No. 1 Clemson Rallies Past Boston College 34-28 with Trevor Lawrence Sidelined

With superstar quarterback Trevor Lawrence out because of a positive COVID-19 test, the No. 1 Clemson Tigers overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the unranked Boston College Eagles 34-28 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, on Saturday.

Freshman D.J. Uiagalelei got the start in place of Lawrence and kept the offense playing at a high level, as he accounted for three touchdowns in the win, while running back Travis Etienne scored twice as well.

Quarterback Phil Jurkovec led the way for Boston College with two touchdown passes and helped the Eagles build a three-score lead in the first half, but they were unable to hang on in the second half.

With the win, Clemson improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in ACC play, while Boston College fell to 4-3 on the season with a 3-3 conference mark.

Notable Stats

D.J. Uiagalelei, QB, CLE: 30-of-41 for 342 YDS, 2 TD, 0 INT; 6 CAR for 25 YDS, 1 TD

Travis Etienne, RB, CLE: 20 CAR for 84 YDS, 1 TD; 7 REC for 140 YDS, 1 TD

Cornell Powell, WR, CLE: 11 REC for 105 YDS

Amari Rodgers, WR, CLE: 7 REC for 66 YDS, 1 TD

Phil Jurkovec, QB, BC: 12-of-24 for 204 YDS, 2 TD, 0 INT

Zay Flowers, WR, BC: 3 REC for 63 YDS, 1 TD

CJ Lewis, WR, BC: 5 REC for 66 YDS, 1 TD

Uiagalelei's Play Overshadows Clemson's 1st-Half Mistakes

Clemson had some issues Saturday in a tightly contested game against Boston College, but Uiagalelei was undoubtedly the Tigers' biggest bright spot.

The spotlight was firmly on Uiagalelei as Lawrence's replacement, but he largely rose to the occasion and played at a high level in his first collegiate start.

That was clear on Clemson's first drive of the game, as he drove the Tigers in for a touchdown after watching Jurkovec decimate the Clemson defense on BC's first drive.

The Eagles sent pressure in an effort to rattle Uiagalelei, but he recognized it and got the ball out quickly to running back Travis Etienne for a 35-yard touchdown:

Etienne also set the career ACC rushing yardage record in the game and ran for a go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, but Saturday was more about his work as a pass-catcher and Uiagalelei's dual-threat play under center.

Although it was mostly good for Uiagalelei, a huge mistake in the second quarter left the Tigers with a big hole to dig out of. Clemson was trailing 14-7 and driving for a score near the BC goal line when the exchange between Uiagalelei and Etienne was fumbled, picked up by Brandon Sebastian and returned 97 yards for a Boston College touchdown:

Bryan Fischer of Athlon Sports broke down the play and determined that the fumble was on Uiagalelei since he ball placement on the handoff was too high:

As if being down 21-7 wasn't bad enough, the Eagles put the Tigers on their heels even more later in the quarter.

With the score sitting at 21-10, Boston College went on a nearly eight-minute touchdown drive that ended in a touchdown to make it 28-10, but the Eagles got some help from Boston College.

First an interception was negated by a somewhat questionable roughing the passer call. Then, Boston College lined up for a fake after initially looking like they were going to kick a field goal, and the Tigers jumped offside.

Mike Uva of WACH Fox was surprised at the mental mistakes Clemson made on defense and special teams on the drive:

It would have been easy for Uiagalelei and Co. to fold at that point, but the freshman led Clemson on a field-goal drive to end the half despite having only one minute on the clock and no timeouts.

That drive seemed to get the Tigers back in the game mentally, as they took control early in the second half with Uiagalelei scoring on a 30-yard quarterback keeper to shrink the deficit to eight:

He brought them even closer later in the quarter on an eight-yard touchdown pass to Rodgers, but an unsuccessful two-point conversion kept Boston College ahead by two.

The Tigers finally took the lead early in the fourth on a 17-yard touchdown run by Etienne, which spoke to Uiagalelei's ability to keep the team in the game even when everything was going wrong earlier in the contest.

David Ubben of The Athletic suggested that while Uiagalelei is a backup at Clemson, he could start for most teams in college football:

Also, Uva marveled at Uiagalelei and the bright future he figures to have with the Tigers:

Uiagalelei will go back to the bench whenever Lawrence is cleared to return to action, but Clemson fans and college football observers got a glimpse Saturday of a player who could be the best quarterback in the nation next season and beyond.

Also, head coach Dabo Swinney now knows he has a backup who can win if he is without Lawrence at any other point this season.

Jurkovec Makes Big Plays vs. Clemson Defense Despite Loss

Jurkovec quietly entered Saturday's game as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, ranking in the top 10 in completions, passing yardage and passing touchdowns, but he truly proved himself with some of the plays he made against Clemson.

It was clear from the first drive of the game that Jurkovec had confidence against a Clemson defense that was allowing just 13.5 points per game entering Saturday.

Jurkovec drove BC 74 yards on four plays in less than two minutes, culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers in the face of pressure to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead:

After Clemson tied it, Jurkovec orchestrated another long scoring drive, as Boston College covered 75 yards in just 2:13 to go up 14-7 on a two-yard touchdown run by David Bailey.

Jurkovec then proved in the second quarter that he could milk the clock and possess the football for a long period of time as well. With the Eagles holding a 21-10 lead, Jurkovec manufactured a 15-play, 75-yard drive that lasted nearly eight minutes.

It ended with Jurkovec's second touchdown pass of the game with CJ Lewis making an acrobatic catch from 18 yards out to extend the lead to 28-10:

The drive left Clemson with no timeouts and only 1:02 remaining on the clock. The Tigers did manage a field goal entering halftime, but the long scoring drive gave Boston College a ton of momentum.

There was no shortage of praise for Jurkovec on social media after his performance, including some from former New England Patriots quarterback and current Patriots announcer Scott Zolak:

Yahoo Sports NFL draft expert Eric Edholm also liked what he saw:

Justin Rowland of Rivals marveled at Jurkovec's transformation as well:

Jurkovec and the Boston College offense did not move the ball in the second half like they did in the first, but the Eagles' inability to stop Clemson defensively in the second half was the biggest culprit in the loss.

It was unclear what the future held for Jurkovec after he transferred from Notre Dame to Boston College, but that decision seems to be paying dividends. Jurkovec has finally gotten the opportunity to play regularly, and he is taking advantage of it even though Boston College fell just short Saturday.

What's Next?

Clemson will hope to get Lawrence back for its next game on Saturday, Nov. 7, when it faces the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the road.

Meanwhile, Boston College will look to bounce back next week when it goes on the road to face the struggling Syracuse Orange on Saturday.