Painter’s Preview: Clemson at Virginia Tech
Clemson heads to the great atmosphere of Lane Stadium for their Week 10 matchup with the Virginia Tech Hokies. Clemson is coming off a disastrous home loss against Louisville, putting them at a 6-2 (5-1) record. After winning six straight the Tigers lost coming off a bye, and now Clemson’s high postseason hopes have seemingly been thrown out the window. The Hokies lost a heartbreaker on the road this past weekend at Syracuse without their starting Quarterback and Running Back after winning three straight. Saturday is an optimal opportunity for both squads to get back on track in an attempt to save their respective seasons.
Clemson Preview:
A bounce back start to the season after Georgia gave Clemson Fans hope that this team had the Offense Explosiveness and Defensive Power to send Clemson back to the Playoffs. However, a night game in the Valley revealed almost every flaw of this team leading to a dominant win for Louisville. The Tiger Offense, led by Quarterback Cade Klubnik, reverted back to the past 3 seasons with no explosive plays, and a slow methodical style that created many 3 and outs. Klubnik’s season performance has elevated thoughts on this Tiger Offense, but poor WR play, poor Offensive Line play, and poor play calling led to the worst Offensive performance since UGA. Klubnik finished the day 33/56 throwing for 228 passing yards and 1 TD while rushing for 43 yards on 12 carries (ESPN). He was one of the brighter spots to watch on the Offense as his ability to extend plays created some momentum for Clemson, but lack of help from his Receiving Core led to that abysmal stat line. Phil Mafah finished the day with 171 rushing yards and 2 TDs on 30 carries, yet most of that production came in garbage time (ESPN). Early into the contest, Mafah was unable to break big time runs because of the lack of efficiency in the passing attack. Clemson needs to get back to establishing the run in the trenches to create passing opportunities rather than reverting to throwing to create the run. Mafah has been a consistent producer for Clemson, and I expect his workload to stay in the 25+ carry range this weekend because of the dangerous pass rush from the Hokies. Clemson’s lack of explosiveness in the passing attack was not hindered because of injuries, as Star Freshman WR Bryant Wesco Jr. returned from injury, but his presence did not lift the Tigers. Wesco, along side the rest of the pass catchers, were unable to create any meaningful separation against the fast Louisville Secondary, and Clemson was not able to throw the football downfield. Clemson averaged 6.9 yards a catch within the Receiving Corps, and there were at least 4 dropped passes throughout the contest that had the opportunity to flip momentum (ESPN). For example, that 6.9 yards a catch number would easily be last in the country as the lowest number is 9.4 for the Stanford Cardinals (“TeamRankings.com: Sports Predictions, Rankings & Stats”). The Tiger Offensive Line had their worst performance all season giving up 2 sacks on Quarterback Cade Klubnik for just the second time this season (ESPN). However, that number should have been a lot higher if Klubnik did not showcase his ability to get outside of the pocket on numerous occasions. The Tiger OL has their toughest challenge yet on Saturday as they face the Virginia Tech Front and Antwaun Powell-Ryland who has 12 sacks on the season by himself (ESPN). Clemson’s Offense left a lot to be desired this past weekend, and their season does not get any easier from here on out. Was the Tiger’s Explosive Offense just a result of poor opponents or will Tiger Fans see that sign of hope again?
The Clemson Defense arguably played worse than the Tiger Offense against the Cardinals, and it felt as if both sides of the ball were competing to see who could throw the game the most. The Tigers gave up 210 easy rushing yards on just 27 carries, and the Cardinal Offense was able to have big play after big play (ESPN). While the Secondary did a satisfactory job in not allowing QB Tyler Shough and WR Ja’Corey Brooks in winning the game, the Clemson Front 7 was not existent in the rushing attack and the pass rush. Clemson’s Defensive Line combined for just 3 TFLs and 0 sacks (ESPN). The Tigers have battled an issue of stopping the run all season, and it finally costed them a game this past Saturday. Clemson has been notoriously known for dominant Defensive Lines for the past decade, but this season has been different. Star DE Peter Woods has not been able to stay healthy, and his absence has cost the Tigers. Fellow expected Star DE T.J. Parker has only gotten to the QB on 4 different occasions, and his rush attack has been subpar. The interior of the Defensive Line has been a revolving door throughout the season, and RS/Sr Demonte Capehart, Senior Payton Page, RS/Sr Tre Williams, RS/Fr Vic Burley, and RS/Fr Stephiylan Green have yet to live up to any hype while also battling injury bugs through the year. The poor performances from the Veteran presences is disappointing to see since they have been the in the program for 4-6 years. the Tiger Defensive Front has a lot to prove the rest of the way, and the Hokies are going to run right at them on Saturday with their explosive rushing attack. The Tiger Linebacker Core has contributed to the run game issues as well. An underperforming Barrett Carter, who was supposed to led this Defense, has not performed at a high level consistently and has been out-performed by his fellow LB Wade Woodaz. Clemson has held tight to a two Linebacker system all season long and that needs to change in order to help their rush Defense. While the Linebacker Depth is thin, Freshman Sammy Brown needs to be on the field consistently along side Woodaz and Carter to ensure this issue is fixed. As mentioned earlier, the Clemson Secondary was not the reason that the Tigers lost on Saturday, but their ability to get off of blocks downfield is a concern that may be exploited by the Hokies in their big run plays. The Tiger Defense has a lot to improve on through the rest of the season, and it needs to start on Saturday to keep Clemson to spiraling to another 9-4 season.
