Clemson @ Boston College preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2009 ) Boston College 7, Clemson 25

It was hardly an inspiring harbinger of things to come, but things worked out pretty well for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and his team against Georgia Tech.

The Tigers will be counting on more of the same good karma when they visit Boston College on Saturday. And why not? They manhandled the Yellow Jackets for the first time in Swinney’s coaching career even after 10 players found themselves stuck in an elevator at the team hotel the morning of the game.

Local firefighters were called and needed roughly 45 minutes to free the players, who had been en route to their pregame meal when the incident took place.

Clemson’s tough early-season fortunes are apparently a thing of the past.

Plagued by costly mistakes in a three-game losing skid earlier in the season, the Tigers (4-3, 2-2 ACC) have now gone a school-best three games without a turnover, a span of 196 plays. Overall, Clemson has played four games this year without committing a turnover.

Tailback Andre Ellington has been brilliant all season. He leads the conference in touchdowns with 12 while averaging 6.3 yards per carry. He rushed for 166 yards on 20 carries in the 27-13 win over Georgia Tech last week, including scoring jaunts of 42 and 55 yards, on his way to a career-best 257 yards of total offense.

Defensive end Da’Quan Bowers has been the leader of a stout Tigers defense with his 10 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, both of which are tops in the nation. Bowers has 44 stops overall to rank second on the team and has recorded at least one sack in every game but one.

The Eagles (2-5, 0-4) are looking to snap a five-game losing skid after falling 24-21 to Maryland last week. Junior tailback Montel Harris has been among the few offensive bright spots for coach Frank Spaziani’s team. Harris rushed for 116 yards and two scores last week to become the 33rd player in ACC annals to surpass the 3,000-yard plateau for his career.

But an ineffective passing game that has produced more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (9) has stymied BC all season. Quarterback Chase Rettig has shown some promise, but is still making the mistakes that come with being a true freshman. This will be his fourth start.

Eagles linebacker Luke Kuechley leads a stingy defense that’s been asked to shoulder most of the load as the team’s offensive struggles continue. Kuechley leads the nation in tackles at 13.9 per game.

Clemson has won two straight against Boston College and leads the alltime series 9-8-2.