Clemson 2.0 Preview

Who: #5/3/5 Virginia Tech Hokies (11-1, 7-1 ACC) vs #21/21/20 Clemson Tigers (9-3, 6-2 ACC)

Time: 8:02 PM

TV Coverage: ESPN (Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox)

Venue: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC (73,778 – Grass)

Series History: Clemson leads 18-12-1

• Last Meeting (2011): Clemson 23, Virginia Tech 3
• Clemson gave Virginia Tech its only loss of the season earlier this year in Blacksburg.
• Virginia Tech is making its fifth ACC Championship Game appearance. For Clemson it's their second trip to the Championship Game.
• The two teams have split four games played at neutral locations, including the 2001 Gator Bowl won by Tech 41-20.
• When ranked higher, the Hokies are 3-2 against the Tigers.

Injury Report

• OL David Wang – Out (Foot)

The Opponent: We all know what happened back on October 1. It was the nadir of Virginia Tech’s season, while Clemson appeared to reach its apex in the 23-3 victory at Lane Stadium. When the two teams meet Saturday, it will be a completely different matchup than it was the first time around. For a look at the preview going into that game, click here.

• On Offense: Due to its late season collapse, Clemson "fell" to 29th in the nation in total offense, averaging about 440 yards per game. When they came to Blacksburg back in October, the Tigers were averaging over 505 yards per game, but things have sputtered down the stretch.

  Tajh Boyd (6-1, 225, r-SO) was named the first team All-ACC quarterback and by blindly looking at his stats you could see why. Boyd finished with 3,338 yards and 28 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. However, over his last four games, Boyd has thrown four touchdowns and seven interceptions and completed just 56 percent of his passes. In Clemson’s most recent game against South Carolina, Boyd had his worst out of the season completing 11 of 29 passes for just 83 yards.

  One reason for the drastic drop-off has been the injury to freshman standout Sammy Watkins (6-1, 200, FR). This year Watkins was the go-to guy for Boyd, accounting for 1,073 yards and 10 touchdowns. Earlier in the year, Cris Hill shut down Watkins, holding him to three catches for 38 yards. The other primary threat is tight end Dwayne Allen (6-4, 255, r-JR), who might just be the best tight end in the nation. Allen finished with 545 yards and six touchdowns, second best on the team. In addition to those two threats, Clemson also starts DeAndre Hopkins (6-1, 200, SO) and Jaron Brown (6-2, 200, r-JR). Hopkins ranked second on the team with 779 yards receiving.

  As for the run game, the Tigers have a very capable running back in Andre Ellington (5-10, 190, r-JR). Ellington has battled injuries throughout the season, but has still managed 937 yards and 4.9 yards per carry. The Clemson offensive line was seen as a strong point early in the season, but they’ve been rather ineffective all year. Sacks have been an issue recently and the running game is averaging just 3.9 yards per carry.

• On Defense: The surprise back in October was the play of Clemson’s defense. The Tigers played their best game of the year defensively, holding the Hokies to 258 yards of total offense and forcing two turnovers. Clemson has had trouble stopping the run, ranked ninth in the ACC by giving up nearly 170 yards on the ground per game in conference play.

  Defensive end Andre Branch (6-5, 260, r-SR) was a monster against the Hokies with 11 tackles, five for loss, and three sacks. Branch was one of the best ends in the ACC this year, leading the conference with 10.5 sacks. Rennie Moore (6-3, 265, r-SR) and Brandon Thompson (6-2, 310, r-SR) play up the middle and they provide a rather potent 1-2 combo. Thompson has NFL potential while Moore, despite has relative small size, is a playmaker at the DT position.

  The linebacking corps disappointed for most of the season, lacking the ability to make big plays. Quandon Christian (6-2, 220, r-SO), Corico Hawkins (5-11, 230, JR), and Jonathan Willard (6-2, 220, r-JR) haven’t made much of an impact, combining for eight tackles for loss and zero sacks.

  The Tigers have a solid secondary that has been quietly successful this year. They rank second in the ACC in passing defense and are in the top half of the conference in passing efficiency defense. Clemson will play a bunch of guys in the secondary, sometimes resorting to a nickel look to get their best players on the field. Free safety Rashard Hall (6-1, 210, r-JR) is the anchor, leading the team in tackles with 73. In addition, the cornerbacks are some of the best Tech has faced all year. Coty Sensabaugh (6-0, 185, r-SR) is the leader of that crew, breaking up 10 passes this season. Expect a rotation of up to eight players playing in the secondary throughout the game.

Players to Watch:

• Virginia Tech
• RB #4 David Wilson
• Last Week @ Virginia: 24 carries, 153 yards, 2 TD
• This Year vs Clemson: 23 carries, 120 yards
• This Season: 255 carries, 1595 yards (6.3 avg), 9 TD
• CB #17 Kyle Fuller
• Last Week @ Virginia: 4 tackles, 3 solo, 1 for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
• This Year vs Clemson: 2 tackles, 1 solo
• This Season: 56 tackles, 39 solo, 12.5 for loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 interception, 6 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
• Clemson
• TE #83 Dwayne Allen
• Last Week @ South Carolina: 1 rec, 9 yards, TD
• This Year @ Virginia Tech: 4 rec, 75 yards, TD
• This Season: 46 rec, 545 yards, 6 TD
• DE #40 Andre Branch
• Last Week @ South Carolina: 3 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks
• This Year @ Virginia Tech: 11 tackles, 6 solo, 5 for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble
• This Season: 72 tackles, 56 solo, 16 for loss, 10.5 sacks

Matchups to Watch:

• Virginia Tech Running Game vs Clemson Front Seven
• Logan Thomas vs Clemson Secondary
• Virginia Tech Bltiz vs Clemson Offensive Line
• Clemson Running Game vs Virginia Tech Offensive Line

Keys to Victory:

• Virginia Tech
• Can’t Turn the Ball Over
• The Hokies had a good flow on their first two drives against the Tigers back in October, but both ended in turnovers. After that, it was all downhill for Tech as the offense sputtered to a halt. Logan Thomas has improved tremendously since that game, throwing just two interceptions, both of which came in the Duke game. His decision-making has improved drastically and he’s 100% healthy coming into this game, unlike last time. David Wilson can’t cough up the ball like he has been prone to do at times. Clean play pushes the Hokies ahead in this one.
• Don’t Try To Play Outside Yourself
• Ever since the postgame locker room on October 1, the Hokies have been wanting to get another shot at Clemson. Now, they have their chance. This team does not typically get “too amped up” for games, but this is an opportunity to do just that. The Hokies can't get too vengeful or get carried away with extracurricular activities. This team is on a mission and they’ve stayed the course for the last two months. If they keep the same mentality, they should be fine.
• Clemson
• Back to Basics
• The team that started 8-0 is long gone. Sure, you can say that Clemson has “Clemson-ed” again, but the talent is still there from a team that looked like world beaters for the first two months of the season. It’s quite simple for Clemson: they need to get back to their type of game. Too often their falling behind and being forced to play into the opposition’s strengths. A fast start can get that confidence that they’ve been lacking back. Another poor start, and the downward spiral is likely to continue.
• Pressure Logan Thomas and Create Obvious Passing Situations
• Clemson’s defense made life extremely difficult against the Hokies the first time around. They’re going to have to do it again if they want to win the ACC. The secondary is the strength of the Tiger defense and forcing Logan Thomas to make plays, even though he’s proven to make them time and time again, is the best shot that the Tigers have of taking the title. In no way do I expect a repeat performance of the first game for the defense, but they need to be better than they have been down the stretch.

Projected Score: Virginia Tech 28, Clemson 17