Clemson at Virginia Tech – College Football Predictions
The Game
Big time game, yo !
This is a fantastic ACC match-up as Clemson visits Virginia Tech on Saturday night. Both teams are 4-0 and BOTH teams are really good. Clemson looks to be beyond really good. Again. The Tigers struggled a bit with Boston College last week but were coming off a couple of big tilts with Auburn and LUA-VUH. They are proven BIG GAME PLAYERS and will be tough to knock off. The Hokies are now 14-4 in 18 games under new HC Justin Fuente and have to feel that they are ready to compete with the bog boys. What is likely to happen ? Let’s dig in !
The Details
CLEMSON -8 VIRGINIA TECH (51.5)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Clemson -6
Sagarin Ratings – Clemson -5.5
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Clemson 29.75 Virginia Tech 22.75
Massey Ratings Projected Score: Clemson 33 Virginia Tech 21
The Match-Up
Clemson offense vs Virginia Tech defense
The Tigers have been riding the rushing game pretty hard this season with good results. Two RBs have over 200 yards rushing (T Feaster, T Etienne) and QB Kelly Bryant has 268. Speaking of QB Bryant, he has managed the games very well so far, but only has a 2-3 TD to INT ratio when MATRICULATING in the passing game. He has been spreading the ball around nicely which makes them very tough to defend. The Hokies have been rock solid on defense so (#28 FBS) despite playing two good offenses (West Virginia, East Carolina). Virginia Tech in ranked #6 in the FBS in 3rd down defense and are the ONLY team in the FBS that has not given up a rushing TD yet this season. Amaze your local COCKTAIL WAITRESS HOTTIE with that gem. Clemson has 17 rushing TDs on the season so something has to give. Get cho popcone !
Virginia Tech offense vs Clemson defense
How good has QB Joshua Jackson been so far ? How about 65% completions and a 11-1 (!!) TD to INT ratio. Of course this week is BY FAR his biggest challenge facing a Clemson defense that destroyed Auburn’s will to live and allowed nothing to Louisville until the game was already decided. The good news is that the Hokies have been very balanced on offense this season (#33 rushing in FBS, #30 passing) and will at least give the Tigers a lot of things to think about on defense. The Hokies will need to get the ball in the hands of star WR Cam Phillips as often as possible in this game as he is a true game changer. Clemson has been excellent at getting PENETRATION so far this season but the Hokies have been successful keeping negative plays to a minimum. Virginia Tech will have to be patient and take advantage of the (likely) few opportunities to score.
MEGA-MAZING MUNCHIES
These two teams last met in the 2016 (!) ACC Title Game which ended up being a 42-35 win. Clemson had control of the game but Virginia Tech made a late rally……Clemson PK Greg Huegel is out for the season so it will be interesting to see how Clemson manages their 4th down situations in VT territory…..Just something to keep an eye on.
Summary
This should be a lot of fun. It seems to us that both defenses have the MINERALS to make points tough to generate. The Clemson offense struggled vs a good defense (Auburn) and only had 7 points after three quarters vs Boston College. Meanwhile as good as the Hokies have been on offense they go up against a MONSTER this Saturday night.
Conclusion
Official play Va Tech +8 -110.