Previewing the Weekend: BC v. Clemson

You have to think Boston College has been shunned from the collective psyche of the Northeast. I mean, come on they lost a game. And not only one game, they lost TWO! That's two more than the Celtics and Patriots combined. As far as Boston is concerned, the Golden Eagles are a bunch of 8-2 losers. Matt Ryan is far removed from being a Heisman front runner and BC is coming off 2 straight losses.

But BC goes into Clemson with both teams tied for the lead in the ACC Atlantic Conference. The winner goes on to face, most likely, Virgina Tech in the ACC Championship game. So there are big BCS implications for these two teams.

BC comes in on the strength of its passing game, behind Matt Ryan. While Clemson relies on is two big-time runners, CJ Spiller and James Davis (no relation to Greg, Texas fans). Also, Clemson comes in riding a 4 game win streak and, as mentioned before, BC has lost 2 in a row. But, if you look at Clemson's wins, you have to think they have not played a very tough schedule. Their last four wins come against Central Michigan, Duke, Maryland and Wake Forest. Not exactly a bunch of world beaters (Maryland did just beat BC).

Boston College has at least beaten some quality opponents (Virginia Tech & Georgia Tech), but they have definitely gotten themselves in a rut. They only managed 17 points against a very mediocre Florida State team and they had their defense destroyed by Maryland. Just a few weeks ago it seemed improbable that Boston College, who was ranked #2, would be on the verge of dropping three straight. But that's were they find themselves.

The big advantage Clemson has is their running game. They can control the clock and keep Matt Ryan off the field. When a strong passing team and a strong running team clash, I always err on the side of the running team, since they can keep the passers off the field. I think Clemson keeps the ball just long enough to not let BC in the endzone enough. Oh, and his game happens to be in Death Valley. Prediction: Clemson 27 BC 24

What this means for Texas: Honestly, not too much. Texas needs for the ACC to only get 1 team in the BCS and not have an at large bid. What is going to be most important is that the winner of this game needs to lose to Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game. So, with that being the case, let's root for BC since they are the lower ranked team