In a very uneven contest, the Clemson Tigers rolled to a 25-7 victory over the Boston College Eagles.
The game was twice stopped due to lightning in the area and much of it was playing under a heavy downpour.
The Eagles played even uglier than the weather, mustering only 51 yards of offense and no first downs heading into the fourth quarter.
A turnover allowed them to get in position to score their only touchdown of the game, but the momentum was short-lived.
Running back C.J. Spiller was fairly quiet on offense, but he opened up the scoring with a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 6:53 pm by steve
Boston College had beaten Clemson the past two times it had visited Death Valley.
C.J. Spiller made sure it wouldn’t happen again.
The explosive Spiller accumulated 219 all-purpose yards, including his first career punt return for a touchdown, and the host Tigers dominated on both sides of the ball in a 25-7 win over the Eagles in each team’s ACC opener.
Spiller returned the punt 77 yards for the score in the first quarter to give Clemson an early lead, and the defense pitched a shutout for three quarters while building a 19-0 lead. The game was marred by lengthy delays due to rain, but nothing short of an act of God could’ve helped Boston College move the ball; the offense had minus-2 yards at the half.
Under former head coach Tommy Bowden, Clemson had a bad habit of losing games it was expected to win, particularly at home. This game falls into that category, but with a new regime in place, that trend might also be done with. Saturday was an encouraging sign for Tigers fans.
Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 7:15 pm by Raj Sethi
For the Clemson Tigers, Thursday night’s game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start.
Trying to defend the Georgia Tech triple option, Clemson gave up an 80-yard touchdown run to start the game.
The Tigers then faked a field goal, instead tossing the ball to their place-kicker who punted it down deep in Georgia Tech territory.
The punt was hit so low that it was then returned for a touchdown instead of pinning the Yellow Jackets deep in their own end.
Clemson later surrendered another touchdown on a fake field goal. The Tigers were able to rally back to eventually tie the game, but the initial deficit was just too much to overcome.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at 6:46 pm by steve
The Clemson Tigers’ season debut in 2009 was much better and more memorable than that in 2008, as the team rolled past a pesky Middle Tennessee State squad, 37-14.
It was just a year ago that Clemson’s national title hopes dissolved in the first game of the college football season, with Alabama slaying them in an embarassing defeat.
In fact, it literally got off to a fantastic start as Heisman Trophy candidate C.J. Spiller took the opening kickoff back 96-yards for a touchdown.
Spiller was rather quiet offensively in the rout, getting just four carries for 12 yards. Jamie Harper lead the Tigers with 15 carries for 75 yards but lost a fumble that was recovered by MTSU and run back for a touchdown.
Spiller’s kickoff return for a touchdown was just the start of a banner day for the Clemson special teams unit. Jacoby Ford added a 61-yard punt return for a touchdown later in the game.
The Tigers now must quickly focus on their next game, a pivotal matchup at No. 15 Georgia Tech Thursday night.
Sunday, September 6, 2009 at 8:41 am by steve
