrible night."
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Clemson's opening drive showed all the signs of another fiasco for BC's defense like the prior Saturday's 48-7 debacle at Pittsburgh. The Tigers made steady progress, converting on third and fourth down while Tigers starting quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 5-of-6 for 33 yards. The Eagles defense found their resolve for the moment and forced Clemson to settle for a 46-yard field goal by Nolan Hauser with 8:24 to play.
On Clemson's next possession, Klubnik completed three passes for 51 yards. Tailback Adam Randall capped the trip with an 8-yard touchdown run to make it 10-0 with 4:05 to play. BC cut the lead to 10-3 on a 45-yard field goal by Luca Lombardo with 1:37 to play in the first.
Clemson went up 17-3 on an eight-play, 75-yard, scoring drive with 13:05 to play in the second. Defensive tackle Peter Woods capped the trip with a 2-yard plunge as the upback in a rarely seen full backfield formation. BC countered with a 10-play, 75-yard, scoring drive to cut the lead to 17-10 with 9:09 to play. Turbo Richards scored on a 2-yard run for his fifth rushing TD of the season.
Klubnik earned his NIL money on the Tigers' next drive. The senior completed 3-of-5 for 47 yards before he rushed for 9 on a third and 8 to extend the drive deep into the BC red zone. Klubnik scored on a 6-yard scamp to make 24-10 with 5:31 to play.
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"I don't think we stopped him in the first half, but we did a better job in the second," O'Brien said. "We did not stop them one time in the first half and give them a lot of credit, they have a good football team, and Klubnik did a good job."
Clemson's defense forced the first turnover of the game when Lonergan was stripped by MIKE linebacker Sammy Brown on the Tigers' 30-yardline. The Tigers went up 31-10 on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to sophomore wide receiver Bryant Wesco with 1:23 to play.
O'Brien gambled on fourth and 6 on the BC 43, and Lonergan's pass fell incomplete with 12 seconds remaining. Klubnik picked up 11 on a sideline pass to Tristan Smith and Hauser followed with a 50-yard field goal to make it 34-10 as time expired in the half. Klubnik completed 18-of-23 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown with a 181.7 passer rating.
BC's defense found its backbone in the third quarter with a pair of red zone interceptions while the offense continued to sputter. The Eagles also knocked Klubnik out of the game when MIKE linebacker Owen McGowan poleaxed him on a designed run on the BC 5-yard line. Sophomore Chistopher Vizzina managed the Clemson offense in the fourth quarter.
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O'Brien benched Lonergan for third stringer Shaker Reisig on BC's final possession of the third. BC caught a break when the Eagles recovered a fumble on the Clemson 17. The threat was neutralized when Reisig was intercepted by free safety Riccardo Jones in the end zone.
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