VT-Clemson

clemson is going to clemson a game or two sooner or later and this seems like a superb opportunity.

ACC is so down this year though, not that they are ever "up" though. FSU was severely overratted this year.

At the end of the day, Clemson is still Clemson. They'll choke it away.

Virginia Tech - 31
Clemson - 17

Va Tech wins this one.

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At the end of the day, Clemson is still Clemson. They'll choke it away.

Virginia Tech - 31
Clemson - 17

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Lol, some of yal just haven’t been paying attention to what’s been going on in Clemson. An entire new offensive coaching staff has really turned this program around. I said it preseason, and I’ll reiterate it again now, Chad Morris is the next Gus Malzahn if not better. This dude is a beast who exudes confidence and toughness in everything he does. He’s basically told Dabo to GTFO of any gameplanning and so all Dabo does is sell the program to recruits and motivate. No longer is he meddling in the playbook, and it’s become evident on the scoreboard.

I know there’s a difference between playing at home and playing on the road, but look at the difference between Oklahoma’s offense against Florida State’s defense and Clemson’s offense. That secondary that bottled-up Landry Jones, Ryan Broyles, and Kenny Stiles was freaking toasted all game long by Clemson. Their quarterback is at a 13-1 TD-INT ratio for the season, and they have the best freshman in the country. If Virginia Tech holds them to 17 points they deserve a medal.

I know it’s still Clemson, and they are playing on the road at night in Lane Stadium, but don’t expect this team to have the annual WTF game that Clemson always has. They’re too damn talented and their coaching staff (outside of Dabo) is one of the best in the country.

I think Clemson is a legit top 25 team this year, regardless as to whether they are still Clemson or play in the ACC. That being said, just b/c I think they are top 25 doesn't mean I don't think they will not lose games along the way. By seasons end, most teams usually ranked between 17-25 have 3-4 losses...and I fully expect Clemson to be there by seasons end.

At the end of the day, I don't think anyone can dispute that Dabo has had great recruiting classes in recent years on the offensive side of the ball. They also had 4 of 5 OL returning this year. Their RB, Ellington, was very productive last year and he, along with their TE, they were both former ESPN top 100 national HS recruits. Boyd, although in his first year as a starter, played in the US Army All American game. And they signed the top @R class in the nation last year with 3 of the top 5 WR in the country last year...and I don't think anyone can dispute that they hit on Sammy Watkins.

Clemson has had lots of talent before...and either the talent didn't pan out or they had coaching issues. However, this year looks a little different. Now, with all this highly rated talent, Dabo finally does something right and Clemson finally goes out and gets one of the top offensive guru's in the country, the guy pegged to be the next Guy Malzahn - Chad Morris. Seeing what they have done to Auburn and FSU, its pretty clear that their offense is legit.

Now, having said that, even some of the best offenses in the country eventually meet their match or superior talent/schemes. I.e., Oregon ran into LSU earlier this year. I think Bud Foster will have some cooked up to slow down the Clemson offense this week.

In addition to slowing down the Clemson offense, I think VTech's power running game will also work in VTech's favor in keeping Clemson's O off the field. Clemson's front 7 struggled against Wofford's running game. Since then, they really haven't been tested up front (Auburn got away from the running game too early and FSU's running game is just non-existent this year). I think this week they will be tested and that VT will gain substantial yardage on Clemson's D and, at the same time, the ball control will also work to keep Clemson's O off the field and in check.

Additionally, I saw Clemson almost have 2 punts blocked this weekend and their punter may be injured after FSU ran into the guy. Combine that along with Clemson having FG kicking issues, and VT propensity to win games on special teams alone and Clemson's propensity to implode in big games, the advantage in special teams is clearly in VTech's favor.

VT has had Clemson's # since joining the ACC, and I believe have dominated Clemson in Blackburg with double digit wins every time they have played at VT. Vegas has set the line at 7 in favor of VT and while I expect the line to go down to 4.5 - 5.5, that's still a good bit of points in favor of VT and I just don't see them losing at home against Clemson this week.

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The only part I'm concerned about with Clemson is, this is going to be Boyd's first true road test as a starting QB... and it's one of the toughest places to play in the country.

I hope he handles it well.

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Completely agree. It’s really the only question mark I have for this season. If Boyd plays even close to the level he’s been playing at home then Clemson wins, period. However, making your first road start at night in Lane Stadium is awful tough. He does seem like the kind of guy, though, who has the grit needed to win on the road. We shall see though. We’ll learn a ton about both of these teams after this game.

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What time is kickoff set for?

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6PM on ESPN2

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VT-Clemson



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We’ll learn a ton about both of these teams after this game.




This

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Think we have already learned a lot about Clemson the last two weeks. They are very good offensive team with lots of young talent at the skill position. They are a decent team defensively - not great, and not horrible. Considering their personnel losses from last year, and the new starters they are breaking in, average is what was expected and average is what they are. Regardless as to what happens Saturday, I'm pretty sure that's going to be the makeup of the Clemson team this year.

VTech - well, we haven't seen them play any "named teams/programs" yet. So I think this is a game where you can learn more about them, similar to how we learned about Clemson after they finished playing the scrubs (Wofford and the other team) and followed it up with some decent teams (Auburn/FSU).

At the end of the day, Clemson can go out there and lay an egg against VT on the road and, based upon what I've seen them do this year, I'd still say they are a pretty good team. Considering that basically everyone, but the National Champion (if they are lucky) loses during the season, one loss by Clemson wouldn't change my opinion of Clemson. And conversly, if Clemson manages to beat VTech, I wouldn't say that VTech is overrated or sucks too.