Boston College rose to No. 2 in the country using smoke and mirrors while there's no magic to Clemson's claim as the No. 1 team in the ACC. Take the Tigers today vs. the Eagles.
Boston College was a remarkably consistent team during the Tom O’Brien era. In every season this decade prior to 2007, BC won seven or eight regular season games, then played in a relatively minor bowl. The Eagles would beat the teams that they were supposed to beat, performing extremely well as a favorite, but when they stepped up in class, they struggled.
[articleBanner]who2beton[/articleBanner]This year, things broke right early for Boston College under first year head coach Jeff Jagodzinski, and suddenly, BC was ranked as the #2 team in the country! At no point was this team a legitimate Top 10 squad, but a single upset win over Georgia Tech and a Heisman contender at quarterback, Matt Ryan, catapulted this team to a higher ranking than they deserved. BC even survived 58 minutes of terrible football at Virginia Tech before pulling off their second upset of the season thanks to Ryan’s late game heroics, and a lucky bounce going their way on the onside kick.
Boston College has tumbled from #2 in the country, losing each of their last two games. The Eagles defense has worn down, torched for their two worst performances of the season in this two game skid. The offense has become one dimensional, unable to run the football against better defenses. Their confidence is shattered; their momentum snapped. A good (not great) team to begin with, the Eagles might not even be particularly good at this late stage of the campaign.
Said linebacker Mark Herzlich following the loss to Maryland last week, "Being we were No. 2 in the nation to losing two straight, it obviously goes from an extreme high to an extreme low."
Meanwhile, Clemson is the best team in the ACC, and they come into this game with tremendous momentum, on a four game SU and ATS winning streak. The running back duo of James Davis and CJ Spiller is second to none in the conference, while QB Cullen Harper has developed tremendous chemistry with big play wideouts Aaron Kelly and Tyler Grisham.
Clemson’s defense has held each of their last four opponents to 17 points or less. With the right to play in the ACC title game on the line, look for another strong performance out of Tommy Bowden’s club on Saturday night.
Free Pick: Clemson -8½ (-110)