Will Boston College lose?
posted by LW, Monday, November 09, 2009
If Clemson didn't have such a, uh, history with Boston College, the sight of Magnum P.I. and the Eagles lurking in the Atlantic Division standings wouldn't be a big deal.
But Boston College has been such a pain in the butt to the Tigers for four years, and if you're reading this blog you probably already know the painful details.
A quick refresher: Clemson fell one win short of the ACC title game in 2005, 2006 and 2007 ... and lost to Boston College all three years (by a combined seven points). Even when the Tigers vanquished their B.C. headache last year by beating the Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Boston College still won the division (for the second straight year).
So even though Clemson owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Boston College, and even though Clemson essentially made it a two-horse race with Saturday's win over Florida State, it'd be a lot easier on folks if the Eagles would lose a game.
It probably won't come this week at Virginia. Boston College had an open date last week, and Virginia is utterly demoralized after losing three straight games to Georgia Tech, Duke and Miami.
It could happen when North Carolina visits Boston College, though the Eagles have played much better at home this year than on the road.
You might not think it could happen at Maryland, but I'm not writing off the possibility. Wacky things have happened late in the season the last few years, and Maryland has been involved in some of those wacky things.
Here's the weird thing:
If Clemson loses at N.C. State and beats Virginia, and if Boston College beats both Virginia and North Carolina, the Tigers would have to wait until Nov. 28 to find out whether they go to Tampa for the ACC title game.
That's when Boston College plays at Maryland. It's also when Clemson plays at South Carolina.
Imagine the possible swings of emotions on that day heading into the game ... and maybe even during the game.
But the Tigers can eliminate all those scenarios -- heck, they should eliminate all those scenarios -- by dusting N.C. State and Virginia. These two teams are a combined 3-7 in ACC play.
How about this scenario for Saturday:
Clemson goes to N.C. State and wins the noon game.
Boston College goes to Virginia and loses the 3:30 game.
On their trip back to Clemson, the Tigers learn they're division champs for the first time.
Guessing Clemson fans have never pulled this hard for the Chessmaster.
Speaking of N.C. State, the Wolfies finally have a reason to feel good about themselves after outlasting Maryland.
Ken Tysiac writes about Mike Archer's winning move in the victory, and J.P. Giglio isn't making fun of the Dabo Swinney hire anymore.
At 1-2 in the ACC, it looked like Clemson had promoted the doltish gym teacher (Dabo Swinney) from "Glee," which qualified as only a slight upgrade from the prodigal son (Tommy Bowden) from "Dynasty."
After a fourth straight win, three in the ACC, Swinney looks like a revelation, maybe even in the same zip code as the Tigertown demigod himself, Danny Ford. The Tigers need only to beat two galactically flawed teams, N.C. State and UVa, to play for their first ACC title since 1991.
Well this might be a first: George O'Leary getting mad at a reporter ... for being right.
Looks like DeAndre McDaniel's bulldozing of Christian Ponder separated Ponder's shoulder. Ouch.
Gene Sapakoff does his weekly check of the Braggin' Rights Barometer and picks Clemson to lay the smackdown on South Carolina.
What a shocker that would be; the Gamecocks have beaten the Tigers there twice since 1979.
If South Carolina has struggled to tackle the past two weeks against Arkansas and Tennessee, chances are they might not fare well against Clifford from Clemson.
Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier looks back on Saturday's victory.
Speaking of McDaniel, Paul Strelow of The State says his swagger is what was missing in recent years.
But regardless of how Clemson's title quest takes shape, McDaniel's Babe Ruth blast may be the signature moment of Dabo Swinney's first full season as coach, embodying the psychological transformation the Tigers have undergone under his direction.
No one disputes that the Tigers did a lot of good things during Tommy Bowden's decade-long tenure. But when it came time for a figurative or literal collision, Clemson resembled a vaudeville performer taking a cannonball to the gut.
Marc Hudgens of Southern Pigskin recaps week 10 in the ACC.
And Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mial writes about the Tigers' belief system.
