Clemson 34 Boston College 28: Position Grades

The Clemson Tigers overcame an 18-point deficit and topped Boston College on Saturday 34-28, improving their record to 27-4 in one-possession games since 2011. Today All Clemson grades out each position group from the comeback win.

The Clemson Tigers survived quite the Halloween scare this weekend. 

It started with the news of Trevor Lawrence being out for this weekends matchup against Boston College and carried over into the game when it seemed each and every bounce of the ball was going against the Tigers

However, despite facing a 28-10 deficit late in the second quarter, this Clemson team, led by freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, stayed the course and came back for a thrilling 34-28 win on a chilly afternoon in Death Valley. It was the largest home comeback in Clemson history. 

Position Grades: 

Quarterback: To say Uiagalelei was impressive in his first career start would be an understatement. The young freshman completed 73% of his passes for 342 yards, with two touchdowns. He also added another 25 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. Outside of a couple of overthrows on out-routes when throwing to his left, he was as close to prefect as one could expect for a true freshman making his first career start... A

Running Back: Travis Etienne showed the heart of a champion on Saturday, However, he did have another fumble, his third in as many games, and this one was disastrous as a Boston College defender scooped it up and returned it 97-yards for a touchdown. It was potentially a 14-point swing and gave BC a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. The senior back didn't let it affect him though and had another fantastic game. His 84 rushing yards made him the ACC's all-time leading rusher but where he really made his presence felt was in the passing game, where he hauled in 7 catches for 140 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown reception. Once he comes out though, the drop-off is noticeable. Lyn-J Dixon was the only other back to have a carry, finishing up with just 3 rushes for zero yards... B  

Wide Receiver: Much better performance than a week ago and there were no issues with drops. Due to injuries, Amari Rodgers got the start out on the boundary and Brannon Spector started in the slot. Saturday was all about Cornell Powell though. The fifth year senior had a career day with a team high 11 catches for 105 yards. It was the most catches by a Clemson wideout since 2016. He caught every ball that was thrown his way but one, and that one sailed over his head. Rodgers had another solid day with 7 catches and 66 yards and now has a career high 586 receiving yards on the season. Solid blocking by this group out on the perimeter as well... A-

Tight Ends: The tight ends just weren't much of a factor against BC. With Frank Ladson Jr. out with a hip pointer and Joseph Ngata still working his way back from the strained abdominal muscle, the Tigers were fairly thin at receiver and the teams top two tight ends combined for just one catch... C-

Offensive Line: As the game progressed, the better this group played. Uiagalelei was sacked once but that came on a play in which the freshman quarterback should have thrown the ball away. Etienne also had a little more room to run on the interior than he's had in recent weeks. Maybe this group is starting to put it together and just in time for Notre Dame... B

Defensive Line: After failing to generate much pressure early on, the defensive front got better as the game went along. BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec got off to a hot start but once the Tigers were able to put some pressure on him he wasn't nearly as accurate. Xavier Thomas had a sack, Bryan Bresee had a big sack late that resulted in a safety and overall the Tigers had 8 TFL, much of which resulted from how well this group played, ouside of a couple of untimely penalties. And they were once again forced to do so without the services if the injured Tyler Davis... B

Linebackers: Make no mistake, James Skalski was missed. However, the Tigers still held BC just 67 yards rushing on 34 carries. Baylon Spector led the team in tackles with eight, and forced a fumble. Jake Venables recorded six tackles and both had a TFL. Trenton Simpson was solid in place of Mike Jones Jr. The Tigers ability to hold the Eagles to just 2 YPC had a lot to do with this group playing their assignments and not being overly aggressive... B

Secondary: While it certainly wasn't perfect, the backend of the defense was not quite as bad as it may have appeared in the first half. Two of those touchdown passes were covered about as well as they could be and one of the nation's best tight ends was held to just three catches on the day. There was a couple of instances of where receivers were able to get behind the coverage, but overall a solid effort... B

Special Teams: The 60-yard punt by Will Spiers to pin BC inside their own five was a thing of beauty. It helped the Tigers seal the win. Two of his three punts were downed inside the 20 and he averaged 48-yards per punt. B.T. Potter was 2-2 on field goal attempts, hitting one of those from 50-yards out. However, he did miss the first PAT of his career, but it came after the team called two timeouts and had been backed up five yards by a false start penalty... A

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page.

Also, be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter.


Published
JP Priester
JP PRIESTER

Jason Priester: Born and raised in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. I have been covering Clemson Athletics for close to five years now and joined the Maven team in January.