Boston College vs. Clemson: Tigers' Defense Proves to Be Difference-Maker

CLEMSON, S.C.—Amid the pyrotechnics that Clemson’s offense churns out on a nearly every-week basis, the Tigers’ improving defense can get lost in the shuffle.

Since hitting rock bottom by ending the 2011 season with the embarrassing 70-33 Orange Bowl loss to West Virginia (the most points a team has ever allowed in a postseason game), Clemson’s defense has steadily improved under second-year coordinator Brent Venables.

It's grown into a unit that coach Dabo Swinney and their offensive teammates can trust on a weekly basis. Occasionally lean on.

And boy, was that trust tested Saturday.

With the Tigers offense hampered by a haze of turnovers and untimely mistakes, No. 3 Clemson leaned heavily on its defense against upset-minded Boston College.

Clemson’s defense held BC to 286 total yards. It held the nation’s top rusher, Andre Williams, to a pedestrian 70 yards on 24 carries. And it contributed a crucial momentum-changing score in a hard-fought 24-14 win at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers improved to 6-0, 4-0 in ACC play, and set up a top-10 matchup next Saturday against Florida State. That wouldn’t have been possible without a bruising defensive effort.

It marked the fifth consecutive game that Clemson has held an opponent to 14 points or fewer, the longest such streak since the final five games of the Danny Ford era in 1989.

“I thought they played relentless as a unit,” Venables said. “You can see the chemistry, you can see they like each other, there’s cohesion, it's hard to coach that. You can try to nurture that and foster that and sometimes you hit it, in a bottle all at one time. We’ve got a group of leaders and guys who like to play the game, and it shows.”

The defense’s core is a strong, talented defensive line led by junior Vic Beasley, who entered the game as the FBS sack leader. Saturday, he added five tackles, two tackles for loss, another sack and the game’s biggest defensive play in a 13-yard fourth-quarter fumble return score that provided the final margin.

“He brings great effort every week,” Swinney said. “He’s becoming a leader. We made him captain this week, and he took a lot of pride in that. He’s a hard guy to deal with for an entire game.”

At halftime, Clemson trailed 7-3, with only Chandler Catanzaro’s field goal as time expired saving the Tigers from their first scoreless first half since November 2010.

The offense had lost two fumbles. Two field-goal attempts had gone awry. It was time for the defense to carry the load.

“We knew we weren’t playing our best football and we had to come out and get it done,” said junior defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. “At that point, when the offense wasn’t going, we had to hand (the ball) back. We stepped up and put some points on the board. When they’re playing bad, we’ve got to play good. We have to have each other’s backs.”

That resolve was tested in the third quarter. Tajh Boyd connected with Sammy Watkins for a 48-yard touchdown down the right sideline, giving Clemson its first lead of the game at 10-7.

But on the very next play, BC wideout Alex Amidon burned freshman safety Jayron Kearse on a double move that he turned into a 69-yard touchdown reception. Clemson’s lead? It lasted all of 11 seconds.

It was up to the Tigers defense to pick up the slack.

Saturday, the defensive line stood tall.

On Boston College’s next offensive series, the line swarmed Williams for a five-yard loss at his own 26.

With the Death Valley sound system blaring “Jump Around,” BC’s offensive line committed consecutive false starts.

On 3rd-and-23 from the 11, Williams was swarmed by the entire line, allowing a punt that left Clemson with excellent field position at the BC 48.

The Tigers obliged with an efficient drive, ending with Boyd’s 13-yard touchdown draw for a 17-14 lead.

Then, the defense made its biggest play of the season.

With Boston College pinned back deep, linebacker Tony Steward (who has overcome a pair of ACL tears in the past three years) came free on a blitz and sacked Chase Rettig. The ball sat there on the turf like a shiny coin; Beasley scooped it up and rumbled 13 yards for a touchdown.

“I saw the ball laying there,” Beasley said, “and I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to go pick this up!’”

Clemson had life, breathing room and a 24-14 lead.

The Eagles’ wings were clipped. They were done.

“It’s definitely the most complete game we had,” Beasley said. “We’ve had some dominant performances in the past, but this is the most dominant.”

Next week will bring a stiffer test: Florida State averages 53.6 points per game and averages 549 yards of total offense. But this defense has proved it can be trusted with heavy lifting. It entered Saturday 16th nationally in scoring defense and 35th in total defense.

“We had to go through growing pains last year and the year before,” Swinney said. “Look into the roster, you can see we’ve grown up a little bit. There are the same players who were here two years ago—they’re just juniors now instead of freshmen and sophomores.”

They’ve grown up. And now, they’re carrying their share of the load, which could lead to much greater riches in January.

*Unless otherwise noted, all quotes in this article were obtained directly by the author.

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