Five burning questions for Clemson against BC, including Trevor Lawrence COVID news
No. 1 Clemson has just two home games remaining on its 2020 schedule. The first of those will take place Saturday when the Tigers (6-0) host Boston College (4-2).
The Eagles are off to a solid start under first-year head coach Jeff Hafley, already earning three conference wins after finishing with four all of last year. This week’s noon game will be televised by ABC. Here are our top five questions heading into the game:
1. Trevor Lawrence is out. How many players will Clemson be missing?
News broke Thursday night that Tigers star quarterback Trevor Lawrence will not play this weekend after testing positive for COVID-19. His status for next weekend’s game against Notre Dame is uncertain.
In addition to Lawrence, Swinney had already announced that starting linebacker and defensive leader James Skalski will be out for “a few weeks” with a groin injury. The Tigers also have several other players who are “day to day,” according to Swinney. That list includes starting defensive tackle Tyler Davis, starting linebacker Mike Jones Jr. and starting cornerback Derion Kendrick. There could also be some surprises, as there were last week when just before kickoff it was announced that Skalski and Davis were unavailable.
Without Lawrence and Skalski, Clemson will be playing without arguably its Offensive MVP and Defensive MVP.
2. Can Clemson get its running game going?
With Lawrence out, you can bet that the Tigers want to get Travis Etienne the ball early and often. You can also bet that Boston College knows that as well. The Eagles will likely key in on Etienne in the running game and passing game. Further complicating matters is the fact that Clemson hasn’t been rushing the ball particularly well this year. The Tigers are currently averaging about 177 rushing yards per game, which is about 64 yards less than they averaged last year. Clemson has four new starters on its offensive line. And while the coaching staff has been pleased with the play of the line overall, there haven’t been a lot of big holes created for the running backs. Etienne doesn’t need much space to break off a long run, but despite some incredible plays, he is averaging 6.3 yards per carry this season. He averaged 7.8 yards per carry in 2019.
3. Can an outside receiver emerge to complement Amari Rodgers?
Clemson’s second-leading receiver (in terms of receptions and yards this season) is Etienne. While that speaks to Etienne’s growth as a pass catcher, it also shows that after Amari Rodgers, there has been a big drop-off in production at wideout. Etienne and Rodgers have accounted for 1,336 yards from scrimmage this season. The rest of Clemson’s running backs and receivers have combined for 1,259. Frank Ladson and Joseph Ngata were breakout candidates for 2020, but Ngata hasn’t been able to stay healthy and Ladson has struggled with drops. Senior Cornell Powell was another breakout candidate and has been better as of late. Freshman receiver E.J. Williams is also coming along.
Rodgers has 33 catches for 520 yards and five touchdowns. Clemson’s next closest receiver is Ladson, with 17 catches for 272 yards and three scores. Don’t be surprised if BC sets up its defense to limit Rodgers and Etienne. If so, Clemson’s other playmakers will have to step up and help Uiagalelei.
4. Will Clemson have another special teams mistake?
The Tigers have had at least one kick blocked in two of their past three games — Miami blocked three field goals against Clemson on Oct. 10 and Syracuse blocked a punt last week. The Tigers won both games comfortably but also let both teams hang around for longer than expected.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney vowed that Clemson will get any sloppy play cleaned up. The Tigers certainly need to before traveling to Notre Dame next week.
5. How improved is Boston College under Jeff Hafley?
The former Ohio State defensive coordinator has the Eagles playing with confidence in his first season. BC already has ACC wins over Duke, Pitt and Georgia Tech and nearly upset a top 20 North Carolina team earlier this month. Clemson will obviously be the toughest test yet for the Eagles, but Hafley is familiar with the Tigers after preparing his Ohio State defense to face Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne and company in the Fiesta Bowl last year.
Boston College isn’t as talented as Ohio State, but Clemson coaches and players said there are plenty of similarities between Boston College’s defense and the one the Tigers faced in Arizona last season.
Clemson-Boston College prediction
It appeared as though this game would be an easy win for the Tigers when the schedule was originally released, but with Lawrence and Skalski out and several other players banged up, a victory suddenly seems far less certain. Clemson should be be able to pull out a victory in freshman QB D.J. Uiagalelei’s first career start, but its defense will need to be on its game. Uiagalelei was rated as a five-star recruit coming out of high school, but he is still inexperienced and going up against a strong defensive mind in Boston College coach Jeff Hafley.
Pick: Clemson 27, Boston College 13
Clemson football 2020 schedule, game scores
Sept. 12: Clemson 37, Wake Forest 13
Sept. 19: Clemson 49, The Citadel 0
Oct. 3: Clemson 41, Virginia 23
Oct. 10: Clemson 42, Miami 17
Oct. 17: Clemson 73, Georgia Tech 6
Oct. 24: Clemson 47, Syracuse 21
Oct. 31: vs. Boston College, noon, ABC
Nov. 7: at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Nov. 14: Open
Nov. 21: at Florida State
Nov. 28: vs. Pitt
Dec. 5: at Virginia Tech
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 2:15 PM.