Normally the Special Teams Units do not get mentioned in my posts unless there are glaring reasons to mention them. The Tigers are playing at a unsatisfactory level on every single Special Teams Unit. The Field Goal Unit has allowed 5 blocked kicks this season and that is an unacceptable number even if it was the end of the season. Clemson’s Kickoff Return Unit is not a threat to any one except our own Offense because the lack of explosiveness from the Kick Returner paired with poor blocking limits Clemson to good field position. The Punt Team led by Graduate Punter Aidan Swanson has left a lot to be desired this season. Swanson was a great player for Clemson last season, but his performance has not carried over during his last run with the Tigers. These issues are just more problems for the Tigers that will continue to get exposed until solutions are found.
Virginia Tech Preview:
Throughout the season Offensively, Virginia Tech has been led by Quarterback Kyron Drones and Running Back Bhayshul Tuten. However, both star players missed their game this past weekend due to injuries and their availability is still up in the air. RS/Jr Drones was a favorite breakout player pick in the ACC before the beginning of the season, yet he has not lived to the hype he was receiving. Drones has thrown for almost 1,500 passing yards, 10 TDs, 5 INTs, and rushed for 323 yards and 6 TDs on 87 carries (ESPN). Drones has been slowly improving throughout the season, but his ability to pass the football effectively has been lacking for the Hokies. Along side Drones is star Senior RB Bhayshul Tuten. Tuten has been the workhouse back for the Hokies all season accumulating 951 yards and 12 TDs on 142 carries. He has also rushed for more than 100 yards in five of the eight games that he has played in this season (ESPN). Without these two stars, the Virginia Tech Offense was able to jump out to a quick 21 points on the Syracuse Orange, but an inefficiency to execute late led to a devasting 38-31 OT road loss. Leading the Hokies was the RS/Sr Transfer Collin Schlee. Schlee, a former Kent State Golden Flash and UCLA Bruin, was able to put Virginia Tech in a position to win with his decent passing ability and rushing attack, but his efforts came up short (“NFL Draft Guide, Mock Drafts, News | Ourlads’ NFL Scouting Services”). Schlee may be the starting QB on Saturday as well, and his abilities are comparable to Drones, but Drones is obviously the desired option. The Hokie rushing attack did not skip a beat without star RB Tuten as they rushed for almost 250 yards against the Cuse, and they will look to dominant the Clemson Front as the Louisville Cardinals did (ESPN). Virginia Tech ranks 16th in the country in rushing yards per game, and it seems like the best way to victory for them this weekend (“TeamRankings.com: Sports Predictions, Rankings & Stats”). The headline backs with Tuten out will be a combination of Malachi Thomas and Jeremiah Coney. Both backs combined for 169 yards against Syracuse on 23 carries (ESPN). Clemson has a lot to prove in stopping the run game, and their challenge does not get any easier this weekend. The Virginia Tech passing attack has been lacking throughout the year, but their Receiving Corps is built between 4 key guys: Graduate Stephen Gosnell, Graduate Jaylin Lane, RS/So Benji Gosnell (TE), and Graduate Da’Quan Felton (“NFL Draft Guide, Mock Drafts, News | Ourlads’ NFL Scouting Services”). The Hokie pass catchers have been limited because of the dominant rushing attack, but they make their presence felt in the downfield run blocking, and sometimes they will get involved in running the ball as well. The Virginia Tech Offensive Line has given up 18 sacks on the season, as they have struggled to protect their passing attack (ESPN). Clemson has been struggling in rushing the passer as well this season, and it will be interesting to see which side of the Front steps up for either team.
The Virginia Tech Defense has been top 40 in the country this season giving up 22.3 points per game against all opponents and 24.3 points per game against Power Conference Opponents (“TeamRankings.com: Sports Predictions, Rankings & Stats”). They are looking to continue to limit the Clemson Offense just as Louisville did this past weekend. The Hokies lost 5 of their top 10 tacklers from last season, but they reload from the Portal bringing in 4 guys that have helped fill that role and add some depth (“Sports Reference | Sports Stats, Fast, Easy, and Up-To-Date | Sports-Reference.com”). Headlining the Hokie Defense is Star Defensive Lineman RS/Sr Antwaun Powell-Ryland who has already acumulated 12 sacks on the season (ESPN). His 12 sacks is almost as much as Clemson’s total 17 sacks on the season, and Clemson’s revamped Offensive Line faces their toughest pass rusher all season. The sack production does not stop at Powell-Ryland as Virginia Tech has also sacked the QB on 15 more occasions bringing their team total to 27 sacks (ESPN). Flying around in the middle of their Defense is the much improved RS/Jr Linebacker Jaden Keller. Keller has went from barely playing last season to leading Tech in total tackles (ESPN). Also stepping up from just one year ago is Sophomore Safety Mose Phillips III. Phillips has been a delightful surprise for Virginia Tech on Defense as he has became one of their most dependable players after giving them good depth last season. With the help of these three guys, Virginia Teach has been efficient in creating turnover all season long. Virginia Tech ranks 31st in takeaways per game, and it will be as interesting matchup between Clemson’s ability to protect the football this season (“TeamRankings.com: Sports Predictions, Rankings & Stats”). The Hokies force troubles through the air with 8 Interceptions and the ground with 9 Forced Fumbles and 8 Fumble Recoveries (ESPN). The Virginia Tech crowd in the great Lane Stadium will be looking for these key momentum flips especially if Drones and Tuten do not play this weekend.
