BC opened a 28-13 lead in the first half on the passing arm of QB Phil Jurkovec.
The Clemson Tigers have been the No.1 team in the country since the start of the season, and Boston College is first team that’s made them earn it. The Tigers needed 21 unanswered points in the second half to salvage a 34-28 victory over the Eagles in a wild ACC encounter on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Clemson (7-0,6-0 ACC) extended its streak of consecutive regular season victories to 36. The Eagles fell to 4-3 overall,3-3 in the league and play at Syracuse next Saturday. The game took an unexpected turn on Thursday when Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the ACC’s passing leader and favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, was quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19. Lawrence will miss Clemson’s showdown with Notre Dame next week. True freshman D.J. Uiagalelei got the call and posted Lawrence-like numbers, completing 30-of-41 passes for 342 yards with two touchdowns and a passer rating of 159.3. “This was about us and it has been the whole time,” said BC head coach Jeff Hafley. “It didn’t matter that Trevor Lawrence didn’t play. “We never even talked about Trevor not playing. This game was about us getting better on offense, defense and special teams and we are playing complementary football. These kids were up for the challenge and what these kids showed today is that they believe in each other.” With Lawrence in quarantine, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney put the onus on tailback Travis Etienne, who responded with a complete game and two historic milestones. Etienne finished with 84 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and became the ACC’s all-time career rushing leader, breaking the old mark of 4,602 yards set by NC State’s Ted Brown (1975-78). Etienne also was the Tigers’ leading receiver with seven catches for 140 yards and a touchdown.
