The ACC Atlantic title is on the line for one of the top teams in the nation on Saturday night as No. 2 Clemson looks to clinch its fourth straight division crown on the road in a primetime kickoff against No. 17 Boston College. If the Tigers wind up on the right side of things, they will become the first ACC program to win four straight division crowns since the league formed divisions in 2005. They would also pull even with Virginia Tech for most ACC division titles won (six).
However, the bigger picture for Clemson is the College Football Playoff, and while Dabo Swinney will preach a "next game" and "next goal" mentality, the rest of us know BC may be Clemson's biggest test for the duration of the season. Only Alabama has shown the kind of dominance against conference foes that we've seen from Clemson in recent weeks, and the Tigers are all too familiar with the Crimson Tide these days. Boston College is the kind of team and Chestnut Hill at night is the kind of setting that can disrupt this current run of lopsided victories. Clemson has beaten its last four ACC opponents by an average of 51 points, but can the Eagles pull off the upset?
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Nov. 10 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Alumni Stadium -- Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
TV: ABC | Live stream: WatchESPN
Storylines
Clemson: Will Trevor Lawrence be tested in this game? As the freshman quarterback has slowly gained experience running the offense, the production has mostly come from the Tigers ground game. In fact, dominance on the ground on both sides of the ball has been a huge key to Clemson's success in 2018. Through nine games, Clemson ranks No. 1 in the country in both yards per play (6.94) and yards per play allowed (2.24). Travis Etienne is leading the way, but these blowout wins have proven the attack to be fruitful with any of Clemson's talented skill players lined up in the backfield -- including defensive tackles Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins in the team's "Fridge" package for short-yardage and goal-line scenarios. That dominance on the ground has limited the urgency for Lawrence to pull the offense through in a third down or late-game scenario, but it's possible that we finally get to see how the freshman performs with that kind of pressure on Saturday night on the road.
Boston College: Win or lose, it's going to be a special night for Boston College football. This is the first time that Boston College has played a game against a ranked opponent as a ranked team since the 2007 ACC Championship Game, and just the seventh game ever between two ranked teams in Chestnut Hill and the first since No. 20 Boston College defeated No. 21 Maryland in 2006. This is the best Boston College team that Steve Addazio has fielded, finally bringing to fruition the offensive goals that were put in place at the conclusion of the 2016 regular season. Quarterback Anthony Brown and star running back A.J. Dillon -- when healthy -- are on pace to make this the highest-scoring offense in program history, and the Eagles' have one of the best pass defenses in the ACC. And yet, the best Boston College team we've seen in more than a decade might be outmatched in this game because it's facing potentially the best Clemson team we've ever seen.
Game prediction, picks
There are too many subjective ways to talk about the "best" Clemson team of all time without some arguments from those who lived in the glory of the Frank Howard years, but I think it's fair to say that this is the most dominant Clemson team we've ever seen. Like its playoff rival Alabama, you cannot set a spread that I won't take the Tigers to cover right now. Pick: Clemson -20
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