College Football Preview: #3 Clemson vs. Virginia Tech
A Saturday night matchup featuring the elite Tigers and a scrappy Hokies team
Night games in Blacksburg, Virginia is an entity on it’s own. From the sound of “Enter Sandman” wavering loudly through the stadium speakers to the players tapping the Hokie Stone as they are layered with cheers from the home crowd, it is a unique experience.
But thanks to the modern day circumstances we are experiencing in the year of 2020, there will not be a large contingent of a home crowd serenading the night air with the occasional cheers and boos. As the #3 Clemson Tigers (8-1, 7-1 ACC) come to town on Saturday night, the Virginia Tech Hokies (4-5, 4-4) will look to salvage their season that is currently enduring a three-game losing streak. The pressure is mounting for Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente. Across from him, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney looks to the keep the Clemson train rolling with sights set on another ACC championship. Time to break down this Saturday night ACC matchup.
Network: ABC
Time: Saturday, December 5th, 7:30 PM EST
Clemson Analysis
The Clemson program has been a gold mine for quarterback play over the last several seasons. The position was tested a bit this season with starter Trevor Lawrence missing time due to testing positive for Covid-19. True freshman DJ Uiagalelei was promoted to starter in relief and he fared very well with 781 passing yards and four touchdowns in two games against Boston College and Notre Dame. Now that Lawrence is back and healthy, the Clemson offense is also back to full strength. A Tigers offense that is eighth in the country overall and fourth in the FBS in scoring. Running back Travis Etienne is tied for eighth in the FBS in rushing touchdowns with 12. Although, Etienne has not topped 100 rushing yards since early October and Virginia Tech is the only ACC program in which Etienne has not scored a rushing touchdown against.
Plenty of questions surrounded the Clemson defense prior to the season as they had to replace a number of starters from last season. But so far, the young bunch has been able to be a reliable unit this season as they top the ACC is overall defense at 298.6 yards allowed per game. The defense is also second in the ACC in sacks and has six players with at least three sacks on the season. Linebacker Baylon Spector leads the team in total tackles (49) and tackles for loss (9.5) and is one of the six defenders mentioned with at least three sacks. Safety Nolan Turner and corner Andrew Booth Jr have combined for five interceptions on the season on a defense that is 12th in the nation in takeaways per game.
Virginia Tech Analysis
For the most part, the Virginia Tech offense has done their part on the season. They are 26th overall as a unit and 14th in yards per play. In seven of the nine games played by Virginia Tech, the offense has topped six yards per play. Quarterback Hendon Hooker has been fairly solid this season with 18 total touchdowns and just five interceptions. Between Hooker and running back Khalil Herbert, the two have 1,552 of the team’s 2,258 total rushing yards on the season. Junior left tackle Christian Darrisaw has seen his draft stock rise by the week and anchors what has been a very solid Virginia Tech offensive line all season.
The defensive side of the ball has been the more troublesome aspect for the Hokies this season. The group is ranked 108th overall and has given up at least 35 points in three of their last four outings. Rayshard Ashby and Dax Hollifield are a pair of tackling machines in the middle of the Virginia Tech defense. Edge rusher Justus Reed leads the team in sacks with six but big plays on defense has been lacking overall for Virginia Tech all season
Prediction
The Tigers seem to have a chip on their shoulder based on how the season has played out as well as the return of their ace in the hole, Lawrence. This is the last regular season game for the Tigers before their rematch in the ACC championship game against #2 Notre Dame.
For the Hokies, salvaging a disappointing season is going to be tough a focused Clemson program coming to town as well as their annual matchup with the Virginia Cavaliers. Surprisingly, the defense for Virginia Tech has really been a liability and a well-oiled machine such as Clemson can cause a variety of problems.
To make this competitive, Virginia Tech will need big plays in all three phases: offense, defense, and special teams. A nice dose of “Beamer Ball” will help considerably in this matchup. As well as Hooker managing the game with little to no unforced errors. The margin for error against a well coached team like Clemson is razor thin.
But this is always the time of the year where Clemson plays their best ball and once again, Swinney is likely to instill an “us against the world” mindset for this team. Which the program thrives off of. Virginia Tech needs to play perfect. Which they have not all year.