BC turns attention to Clemson after 1-4 start

Seven games.

That’s how many BC still has left in 2025, although it feels like this year has already gone on for months and months.

Injuries. Inconsistency. Turnovers. Close losses. Blowout losses. This version of the Eagles has seen it all and we’re only seven days into October. BC is currently 1-4 and still in search of its first ACC win after three conferences losses. The latest was a 48-7 beatdown at the hands of Pitt.

Whether they’re ready or not, a prime time game against Clemson – not the same Clemson, but still Clemson – on Saturday night at home now awaits. It’s nearly impossible to know which BC team will show up, the one that jumps out to first half leads and looks as good as anyone, or the one that can’t close out first halves or fourth quarters. This is still a pretty big spot, regardless of either team’s record.

Bill O’Brien and Jeremiah Franklin spoke after Tuesday’s practice, here’s what stood out:

O’Brien on keeping the locker room motivated

“I’m pretty good at that. I know how to talk to guys. I know how to communicate with them. I’m very honest. I’m real. I’m not a bullshit artist. I tell them the truth. Sometimes they don’t like it. I never tell them what they probably want to hear. I tell them the truth and that starts with me. “I’m very much in it with them. I don’t ever point fingers. I try to teach, try to inspire and we’ll see where it leads us.”

O’Brien on if he tells guys to stay off social media when the team is struggling

“Nah, it’s out there. We remind them, but look, they’ve all got those (phones), social media is what it is. You can type in and you can say whatever you want. That’s what it is. Those people have a right to their opinion. They’re not in the building. They don’t know what we’re doing, how hard we’re working to try to fix it. Look, we can’t control those things. We try to control what we can control, but I’m not into like, ‘shut your phones off,’ that’s not going to happen. Everybody looks at their phone, it’s just the way it is. It’s a different device than we were used to growing up, right? So, nah, I just say ‘hey look, ignore the noise and let’s show up and practice.’ I think our guys are trying to do a good job of that.”

O’Brien on Clemson

“Good team, a lot of great players. Coach Swinney does an unbelievable job. I’ve known him for a long time. I knew him when he was at Alabama, I was at Georgia Tech. So, he does an awesome job. He gets the guys in the right position. They’re very well-coached. Their offensive line is very well-coached. Their defensive line is very well-coached. They’re coached well at the skill positions. Their special teams does some things you’re going to have to deal with. They’re Clemson, right?

“They have a history of winning and there’s a reason why they have a history of winning. They know how to coach, they know how to recruit and for a long time in this league they’ve been the gold standard. It’s exciting for our team to go up against this team. It’s a home game, night game. It’ll be a great environment.”

O’Brien on the lack of a running game

“A lot of teams are moving on us. We’ve got to deal with the movement better. Sometimes, the backs don’t see it right. They’ve got to see it better. Overall, we need better plays. We’ve got to get better plays going. Maybe there’s better plays we can run. So, again, it starts with me, making sure we’ve got the right plays. But, no, it hasn’t been nearly as good as last year. Lot of football left, let’s see if we can improve it. Clemson’s very good. It’s not like this would be your first choice to go against to improve your running game, but we’re going to work hard on it and our guys are working very hard. They had a very good day today.”

Franklin on telling younger guys to stay off social media when the team is struggling

“Yeah, you know, everyone says to stay off social media and I think that’s a real thing. We all know how dangerous it can be getting all that stuff. I think some people fail to realize that as much as…as angry as you guys are, we’re also angry. All that extra stuff, some people can’t handle it. “I think what would be a good idea for the young guys, it’s like, just keep focusing on what you’re doing.

“You’ve got a lot of stuff going forward. Make sure to keep your mind…keep the rails on the tracks…I don’t know what that saying is. But, just keep going. “People are going to be ruthless on the internet. There’s not much you can do about that. There’s not a lot of sympathy out there, just ignore it. That’s all you can really do.”

Franklin on a message to the fans hoping for the team to turn things around

“What was that, our fifth game? We have seven more. So, we’ve got a lot of weeks left. We’re going to keep playing, so all we can say is we’re going to continue to do our best out there and we understand your frustrations. We’re frustrated too. We know how you guys feel. This is obviously not what we want to put out there as a team. So, we’re going to go out there and try our best every single week, you know…we appreciate all the support we can get.

“Obviously, there’s frustration, it’s understandable. I am frustrated as a player on the team. We’re just going to do our best. That’s all we can do.”