(17) Clemson vs. Boston College
Time: 3:30 PM EST, Sat
TV: ESPN2
Spread: CLEM -7
Total: 60
M/L: CLE -265, BC +225

Betting Odds from Bookmaker

CLEMSON

Clemson Game-by-game summary:

Week one, Clemson back Andre Ellington ran for 228 yards on 25 carries as Clemson outscored Auburn 10-3 in the final quarter, to escape with a 7 point victory. Ellington, a 5’10? diminutive ball carrier, had a 68 harder that set up Clemson’s first TD of the season.
The effort helped lead to a 7 point Tigers’ victory…

Humbly, Ellington admitted he didn’t do it all “on his own” attributing his success to the linemen that made his carries possible.

In addition to Ellington’s insane night rushing the ball, WR DeAndre Hopkins came up with a school record 13 receptions.

Clemson QB Tajh Boyd played well, too. He completed 24 of 34 passes for 208 passing yards, while also carrying it 19 times for 58 yards. The Tigers finished with 320 rushing yards and 528 yards overall, which ranks them 9th in the nation in rushing yards.  Boyd is 20/1 to win the Heisman on Bovada.
—
Week Two brought a victory over the Ball State Cardinals. Despite Ball State’s high powered offense, and the Tigers giving up 27 points, they took advantage of the weak Ball State defensive backfield to reel off 52 points, as Tajh Boyd completed over 80-percent of his passes, and three of his 19 passes resulted in Clemson touch downs. For the game, Boyd posted a QB rating of 209.3

The Tigers also received 174 yards rushing from the duo of Banks & Edwards, as Banks ran for two TDs and had his game high 120 rushing yards on only seven carries.
—
Week Three the Tigers got all over Furman. They went into the game ranked No. 11 overall, and scored 41 while surrendering only a lone touchdown in the second quarter on a 37 yard TD pass to Jordan Snelling.

The Tigers gave up only 352 total yards and allowed only 2 of 14 third down conversions, while managing to score so quickly that they had nearly half the time of possession as Furman despite the blowout win. Furman controlled the ball for 38 minutes, 19 seconds; while Clemson needed only 21 minutes, 41 seconds to accomplish all 498 yards of offense.

Last Week Clemson suffered their first loss of the season in their meltdown to No. 4 Florida State last week, closing out the game by allowing 35 of the final 38 points, a E.J. Manuel completed one long pass after another. Clemson is still alive, though, and if they can hang tough through conference schedule, they could be a true BCS contender.

BOSTON COLLEGE

Boston College will look to get back on track after dropping 22-13 to Northwestern last week. The Eagles allowed 560 total yards and 34 first downs in a game in which the Eagles controlled the ball only 24 minutes of the clock.

Chase Rettig had a nice game in the loss, completing 24 of his 44 passes for 291 yards, though.

The Eagles have their fourth offensive coordinator in the last three seasons in Doug Martin, and he’s still attempting to leave his identity on the team. Martin is known for developing QBs well, and Rettig’s performance has been a reflection of that.

I wrote in week one  that Deuce Finch needed to have a big season. He has and he hasn’t. He’s the No. 2 back for the Eagles, but has not had any of the marquee games that people suspected he might have been when he was playing in place of an injured Montell Harris last year. Most of his yardage came in the 34-3 win over Maine, and Finch had only eight carries in the loss last week to Northwestern.

—

Want to crush the bookies? Make sure to check out our paid pick plans for the 2012 season. Our handicapping team has an excellent track record of lining people’s pockets, so get in on the gravy train!