Virginia next up for No. 1 Clemson
GAME OF THE WEEK VIRGINIA AT CLEMSON
When: 8 p.m., Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, S.C.
TV: ACC NETWORK
A mistake-free start: The Wahoos cannot afford a repeat of their first-quarter performance in last week’s opening victory against Duke.
Virginia fumbled away the opening kickoff, snapped the ball when the quarterback wasn’t looking and surrendered a 55-yard touchdown pass to fall behind the Blue Devils, 10-0.
Sure, it was the season opener for Virginia, so it’s not surprising the Cavs weren’t hitting on all cylinders. But anything close to that kind of start against Clemson would be disastrous.
Keep the turnovers coming: With eight starters returning, Virginia’s defense was expected to be good this season. But other than the long, first-quarter pass play against Duke, the Cavaliers played some dominant “D’’ in the opener.
Most impressive about the defensive performance were the seven turnovers forced by Virginia.
Of course, the Tigers are a different animal on offense compared to Duke. But they aren’t flawless. Forcing a couple of turnovers, especially early, could do wonders for Virginia’s confidence.
Keys for Clemson
Repeat title-game offense: The last time these teams met was last December in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
Trevor Lawrence threw for four touchdowns and the Tigers racked up 619 total yards as Clemson routed the Cavaliers, 62-17. Virginia’s defense will be better. But if Lawrence is firing bullets and Travis Etienne is running with the kind of purpose he did in last year’s title game, the results could be similar Saturday.
Take away the run game: Virginia was able to recover from its slow start against Duke due to the effective efforts of its rushing attack. Although the final total wasn’t overwhelming — the Wahoos tallied 188 yards on the ground — their 5.4 yard-per-carry average helped keep drives going all game.
Limiting Virginia’s ground attack will force more passes, which leads to more opportunities for sacks or turnovers for Clemson.
Prediction
Clemson 44, Virginia 17: Another ACC game, another victory for the Tigers, who will collect their 30th straight league win.
It’s hard to imagine any team, even one with Virginia’s defensive talent, slowing Clemson’s offense.