No. 1 Clemson rallies to fend off Boston College upset; Lawrence out for Notre Dame
No. 1 Clemson completed the largest come-from-behind home win in school history Saturday against Boston College, rallying from an 18-point first-half deficit for a 34-28 victory behind freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei.
Soon after Uiagalelei passed for 342 yards and accounted for three total scores against BC, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney announced that the California native will get a shot at an encore performance against No. 4 Notre Dame next week.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who tested positive Wednesday for COVID-19, will be out again next week for the Tigers’ biggest game of the season. Lawrence could make the trip and be on the sideline, according to Swinney, but he will not be cleared from a protocol standpoint to play.
“Trevor will not be able to play. I want to go ahead and get that out there,” Swinney said. “He’s doing great. He Zoomed with the team (Friday). I talked to him (Saturday) morning. He feels like he can play today. He’s doing well, but obviously there’s protocol.”
The good news for Clemson is that Uiagalelei appeared plenty capable against BC, displaying poise and accuracy that are rare for a first-year player.
Lawrence, watching the game while isolated from the team, congratulated the team and Uiagalelei via social media: “LETS GO!!! So happy for this team. Great win. Miss being there more than anything. @DJUiagalelei did your thing proud of you.”
Tigers offensive coordinator Tony Elliott compared Uiagalelei to Lawrence and to former Clemson QB Deshaun Watson.
“From the day he showed up he’s had this quiet confidence about himself,” Elliott said. “We know he’s got the big arm, can make all the throws. He processes information really, really well, and he’s prepared each and every week as he’s the starter.”
Uiagalelei received plenty of help from Clemson’s veteran playmakers on Saturday as Travis Etienne, Cornell Powell and Amari Rodgers stepped up to help the freshman out.
Etienne accounted for 224 total yards and a pair of touchdowns. His go-ahead 17-yard score early in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner as Clemson (7-0, 6-0) rallied from a 28-10 first-half deficit.
“To have the largest comeback in the history of Death Valley, that means you have to get down a lot of points,” Swinney said. “So that part wasn’t fun ... but there’s a reason why it’s the largest comeback ever, because usually when you get down like that you don’t win.”
Etienne, a Louisiana native, became the ACC’s all-time leading rusher during the game, breaking the record held by former N.C. State star Ted Brown, who rushed for 4,602 yards from 1975-78.
Powell finished with 11 catches for 105 yards, while Rodgers added seven grabs for 66 yards and a score.
Etienne, Powell and Rodgers combined to catch 25 passes for 311 yards and three scores. The rest of Clemson’s team had five catches for 31 yards.
“Really proud of those older guys for stepping up,” Elliott said. “Cornell was challenged this week at practice by coach Swinney.”
Clemson’s defense got off to a slow start, allowing Boston College (4-3, 3-3) to score touchdowns on its first two drives of the game. After that, the Tigers settled in.
Brent Venables’ unit held Boston College scoreless in the second half and limited the Eagles to 66 yards of offense in the second half.
Next Clemson football game
Who: Clemson at Notre Dame
When: 7:30 pm Saturday, Nov. 7
Where: Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana
TV: NBC
Clemson vs Boston College scoring summary, stats
First Quarter
BC—Flowers 11 pass from Jurkovec (Boumerhi kick), 13:08.
CLE—Etienne 35 pass from Uiagalelei (Potter kick), 10:54.
BC—D.Bailey 2 run (Boumerhi kick), 8:41.
Second Quarter
BC—Bra.Sebastian 97 fumble return (Boumerhi kick), 12:14.
CLE—FG Potter 33, 8:44.
BC—Lewis 18 pass from Jurkovec (Boumerhi kick), 1:02.
CLE—FG Potter 50, :07.
Third Quarter
CLE—Uiagalelei 30 run (Potter kick), 11:38.
CLE—Rodgers 8 pass from Uiagalelei (run failed), 6:16.
Fourth Quarter
CLE—Etienne 17 run (kick failed), 11:34.
CLE—safety, 1:18.
- First downs: Clemson 26-21
- Rush yards: Clemson 106-67
- Pass yards: Clemson 342-208
- Time of possession: Clemson 30:50 to 29:10
RUSHING—Boston College, Levy 10-40, D.Bailey 14-32, Flowers 1-4, (Team) 1-(minus 1), Jurkovec 8-(minus 8). Clemson, Etienne 20-84, Uiagalelei 6-25, Dixon 3-0, (Team) 2-(minus 3).
PASSING—Boston College, Grosel 1-1-0-4, Jurkovec 12-24-0-204. Clemson, Uiagalelei 30-41-0-342, (Team) 0-2-0-0.
RECEIVING—Boston College, Lewis 5-66, Flowers 3-63, Long 3-23, Gill 1-48, J.Galloway 1-8. Clemson, Powell 11-105, Etienne 7-140, Rodgers 7-66, E.Williams 2-24, Br.Spector 2-1, D.Allen 1-6.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 3:44 PM.