LW
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If Clemson didn't have such a, uh, history with Boston College, the sight of Magnum P.I. and the Eagles lurking in the Atlantic Division standings wouldn't be a big deal.
But Boston College has been such a pain in the butt to the Tigers for four years, and if you're reading this blog you probably already know the painful details.
A quick refresher: Clemson fell one win short of the ACC title game in 2005, 2006 and 2007 ... and lost to Boston College all three years (by a combined seven points). Even when the Tigers vanquished their B.C. headache last year by beating the Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Boston College still won the division (for the second straight year).
So even though Clemson owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Boston College, and even though Clemson essentially made it a two-horse race with Saturday's win over Florida State, it'd be a lot easier on folks if the Eagles would lose a game.
It probably won't come this week at Virginia. Boston College had an open date last week, and Virginia is utterly demoralized after losing three straight games to Georgia Tech, Duke and Miami.
It could happen when North Carolina visits Boston College, though the Eagles have played much better at home this year than on the road.
You might not think it could happen at Maryland, but I'm not writing off the possibility. Wacky things have happened late in the season the last few years, and Maryland has been involved in some of those wacky things.
Here's the weird thing:
If Clemson loses at N.C. State and beats Virginia, and if Boston College beats both Virginia and North Carolina, the Tigers would have to wait until Nov. 28 to find out whether they go to Tampa for the ACC title game.
That's when Boston College plays at Maryland. It's also when Clemson plays at South Carolina.
Imagine the possible swings of emotions on that day heading into the game ... and maybe even during the game.
But the Tigers can eliminate all those scenarios -- heck, they should eliminate all those scenarios -- by dusting N.C. State and Virginia. These two teams are a combined 3-7 in ACC play.
How about this scenario for Saturday:
Clemson goes to N.C. State and wins the noon game.
Boston College goes to Virginia and loses the 3:30 game.
On their trip back to Clemson, the Tigers learn they're division champs for the first time.
Guessing Clemson fans have never pulled this hard for the Chessmaster.
Speaking of N.C. State, the Wolfies finally have a reason to feel good about themselves after outlasting Maryland.
Ken Tysiac writes about Mike Archer's winning move in the victory, and J.P. Giglio isn't making fun of the Dabo Swinney hire anymore.
At 1-2 in the ACC, it looked like Clemson had promoted the doltish gym teacher (Dabo Swinney) from "Glee," which qualified as only a slight upgrade from the prodigal son (Tommy Bowden) from "Dynasty."
After a fourth straight win, three in the ACC, Swinney looks like a revelation, maybe even in the same zip code as the Tigertown demigod himself, Danny Ford. The Tigers need only to beat two galactically flawed teams, N.C. State and UVa, to play for their first ACC title since 1991.
Well this might be a first: George O'Leary getting mad at a reporter ... for being right.
Looks like DeAndre McDaniel's bulldozing of Christian Ponder separated Ponder's shoulder. Ouch.
Gene Sapakoff does his weekly check of the Braggin' Rights Barometer and picks Clemson to lay the smackdown on South Carolina.
What a shocker that would be; the Gamecocks have beaten the Tigers there twice since 1979.
If South Carolina has struggled to tackle the past two weeks against Arkansas and Tennessee, chances are they might not fare well against Clifford from Clemson.
Travis Sawchik of The Post and Courier looks back on Saturday's victory.
Speaking of McDaniel, Paul Strelow of The State says his swagger is what was missing in recent years.
But regardless of how Clemson's title quest takes shape, McDaniel's Babe Ruth blast may be the signature moment of Dabo Swinney's first full season as coach, embodying the psychological transformation the Tigers have undergone under his direction.
No one disputes that the Tigers did a lot of good things during Tommy Bowden's decade-long tenure. But when it came time for a figurative or literal collision, Clemson resembled a vaudeville performer taking a cannonball to the gut.
Marc Hudgens of Southern Pigskin recaps week 10 in the ACC.
And Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mial writes about the Tigers' belief system.
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.