Boston College at Clemson: 5 Big Questions
By Joe Micik
3. Is Clemson the best team Boston College will face all season, and how can the Eagles try to make up the difference?
From a ranking standpoint, clearly. From a talent standpoint, perhaps not. Consider that the three best teams the Eagles will face this year are, in game order, USC, Florida State, and Clemson. USC is a magnet for prime recruiting talent, though their quarterback has not found the success of his two counterparts. Jameis Winston and Tajh Boyd are both considered every bit the “real deal” and their respective teams are loaded with four and five-star recruits as one might expect.
To figure out which of Florida State and Clemson is better in terms of sheer talent and production would be a waste of bandwidth since it’s ultimately not that important to us. What is important is that Clemson is in many ways every bit as good as the Seminoles. They will settle that part of the debate on the field next weekend.
The best Boston College can do to try to make up the difference is by eliminating careless mistakes. No procedural penalties or other dumb ones like facemasks or late hits out of bounds, no fundamental breakdowns, no missed assignments, and so forth. Now, the Eagles could do all those things right and still get run out of the stadium, but the nearer their effort is to perfection, the better.