ACC Championship Preview: Act Like You Have Been There

Well folks, our long journey has brought us full circle. The Hokies arrive in Charlotte prepared to face a Clemson team which dominated them in Blacksburg several months ago. The Hokies have improved their level of play since that loss, as several key receivers have returned to health, Logan Thomas has gone from a question mark to THE ANSWER, and the defense has seen growth from their young players standing in for injured defensive stalwarts. Clemson however, stumbles into this game as losers of 3 of their last 4, including being dominated at the hands of South Carolina (who was without several top offensive weapons including Marcus Lattimore.) Vegas has established the Hokies as solid favorites, despite Clemson's win in Blacksburg.

At the same time, the Hokies cannot win this game without a performance at least on par with the win against UVA. First, Clemson will have a significant home field advantage, as a vast majority of ACCCG open market tickets were purchased by Clemson fans before the Hokies even earned a berth. Second, Clemson's offense still poses a myriad of challenges to a Bud Foster defense which has really stepped up down the stretch. Third, the Hokies must have a response for Andre Branch, who spent the entire Blacksburg game decimating the Hokie backfield.

There have been numerous terms thrown around to describe the Gus Malzahn Auburn/Florida style offense used by Clemson. In reality, it is a "spread" version of the single wing. The entire offense is predicated almost entirely on misdirection. The goal of the offense is to reduce the defense to pure base, catch, read, and react, which allows the offense to dictate the pace. Clemson causes the defense to watch the multitude of ball fakes, which freezes their feet, then Clemson's outstanding athletes get opportunities to catch the defense flat footed.

The Hokies have two advantages in stopping this offense. First, Tajh Boyd is a reluctant runner, which allows the defense to focus more on the primary ball fake (dive) and the secondary jet sweep action. Still, Clemson wants the Hokies to sit back and read, similar to what the Hokies did against Georgia Tech.

Second, Clemson's offensive line has been shaky during the last four games. If the Hokies can shut down the Clemson running game, all those play action fakes lose their effectiveness.

In the passing game, the Hokies must contain the big tight end Dwayne Allen. He is effective both as a dragger behind play action, and in vertical pass pro. He decimated the Hokies smaller safeties. Antone Exum has been playing better, and with Kyle Fuller likely covering the Clemson #3 receiver, Exum may draw the man assignment more often than not Saturday. Sammy Watkins and the other Clemson receivers will go vertical often against Jayron Hosley, Chris Hill and Dietrick Bonner.

How do the Hokies stop all these weapons? Two simple steps are required.

1) Put Clemson into favorable down and distance situations for blitzing. This goes without saying. The Hokies are much better defensively when they can zone blitz. The threat of the running game and play action neutralizes that strength. If the Hokies can get into third and long, they can blitz, forcing Tajh Boyd to throw "uncomfortably."

2) Hit Tajh Boyd. Hit him, and hit him again. Boyd has been extremely inaccurate under pressure over the last couple of weeks. His fundamentals break down when he has pressure in his face. The Hokies must rattle "The Tajh" and the more they can do it with the front four, the more effective the zone blitzes will be later in the game. The Tajh will turn the ball over against a zone if he doesn't have time.

Offensively, South Carolina gave a clear blueprint for how to beat Clemson. The Gamecocks used the zone read play with backups at QB and tailback, and Clemson had zero answer. Logan Thomas and David Wilson must ground the Clemson defense up, which will neutralize the quick pass rush. Look for the Hokies to again run left frequently. There is no excuse for the Hokies to not rush for 200 yards in this game. Keep the Clemson O off the field, and score touchdowns, and the Hokies win.

If the Hokies do have to pass, the most important player on the field will be Nick Becton or Andrew Lanier. The left tackle position must give Thomas time to find receivers in the vertical passing game, especially the slot guys. Anticipate Clemson to play a ton of zone to take away the Hokies big play capability outside.

Finally, the Hokies must play like they are the Kings of the ACC Mountain. Regardless of the score in Blacksburg, the Hokies have tons of guys who contributed to the wins over Florida State and BC in the ACCCG. They must act like they have been there before. They must have a swagger. They must be aggressive. They must have the confidence to recover when things may go badly. We have seen that from this team often in November and December, while Clemson's players have shown over the last couple of weeks that they do not deal with adversity well. Clemson was blown out by NC State and South Carolina. Step on their throats early, and it will be a joyous evening once again in Charlotte.