October 8, 2011 Week 6 · Regular Season Belt defended

Clemson defends the belt, 36–14, at home over Boston College.

Home · Defending Holder

ClemsonAP No. 8 36

Away · Challenger

Boston College 14

AP poll, week 6: Boston College unranked at Clemson No. 8 · No. 1 that week: West Virginia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Clemson came in 21 days into reign #278, which began with a win over Auburn, with 2 defenses already behind it; this was its third defense. Clemson went on to defend it 2 more times before Georgia Tech took it on October 29, 2011, 42 days after the reign began.

For Boston College this was its 7th shot at the belt; it had never held the belt. It still hasn’t: 9 attempts in all, every one of them a loss or a tie.

It was the first of 2 meetings between the two with the belt on the line; all-time Clemson leads 2–0.

AI-Written

Recap

Clemson's explosive passing attack set the tone early, with Tajh Boyd connecting with Jaron Brown for a touchdown just over a minute into the game. The Tigers quickly added another score on Boyd's rushing touchdown before the end of the first quarter, and kicker Chandler Catanzaro was perfect on the day, making four field goals to extend Clemson's lead. Boston College managed only two touchdowns—a rushing score by Rolandan Finch in the second quarter and a receiving touchdown by Bobby Swigert in the third—but couldn't generate sustained offensive momentum against the Clemson defense. A crucial third-quarter interception by Jonathan Meeks at the Clemson 1-yard line prevented Boston College from cutting into the deficit at a critical moment. The game was sealed when Andre Ellington burst through for a 35-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, cementing Clemson's dominant 36-14 victory and successful belt defense.

Tajh Boyd to Jaron Brown touchdown pass (Q1 10:22) — established early Clemson dominance
Jonathan Meeks interception at Clemson 1-yard line (Q3 9:13) — denied Boston College a momentum-shifting score
Andre Ellington 35-yard rushing touchdown (Q4 11:24) — sealed the victory and belt retention

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

ClemsonBoston College

Total yards500258

Rushing yards180126

Passing yards342147

First downs2514

3rd down conv.5/145/12

Turnovers02

Penalties–yards2–207–50

Time of possession17:1119:26

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 11:21	Clemson	+29 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Jaron Brown for 29 yards to the BC 18 for a 1ST down.
Q1 10:22	Clemson	+3 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Jaron Brown for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 10:22	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 12:01	Clemson	+25 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 25 yards to the Clem 44 for a 1ST down.
Q1 10:22	Clemson	+31 yd	Chandler Catanzaro kickoff for 56 yards returned by Tahj Kimble for 31 yards to the BC 45.
Q1 4:59	Clemson	+38 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 38 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 4:03	Clemson	+14 yd	Tajh Boyd rush for 14 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 4:03	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 4:03	Clemson	+20 yd	Chandler Catanzaro kickoff for 65 yards returned by Spiffy Evans for 20 yards to the BC 25.
Q2 12:37	Clemson	+21 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Dwayne Allen for 21 yards to the Clem 44 for a 1ST down.
Q2 6:58	Clemson	+42 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 42 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 1:55	Boston College	+20 yd	Rolandan Finch rush for 20 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 1:55	Boston College	+0 yd	Nate Freese extra point GOOD.
Q2 0:20	Clemson	+20 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 20 yards to the BC 7 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:02	Clemson	+18 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 18 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 11:35	Clemson	+24 yd	Dawson Zimmerman kickoff for 54 yards returned by Spiffy Evans for 24 yards to the BC 40.
Q3 14:21	Clemson	+22 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 22 yards to the Clem 43 for a 1ST down.
Q3 13:11	Clemson	+62 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 62 yards to the BC 6 for a 1ST down.
Q3 11:35	Clemson	+20 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 20 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 9:13	Boston College	+0 yd	Chase Rettig pass intercepted by Jonathan Meeks at the Clem 1, returned for no gain to the Clem 1.
Q3 5:09	Boston College	+24 yd	Chase Rettig pass complete to Bobby Swigert for 24 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 5:09	Boston College	+0 yd	Nate Freese extra point GOOD.
Q3 0:39	Clemson	+22 yd	Dawson Zimmerman kickoff for 68 yards returned by Tahj Kimble for 22 yards to the BC 14, BOSTON COLLEGE penalty 10 yard Holding accepted.
Q3 0:39	Clemson	+47 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 47 yard field goal GOOD.
Q4 11:24	Clemson	+35 yd	Andre Ellington rush for 35 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 11:24	Clemson	+25 yd	Dawson Zimmerman kickoff for 58 yards returned by Spiffy Evans for 25 yards to the BC 37.
Q4 11:24	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Clemson

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	QBR
Tajh Boyd	16/26	283	10.9	1	92.2
Cole Stoudt	6/10	37	3.7	0	27.6
Andre Ellington	0/1	0	0.0	0	1.6

Boston College

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Chase Rettig	13/20	129	6.4	1	1	17.3
Dave Shinskie	1/2	3	1.5	0	0	3.6

Rushing

Clemson

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Andre Ellington	22	117	5.3	1	35
Tajh Boyd	6	37	6.2	1	14
Mike Bellamy	4	24	6.0	0	15
D.J. Howard	2	13	6.5	0	14
Roderick McDowell	1	5	5.0	0	5
Adam Humphries	1	4	4.0	0	4
Sammy Watkins	1	-2	-2.0	0	0
Cole Stoudt	2	-4	-2.0	0	7
Charone Peake	1	-13	-13.0	0	0

Boston College

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Rolandan Finch	19	81	4.3	1	20
Tahj Kimble	11	57	5.2	0	9
Chase Rettig	5	-12	-2.4	0	2

Receiving

Clemson

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Sammy Watkins	7	152	21.7	0	62
Dwayne Allen	4	49	12.3	0	21
DeAndre Hopkins	2	47	23.5	0	25
Jaron Brown	2	32	16.0	1	29
Brandon Ford	2	14	7.0	0	9
Adam Humphries	2	13	6.5	0	8
Joe Craig	1	8	8.0	0	8
Andre Ellington	1	6	6.0	0	6
Roderick McDowell	1	-1	-1.0	0	0

Boston College

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Bobby Swigert	7	93	13.3	1	24
Colin Larmond	3	32	10.7	0	18
Tahj Kimble	2	5	2.5	0	4
Donte Elliott	1	3	3.0	0	3
Rolandan Finch	1	-1	-1.0	0	0

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Clemson

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Jonathan Meeks	1	0	0

Boston College

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jaron Brown	1	6	6.0	6	0

Boston College

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Spiffy Evans	4	81	20.3	25
Tahj Kimble	3	70	23.3	31
Andre Lawrence	1	9	9.0	9

Kicking

Clemson

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Chandler Catanzaro	5/5	100.0	47	3/3	18

Boston College

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Nate Freese	0/0	0.0	0	2/2	2

Punt Returns

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jaron Brown	1	0	0.0	0	0
DeAndre Hopkins	2	0	0.0	0	0
Sammy Watkins	1	0	0.0	0	0

Boston College

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Bobby Swigert	2	7	3.5	7	0

Punting

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Dawson Zimmerman	3	146	48.7	0	0	58

Boston College

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Ryan Quigley	5	198	39.6	0	0	48

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 312810228) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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