Next up on the schedule for the Clemson Tigers is a trip to Chestnut Hill and Alumni Stadium to face Boston College and coach Bill O’Brien in Week 7 ACC football play Saturday.
Clemson (2-3 overall, 1-2) won its first game in conference play with a 38-10 beatdown of North Carolina last Saturday at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill behind a 28-point first-quarter explosion.
The Tigers scored on five of their first six series, and quarterback Cade Klubnik finished 22-of-24 for 254 yards and four touchdowns in his best all-around game to date this season.
Boston College (1-4) fell to 0-3 in ACC play after a 48-7 drubbing at the hands of the Pitt Panthers last week. The Eagles have lost four straight, but only the loss at Pitt was by more than 10 points. They fell in the closing minutes of a 28-24 loss at California on Sept. 27 and lost in double overtime at Michigan State in Week 2.
“Back on the road this week, so heading up to Boston,” Swinney said of the Tigers’ opponent in his opening remarks during the coach’s weekly Tuesday press conference. “Always a tough place to place and always a tough team to play. No different in this scenario.”
Dabo Swinney isn’t buying Boston College football’s 1-4 record
Swinney isn’t taking the Eagles and their 1-4 record lightly. Boston College currently sits at the bottom of the ACC standings with losses to Pitt, California and Stanford, but the Tigers’ coach isn’t putting much stock in those results.
“The record is 1-4, and this is far from a 1-4 football team,” he said. “You say it, but they’re four plays away from being 4-1, without a doubt. They’re very well-coached, and I know they are battling through some disappointment because they’ve had some heartbreakers.
“But they have competed their butts off, and then this past week kind of got away. They had a bunch of guys out. I don’t know if y’all saw their injury report, but they had a ton of guys out, especially on defense. They had at least 10 guys out on defense and just got in a hole early against Pitt, but this is a good team. I mean, literally a few plays from 4-1.”
Dabo Swinney on the challenges Boston College offense presents to Clemson defense
“As far as how they play together as a group, this is a really good offensive line. Big, strong, well-coached. Their back’s a really good player. He’s downhill. He’s actually from Rock Hill,” Swinney said of sophomore Boston College running back Turbo Richard (64 carries, 331 yards). “He’ll be excited to play the Tigers. They use him a lot in the passing game. I think they’ve got really good receivers.”
Swinney listed sophomore Reed Harris (17 catches, 285 yards) as an “NFL guy” and said that leading receiver Lewis Bond (38 catches, 366 yards) is “going to be the all-time leading receiver” at Boston College.
Eagles tight end Jeremiah Franklin (22 catches, 224 yards) is a guy that “they get the ball a ton,” Swinney added.
“Multiple formations. They do a good job of creating formational challenges as far as how you line up and defending extra gaps. A ton of play action and a lot of max protection to get the shows downfield. And that’s probably the biggest thing watching and looking at them.”
Dabo Swinney on Boston College quarterback, Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan
Swinney noted that Boston College was 11th in the nation in passing and mentioned Eagles starter and former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Dylan Lonergan, a four-star recruit that Clemson committed. Lonergan has thrown for all but 290 of the Eagles’ passing yards this season.
“They’re throwing the ball all over the park, but it comes through the run game. There’s a ton of plays. Not like they’re just dropping back and letting it rip. There’s a ton of play action and a really good scheme. The quarterback I think is a very good player. He’s a kid we recruited. He’s from down in Snellville, Georgia. He signed with Alabama but he’s a very good player.
“They schematically really stress you with how they go about creating their shots through the run, the play action, a bunch of screens and manipulation plays with throwbacks and things like that built into it. (Running) back’s free releasing a lot. I think he’s maybe third or so in receiving on the team, so you’ve got to account for him.”
“So I’m just very impressed watching the tape,” Swinney continued. “You don’t know anything about a record. You just watch the tape and you’re like, ‘Man, these guys are tough. They’re well-coached.’ The quarterback I think is an elite thrower. He’s very accurate. They’ve got skill outside and they’ve got a tough runner in the backfield. So I think it’s a big challenge for us.”
Kickoff for Clemson vs. Boston College is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The game will be televised on ACC Network.
Here’s everything Swinney said at his Tuesday press conference.
Clemson football schedule 2025
All start times Eastern.
- Aug. 30: vs. LSU (L, 17-10)
- Sept. 6: vs. Troy (W, 27-16)
- Sept. 13: at Georgia Tech (L, 24-21)
- Sept. 20: vs. Syracuse (L, 34-21)
- Oct. 4: at North Carolina (W, 38-10)
- Oct. 11: at Boston College, 7:30 p.m., ACC Network
- Oct. 18: vs. SMU, 3:30 p.m., ACC Network
- Nov. 1: vs. Duke, TBD
- Nov. 8: vs. Florida State
- Nov. 14: at Louisville, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
- Nov. 22: vs. Furman
- Nov. 29: at South Carolina, noon, ABC or ESPN
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