The “Patriots Tour” continues for Dabo Swinney and Clemson.
A week after routing New England’s six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick and his new North Carolina team, the Tigers (2-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have shifted gears to a Saturday night matchup with Boston College (1-4, 0-3) in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
“I feel like I’m playing the whole Patriots organization,” Swinney said before facing Belichick and former associate Bill O’Brien, now the Boston College coach, in consecutive weeks.
Clemson has won its last 35 games against teams with losing records, the third-longest active streak nationally according to Stats Perform. The last loss was at Boston College in 2010, which preceded the Tigers’ current 12-game win streak in the head-to-head series.
At North Carolina, Clemson scored four touchdowns in as many drives to build a 28-3 first-quarter lead on the way to a 38-10 victory.
It was Cade Klubnik’s best game this season. After throwing interceptions in each of the first four weeks, the senior was nearly perfect on a 22-of-24 passing day for 254 yards and four touchdowns — two to both running back Adam Randall and tight end Christian Bentancur.
“When you have a start like we had at a place like Clemson, there’s a lot of noise, a lot of criticism and things like that, and these are young people, and it can affect you,” Swinney said, referring to the Tigers’ pair of ACC-opening losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
Boston College looks to start a turnaround here. There is no time to dwell on last week’s 48-7 loss at Pitt in which the Eagles were shut out until third-string freshman Shaker Reisig’s touchdown pass with 1:57 remaining.
O’Brien was left searching for answers following a fourth straight loss. The Eagles rushed for a season-low 27 yards, managing fewer than 100 for the fourth time in five games.
“It hasn’t been nearly as good as last year,” O’Brien said. “A lot of football left. Let’s see if we can improve it. Clemson’s very good. It’s not like this would be your first choice to go against to improve your running game. But we’re going to work hard on it.”
The Eagles rank as the nation’s 11th-best passing team, averaging 313.4 yards per game, with Dylan Lonergan still listed at the top of the quarterback depth chart. The Alabama transfer was 9-of-18 for 89 yards and was sacked twice last week.
While KP Price and Omar Thornton are coming off 10-tackle performances, the Eagles have been plagued by injuries on defense. Defensive end Quintayvious Hutchins and linebackers Daveon Crouch and Bryce Steele all missed the Pitt game.
“Injuries are never an excuse. It is what it is. It’s football,” O’Brien said. “The next guys have to be ready to play, and we have to get them ready to play.”
