The upset opportunity was there for Boston College.
The Eagles trailed 17th-ranked Clemson by just three points at halftime, and got possession to start the third quarter. But instead of going on the kind of scoring march that could have put true fear into the visiting Tigers, BC snuffed out its own opportunity.
A dropped pass and a holding penalty wiped out potential drive-starters, and moments later Clemson was in the end zone celebrating a touchdown that put the Tigers up 10 in an ACC game they ultimately won 45-31.
With the loss, BC is off to a 1-3 start to the season, and stands 0-2 in the ACC. Clemson, meanwhile, is 4-1 and 1-1 in conference play.
"We?re disappointed but not discouraged," said BC coach Frank Spaziani. "We kept fighting. When you score 30-something points, you?ve got to do better than that on defense. ... We did some good things on both sides of the ball, but not enough on defense."
If there?s a silver lining for the Eagles, it?s that they?ve played tough in each of their three losses, and the defeats have come against teams that are a combined 13-2.
"We take some solace in that, but we?re 1-3," said quarterback Chase Rettig. "At the end of the day, those are the numbers."
After going three-and-out to start the second half, three more fruitless possessions followed for BC. Clemson, meanwhile, scored two touchdowns to take a 38-21 lead. But while the BC defense struggled ? Clemson wound up converting 10-of-16 third-down opportunities and gained 576 total yards ? the offense regrouped and nearly pulled the Eagles within one score in the fourth quarter.
Down 17 points in the third, BC went 80 yards in seven plays to get back within 10 at 38-28. Rettig hit a streaking Alex Amidon for a 42-yard touchdown pass for the score.
After Clemson answered quickly with Tajh Boyd hitting DeAndre Hopkins from 35 yards out to cap an 75-yard drive that put the Tigers up 45-28 a minute into the final period, Nate Freese knocked home a 39-yard field goal less than five minutes later. The BC defense then stopped Clemson on a fourth-down attempt near midfield, and the offense got the ball down to the Clemson 20.
But on third-and-16, Rettig was picked off.
Moments later Boyd ? who threw for 367 yards and three TDs and ran for 60 yards and a score ? fumbled at Clemson?s 33, but BC was unable to cash in and turned the ball over on downs.
Rettig completed 25 of 43 passes for 341 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Amidon caught eight passes for 193 yards and two scores. And as a team, BC gained 420 total yards.
"All it?s about is wins," said Amidon. "At the end of the day, we?re 1-3. That?s the only thing I?m looking at right now. It?s pretty frustrating."
In the first half, an interception and aggressive play-calling helped BC recover from a 17-7 deficit to briefly take a 21-17 lead.
After the Tigers had scored 17 straight points in large part due to phenomenal field position ? Clemson started one touchdown drive on the BC 43 and another on the BC 41 ? they were poised to blow the game open when they took over at the BC 48 after a failed fourth-down run.
Boyd tried to drop the hammer on the first play, but his pass deep over the middle was picked off by a diving Sean Sylvia at the BC 8.
It took the Eagles eight plays to cover the distance, with Rettig passing to Jonathan Coleman cutting across the middle of the end zone for the touchdown that brought the Eagles within three at 17-14.
After the BC defense forced a Clemson three-and-out, the Eagles took possession at their own 32. On the first play, wide receiver Bobby Swigert took a pitch from Rettig, stopped, and found Spiffy Evans 28 yards downfield to get the drive started. It ended with Amidon catching a 31-yard pass from Rettig, which he finished after the catch by juking a Clemson defender inside the 10 and outracing him to the corner of the end zone.
The Tigers, however, answered with a touchdown drive just before halftime to take a 24-21 lead into the intermission.
BC opened the scoring with an 84-yard touchdown drive on its second possession. Andre Williams got the touchdown on a 30-yard run, breaking through the right side of the line.
"The offense is clearly putting points on the board," said Sylvia. "We have to take more ownership and start stopping some people."
Eric Avidon can be reached at 508-626-3809 or eavidon@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericavidon.
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