Clemson batters Boston College, cruises to road win

. Deshaun Watson threw four touchdown passes and helped clear the way for Wayne Gallman’s 59-yard scoring run with a block and No. 3 Clemson beat Boston College 56-10 on Friday night.

Clemson (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended its conference winning streak to 12 games and its road winning streak to eight, which matches a school record set from 1978-79.

“We came up here to take care of business and we did that,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “We wanted to play our best game of the year and we did.”

Boston College (3-3, 0-3) lost its 11th consecutive ACC game.

Clemson broke three plays of at least 50 yards in the first quarter, two for touchdowns and another that set up a score. Watson picked off a defender on the edge to help spring Gallman for the game’s first touchdown. Watson’s 59-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Leggett made it 21-0 late in the first half. That was all the Tigers needed.

TAKEAWAY

Clemson: Hard to expect an A-plus effort from the Tigers, who were coming off a draining, dramatic victory against Louisville and traveled north on short rest. There were plenty of Clemson fans in the sellout crowd of 44,500, but not much intensity in Alumni Stadium. Still, the Tigers took care of business and seemed to come out of the game healthy.

Boston College: The Eagles just can’t match-up against this level of opposition. BC’s best first-half drive covered 80 yards and got inside the Clemson 1. Twice on fourth-and-goal, quarterback Patrick Towles fumbled the snap because center Jim Cashman was knocked into the backfield by Tigers tackle Scott Pagano. The first one was wiped out by an offside penalty by Clemson, so Pagano did it again.

HOMECOMING

Clemson star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, from Springfield, Massachusetts, had four tackles, two for loss, including a sack, in his first college game in his home state.

UP NEXT

Clemson: The Tigers return home to face North Carolina State on Oct. 15.

Boston College: If the Eagles are going to break the ACC losing streak, the next game could be their best opportunity. Boston College hosts Syracuse on Oct. 22 in a matchup of one team that can’t play offense (BC) and another that can’t play defense (Syracuse).

HOW THEY SCORED

First Quarter

BC: FG Knoll 21, 11:08

CLE: Gallman 59 run (Huegel kick), 9:22

CLE: M.Williams 9 pass from Watson (Huegel kick), 3:12

CLE: Leggett 56 pass from Watson (Huegel kick), 1:29

Third Quarter

CLE: Cain 29 pass from Watson (Huegel kick), 11:38

CLE: Cain 16 pass from Watson (Huegel kick), 5:18

BC: Wolford 1 pass from Towles (Knoll kick), :27

Fourth Quarter

CLE: Dye 3 run (Huegel kick), 11:41

CLE: Feaster 45 run (Huegel kick), 3:09

CLE: Fields 42 interception return (Huegel kick), 1:30

Individual stats

RUSHING: Clemson, Gallman 9-109, Feaster 4-56, Watson 8-28, Choice 5-12, Dye 3-11, Fuller 2-9, K.Bryant 1-6, McCloud 1-4, A.Scott 1-2, Crowder 0-0, Schuessler 1-(minus 8). Boston, Jones 12-48, Hilliman 12-42, J.Smith 2-31, Rouse 1-16, Wilson 4-11, Towles 13-5, Willis 2-3, Wade 1-0, Walker 1-(minus 1).

PASSING: Clemson, Watson 14-24-0-266, Schuessler 1-1-0-6. Boston, J.Smith 1-1-0-5, Towles 11-22-0-91, Wade 0-1-1-0.

RECEIVING: Clemson, A.Scott 4-45, Cain 3-68, Leggett 2-66, M.Williams 2-59, Powell 2-15, McCloud 1-13, Choice 1-6. Boston, Sweeney 4-48, Jones 2-25, J.Smith 1-12, Towles 1-5, Walker 1-5, Hilliman 1-2, Wolford 1-1, Rouse 1-(minus 2).

MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 10:53 PM with the headline "Clemson batters Boston College, cruises to road win."