No. 1 Clemson Rallies Without Trevor Lawrence to Beat Boston College

Clemson came back from an 18-point deficit with its star quarterback out with COVID-19 to hold off Boston College 34-28 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

No. 1 Clemson rallied from an 18-point deficit without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence to hold off Boston College 34-28 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

True freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei filled in for Lawrence, who ruled out Thursday after he tested positive for COVID-19, and got the win in his first collegiate start. The Tigers (7-0) got two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score, from senior running back Travis Etienne, who set the ACC record for the most rushing career rushing yards in this game. 

The Tigers were about to tie the game at 14-all in the second quarter when an Etienne fumble at the BC 1-yard line was picked up by Brandon Sebastian and returned 97 yards for a touchdown that put the Eagles up 21-7. 

They would go on to take a 28-10 lead on a TD pass by Phil Jurkovec before halftime, but Clemson would chip away and get two third-quarter touchdowns from Uiagalelei to get back within two points. 

Clemson's offense finished with 448 total yards and got 105 yards on 11 catches from Cornell Powell while the defense held BC (4-3) to just 66 yards and zero points in the second half and got a late safety. 

Key play: Etienne took a handoff right up the gut of the Boston College defense for a 17-yard touchdown that put Clemson up 32-28 with 11:34 left to play. It was the first time Clemson led all game.

Player of the game: Not only did Etienne set an ACC record, but he also destroyed BC in the passing game. The senior finished with 140 receiving yards on seven catches to go along with his 84 yards on 20 carries. He also had a 40-yard kick return to start the second half that led to a Clemson touchdown. 

Freshman impact: Uiagalelei threw for 342 yards on 30-of-41 passing and totaled three touchdowns to bring Clemson back. He had a 30-yard TD run and looked poised and comfortable in the pocket for much of the game. He also threw a 35-yard TD pass to Etienne and an 8-yard scoring strike to Amari Rodgers.

Coaches decision: After Etienne scored the go-ahead touchdown, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney called a timeout to discuss going for the 2-point conversion. That's what the Tigers opted to do, but a false start pushed them back five yards and Swinney decided to kick the extra point, which was missed by B.T. Potter for the first time in his career. 

Stat of the game: Clemson sloppily committed nine penalties for 82 yards, including two roughing the passer infractions that erased two interceptions, but BC negated any advantage with 11 penalties for 92 yards.

Up next: Clemson hits the road for the biggest game for the ACC season when the Tigers visit No. 4 Notre Dame. It's Clemson's first trip to South Bend, Indiana, since 1979. The undefeated Fighting Irish faced Georgia Tech on Saturday. 

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