The Clemson Tigers meet Boston College Eagles Saturday in ACC Week 5 college football action from Clemson Memorial Stadium. Boston College just finished up against Missouri last weekend. The Eagles ended up eking out an overtime victory to stay undefeated. As for Clemson, they played North Carolina State in their last outing. In that one the Tigers lost by six in overtime. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Boston College drilled Colgate in their opener this season, cruising to a 51-0 victory. The Eagles continued their dominant run over the next two games, dispatching UMass 45-28 and Temple 28-3 to kick off the year at 3-0.
In Saturday’s matchup versus Missouri, Boston College gave up 17 points in the fourth quarter but ultimately fought off the Tigers for a 41-34 win in overtime. QB Dennis Grosel finished on 175 yards with two scores and a pick. Pat Garwo led the rush with 25 carries for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
Over on the Clemson side, they opened up the year with a rough game against Georgia, ultimately falling 10-3 in a defense-heavy matchup. The Tigers rebounded over their next pair of games however, taking out SC State 49-3 and Georgia Tech 14-8.
In game four versus North Carolina State, Clemson had a tough time controlling the game in an eventual 27-21 loss in double overtime. QB DJ Uiagalelei finished on 111 yards, two TDs and a pick from 12-of-26 passing, and also led the rush with 63 yards off nine carries.
The Eagles are 23-8 ATS in their last 31 in October and 23-9-1 ATS in their last 33 conference games. Boston College is 5-11 ATS in their last 16 after a straight-up win as well.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 in October and 22-10 ATS in their last 32 conference games. Clemson is 0-5 ATS in their last five overall and 0-4 ATS in their last four at home.
PICK: I’m going to try Boston College here. The Eagles gave away a pretty decent-sized lead in their last game, but they were able to fend off Missouri with a solid offensive outing. Boston College posted 275 rushing yards, 23 first downs, a 10-of-16 mark on third-down tries and just four penalties. It was an encouraging effort in a lot of ways.
As for Clemson, they were out of sorts on offense for most of the day in their last game. The Tigers came up with just 10 first downs, 111 pass yards and a 2-of-11 rate for third downs. Clemson also had 13 penalties in a sloppy effort. I think the Eagles have a big enough window to cover in this one.