Tigers eye fast start against Hokies
Stage another fast start: The Tigers never allowed Pittsburgh a chance to breathe, much less win last Saturday in Death Valley. Clemson racked up 31 points in the opening quarter against the Panthers, the highest-scoring initial period in school history.
Of course, the Tigers did have some special motivation since it was the final home game for its seniors and probably junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But the incentive should also be high against the Hokies, considering a victory should clinch Clemson’s spot in the ACC Championship game and set up a highly anticipated rematch against Notre Dame.
Keep Hooker in the pocket: Even though he’s played in just seven of Virginia Tech’s nine games, junior quarterback Hendon Hooker ranks sixth among ACC rushers with 627 yards and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Hooker is tough to bring down when he decides to scramble and his running ability always gives the Hokies a chance to extend drives.
Keys for Virginia Tech
Forget the numbers: Pittsburgh blasted Virginia Tech 47-14 two weeks ago with quarterback Kenny Pickett scorching the Hokies’ secondary for 404 yards passing. The same Pitt team was annihilated by Clemson by a 52-17 score last Saturday.
By anyone’s calculations, those numbers don’t bode well for Virginia Tech, unless the Hokies can look ahead instead of behind.
Feed Herbert: The Hokies feature the ACC’s top rushing attack with a 250.9 yards-per-game average. Kansas graduate transfer Khalil Herbert has been the focal point of that effort and ranks second among ACC rushers with 924 yards this season.
Herbert is not the flashy, bigplay runner like Clemson’s Travis Etienne, but at 5-9, 212 pounds, he’s tough to knock off his feet and is durable.
Prediction
Clemson 45, Virginia Tech 10: In past seasons, this would have been one of the league’s marquee matchups. But in a year heavily impacted by COVID-19, the Hokies have never found their footing. This will be their third matchup against aTop 25 team in four games, having lost by three points against No. 25 Liberty and one to No. 9 Miami. But this one won’t be that close.