Will Clemson Tigers Be Challenged by Solid Virginia Cavaliers Team in Week 8?

Will the Clemson Tigers be slowed down by the Virginia Cavaliers this weekend?

Clemson running back Lyn-J Dixon (23) runs against Virginia Cavaliers during the third quarter of the ACC Championship game at the Bank of America Stadium Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. 2019 Acc Football Championship Clemson Vs Virginia / Ken Ruinard / staff, The Greenville News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Clemson Tigers have been on a roll over the last few weeks, steamrolling whatever opponent is in their way.

Dabo Swinney has done an excellent job of getting his team back on track after an extremely disappointing season opener against the Georgia Bulldogs. People were calling for his job a few weeks ago, but he has his Tigers right in the College Football Playoff mix as they hoped to be.

Last week, it was the Wake Forest Demon Deacons who were Clemson’s latest victims. Despite not scoring a point in the first quarter of the game, the Tigers still put 49 on their ACC rivals, winning by five touchdowns.

After two games on the road, as they defeated the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee before dispatching the Demon Deacons, Clemson returns to Death Valley to face off against the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers are 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in conference. They will be motivated this weekend in what would be a season-defining victory over a top-10 team in the country.

Will they have the firepower to pull it off? Bill Connelly of ESPN highlighted this ACC matchup as one to watch this weekend, as Clemson should not be overlooking Virginia on Saturday afternoon.

“Clemson fell to 31st in SP+ after Week 1's drubbing by Georgia, but the Tigers have beaten projections in every week since and have charged up to 11th. Virginia has been awfully competitive these past few weeks, but we'll see if the Cavaliers can do what no one since Georgia has done and stay within 15 points of Dabo Swinney's team,” he wrote.

Projections for the contest have this being between a two and three-touchdown outcome. The Tigers are big favorites, but as Connelly pointed out, the Cavaliers haven’t been pushovers recently.

Last week they lost 24-20 to the Louisville Cardinals after giving up a touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the game. They defeated the Boston College Eagles before that, as their defense has been solid throughout the campaign.

30 points against Wake Forest are the most they have surrendered this season, as they have held their opponent under 20 twice. Will there be enough to stand up to the explosive Tigers offense that is clicking on all cylinders?

We will have to watch and see how things unfold as kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.