Final
No. 17 Clemson ousts Boston College
Sep 30, 2012 - 12:19 AM Chestnut Hill, MA (Sports Network) - Tajh Boyd threw for three touchdowns and added another on the ground, as the No. 17 Clemson Tigers defeated Boston College, 45-31, to capture their first conference victory of the season.Boyd went 28-for-38 for 367 yards and tied the school record for most touchdown passes in a career, as the Tigers (4-1, 1-1 ACC) bounced back after a loss at Florida State last weekend.
DeAndre Hopkins set a school record for most receiving yards in a game with 197 yards and a touchdown on 11 receptions in the victory. Andre Ellington added 132 yards and a score on 25 carries.
Chase Rettig threw for 341 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of second- half interceptions on 25-of-43 passing for the Eagles (1-3, 0-2), who suffered their second consecutive loss.
Alex Amidon paced all Boston College receivers with eight catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the defeat.
Following Nate Freese' 39-yard field goal to make it 45-31, Boston College took over at midfield after stuffing Roderick McDowell on 4th-and-1. Rettig moved the Eagles down to the Clemson 14-yard line, but his pass on 3rd-and-16 was intercepted by Garry Peters.
Boston College got another chance after Boyd fumbled on the following possession with just over four minutes to play in the game. But the Eagles turned it over on downs when Rettig's pass fell incomplete on 4th-and-5, sealing the victory for Clemson.
Rettig completed a 31-yard strike to Amidon on 4th-and-1 to give the Eagles a 21-17 lead with just over four minutes to play in the first half, but the Tigers scored 21 unanswered points.
Boyd responded and led a 13-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 4- yard pass to Brandon Ford in the corner of the end zone with just 23 seconds to play in the second quarter.
On Clemson's first possession of the third, Boyd scrambled on 3rd-and-10 for 11 yards to put the Tigers inside the Eagles' 25-yard line. Three plays later, on third-and-short, McDowell scampered 16 yards for a score to give Clemson a 10-point lead.
Late in third quarter, Rettig was intercepted by Rashard Hall inside Boston College territory. On the second play of the drive, Boyd aired out a 30-yard pass to Jaron Brown before Ellington jumped over the pile for a 1-yard touchdown to make it a three-score game.
Boston College failed to pick up a first down on its first four possessions of the second half, but finally got something going on its fifth. Rettig completed three passes to Amidon on the drive, the last one a 42-yard bomb just before the end of the third quarter.
But Boyd answered again for Clemson on its following possession. Needing just over a minute of the game clock, Boyd completed two passes to Hopkins, 17 and 35 yards, respectively, the latter for a touchdown to make it 45-28.
In the first quarter, the Eagles scored after forcing the Tigers three-and-out on their first possession. Rettig moved the Eagles to midfield after completing a 31-yard strike to Johnathan Coleman before Andre Williams ran 30 yards to the end zone to cap a nine-play opening drive.
Clemson settled for a Chandler Catanzaro 28-yard field goal on its following possession, but scored a touchdown on its next touch.
The Tigers started with great field position after Gerald Levano's punt carried just 26 yards. Boyd then completed passes to Hopkins and Ford to bring the Tigers down to the Eagles' 6-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal, Boyd crossed the goal line on an option play to give Clemson a 10-7 advantage.
The Tigers capitalized again off a short punt from Catanzaro on their following drive. Clemson ran four rushing plays for positive yardage to help bring them down to the Boston College 15-yard line. On the first play to start the second quarter, Boyd connected with Sam Cooper for a 15-yard score.
Game Notes
Rod Gardner held the record for recieving yards in game with 182 in 2000 before Hopkins topped his feat on Saturday ... Clemson was 10-of-16 on third down while Boston College was just 5-of-17 ... The Tigers will host Georgia Tech next weekend while the Eagles will travel to West Point to take on Army.
- CLEMSON: 45
BOSTON COLLEGE: 31
Final
Sep 29 7:09 PM - CLEMSON: 45
BOSTON COLLEGE: 31
End of Regulation
Sep 29 7:09 PM - Tajh Boyd pass to DeAndre Hopkins for 35 yards.
Clemson(17) 44, Boston College 28 4th - 14:00Sep 29 6:26 PM - CLEMSON: 38
BOSTON COLLEGE: 28
End of 3rd
Sep 29 6:19 PM - Chase Rettig pass to Alex Amidon for 42 yards.
Clemson(17) 38, Boston College 27 3rd - 0:35Sep 29 6:17 PM - CLEMSON: 24
BOSTON COLLEGE: 21
Halftime
Sep 29 5:10 PM - Spencer Benton kicked off 54 yards from the Clemson 35 to the Boston College 11. Spiffy Evans to the Boston College 41 for 30 yards.
Clemson(17) 24, Boston College 21 2nd - 0:14Sep 29 5:08 PM - Tajh Boyd pass to Brandon Ford for 4 yards.
Clemson(17) 23, Boston College 21 2nd - 0:23Sep 29 5:06 PM - Chase Rettig pass to Alex Amidon for 31 yards.
Clemson(17) 17, Boston College 20 2nd - 4:12Sep 29 4:55 PM - Chase Rettig pass to Johnathan Coleman for 3 yards.
Clemson(17) 17, Boston College 13 2nd - 7:49Sep 29 4:40 PM - Spencer Benton kicked off 51 yards from the Clemson 35 to the Boston College 14. Spiffy Evans to the Boston College 27 for 13 yards.
Clemson(17) 17, Boston College 7 2nd - 14:51Sep 29 4:21 PM - CLEMSON: 10
BOSTON COLLEGE: 7
End of 1st
Sep 29 4:16 PM - CLEMSON: 0
BOSTON COLLEGE: 0
1st Quarter - 15:00
Sep 29 3:36 PM
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