Keys to a Tiger Victory:
Stop the Rush: As I was ranting about earlier in the article, the Clemson run defense is performing at an incredibly low level. Match that stat against Virginia Tech’s terrific rushing attack, and the solution does not come up Clemson. If the Tigers are unable to limit the explosive plays created in the run game, then they will not walk of Lane Stadium Victorious. Clemson will enter this game injured on their Defensive Line, and they need three Linebackers on the field on combat this issue. The Tigers will also need key guys to finally step up on the DL to stop this Hokie attack. Clemson’s DL is too talented on paper to allow these types of explosive runs, and we will see if their is any improved from this past week.
Win the Explosive Plays: Clemson’s Offense has thrived on explosive plays all season long, and this past weekend, they looked like a lost dog without them. The Tigers will live and die by explosive plays, so that means they need to be able to create them at a high rate than the other team. While the Tiger Defense looks primed to give up at least a couple explosive run plays, Klubnik and Co. have to improve this weekend to give Clemson some life. If the Receiving performance is anywhere similar as it was this past weekend, Wide Receiver Coach Tyler Grisham should not get a say in whether he stays at Clemson or not. This game is a must see performance from the WR’s to see if Coach Grisham has made any changes to improve after getting blanketed by the Cardinals. Syracuse Quarterback Kyle McCord and his pass catchers were able to expose the Virginia Tech Secondary, and it let to a comeback OT win for the Orange. Because of how dominant the Hokie Front is, the Tiger pass catchers have to create early separation to give Klubnik options before he is sacked.
Klubnik Wheels: Quarterback Cade Klubnik has showcased a new ability in his game this season, and it has been his ability to use his legs. He has used his legs to extended plays or just simply take off when no one is there. Despite Clemson’s slow start on Offense against Louisville, Klubnik showcased his legs to extend plays earlier, and eventually it led to scramble opportunities for the Junior. The Hokie Defensive Line is going to get after Klubnik on Saturday, and they have showcased their ability to stop star Running Backs all season. Cade Klubnik is going to have to extend plays all day long to give Clemson an opportunity to come out on top. His legs are also going to be a vital asset in creating opportunities for Phil Mafah. It is going to come down to Klubnik’s toughness on Saturday to take the necessary hits to spark life in the Tigers this weekend.
Tiger Watch: Defensive Line
As many smart people could have predicted, the Tiger Watch this week is none other than the Clemson Defensive Line as a whole. After one of the most atroicous performances I have ever seen them play this past weekend, their task does not get any easier against Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech has proven to have a better rushing attack than Louisville all season especially if star RB Bhaysul Tuten plays. The Tiger DL has to have guys step up for once this season to ensure they are victorious. Clemson rotates a ton of Defensive Linemen into the game, and they play nine guys consistently throughout every game. Clemson is going to have some Defensive Linemen miss or be held to a limit this game due to injuries, but they are still going to have to step up their play. If they show up and play as they have been this season, it is difficult to see a world where Clemson will walk out of that tough environment with a win. A lot rides on the shoulders of the Big Guys up front, and we will see their response on Saturday.
Painter’s Prediction:
Looking into this game, it is pretty clear on which team I feel the most confident in walking into Saturday. Clemson has a huge hill to climb this week after an embarrassing performance at home this past weekend. Their task does not get any easier this week against a better running team, and with their depth concerns on Defense. Clemson needs this game to go their way in a big margin, but I believe they struggle again. Virginia Tech will win 31-21 with the help of the run game. My score prediction tells us to take VT moneyline or to take them at +6.5. I am currently 7-1 in my Clemson predictions, and I am 6-2 ATS.
Sources:
“NFL Draft Guide, Mock Drafts, News | Ourlads’ NFL Scouting Services.” Ourlads.com, 2024, www.ourlads.com/.
“TeamRankings.com: Sports Predictions, Rankings & Stats.” Www.teamrankings.com, www.teamrankings.com/.
ESPN. “ESPN.” ESPN.com, 2019, www.espn.com/.
“Sports Reference | Sports Stats, Fast, Easy, and Up-To-Date | Sports-Reference.com.” Sports-Reference.com, 2019, www.sports-reference.com/.