Three Biggest Keys for Clemson Tigers to Defeat Virginia Tech Hokies

The Clemson Tigers are out to start a new winning streak as they hit the road to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Nov 2, 2024; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers running back Phil Mafah (7) runs the ball against Louisville Cardinals linebacker Antonio Watts (35) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Ken Ruinard-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers continue their season with the first of two straight conference road games to end their ACC slate as they prepare to face the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. eastern on ESPN.

The Tigers (6-2, 5-1 in ACC) are coming off a loss to Louisville, one that brought their hopes of reaching the ACC title game to a screeching halt. It’s not that the Tigers can’t get into the game. It’s just that it will take a lot of help to make it happen, and it means nothing if Clemson doesn’t win its last two ACC games.

Fortunately, the Tigers have a good history with Virginia Tech, especially of late, as Clemson has won the last six meetings, with the most recent being in 2020.

The Hokies (5-4, 3-2) are coming off a loss to Syracuse, one that ended their three-game winning streak. Virginia Tech just needs one more win to reach a bowl game for the second straight year under coach Brent Pry. But, frankly, the Hokies could have had more.

So how does Clemson win this game? Here are three keys to the contest.

Stop The Run

Before the Louisville game, the Clemson defense had done an exceptional job against the run in the previous three games, not allowing a team to rush for more than 100 yards. Some of that was related to the nature of those games being blowouts. But, still, impressive.

Well, the Cardinals racked up 210 yards on the ground on Saturday, which was the most the Tigers had allowed in a game since giving up 236 rushing yards to Stanford. Louisville also had the highest yards-per-carry average of any opponent with 7.8 yards per carry.

That’s a significant jump and the Tigers have to figure it out in the next few days because the Hokies enter this game with one of the most productive backs in the ACC. Bhayshul Tuten has rushed for 951 yards (6.7 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns. But quarterback Kyron Drones (323 yards, six touchdowns) is a problem, too.

Start Fast on Offense

The Tigers’ awful offensive performance in the first half against Louisville wasn’t an aberration. It’s been a problem the past few games — even in games they won. Against both Wake Forest and Virginia, Clemson got off to a slow start in the first quarter before they got moving.

Well, against the Cardinals the Tigers never got moving. The offense sputtered, even though they gained more than 400 yards of total offense. The yards per play in the game was key to Clemson’s loss. The Tigers only gained 4.5 yards per play, by far their worst since the 3.6 yards per play against Georgia. Clemson lost that game, too.

Clemson can’t afford another slow start against a team that has talent like Louisville.

A Klubnik Bounce-back

The Clemson Tigers will need a bounce-back game from quarterback Cade Klubnik. A lot of things went wrong against Louisville, and his play was one of them.

One of the areas where Klubnik did not excel on Saturday was in throwing touchdown passes. In the six games the Tigers won, he threw at least two touchdown passes in each game (an average of 3.3 per game during that stretch). In the two losses, he threw just one total.

It sounds simple — throw touchdown passes and win games. But, curiously, while Klubnik’s legs are still gaining yards, he hasn’t run in a touchdown since the Stanford game. The Tigers need him to find the end zone with his arm if they hope to win.