Clemson vs. Virginia Prediction: Welcome home, welcome to the Ring of Honor

The Tigers and Cavaliers kick off at noon on the ACC Network.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Oct 18 11:30:08 GMT-05:00 2024

Clemson fans looking to tailgate Saturday will have to don sweatshirts, sweaters, and jackets in the early morning. Later in the morning, those chilly temperatures will give way to sunny skies and a warmer feel, with orange splashed all over Death Valley.

Welcome to autumn in Clemson. Welcome Virginia. Welcome home Tony Elliott. Welcome to the Ring of Honor, C.J. Spiller.

Yes, former receiver and coach Tony Elliott brings his Cavaliers to Death Valley. With four wins but an imposing stretch of road games on the docket, he knows his team needs a big win to chase bowl eligibility.

NO. 10/9 CLEMSON (5-1, 4-0 ACC) vs. VIRGINIA (4-2, 2-1 ACC)

WHEN: SATURDAY, OCT. 19, NOON ET
WHERE: MEMORIAL STADIUM (81,500), CLEMSON, S.C.
TELEVISION: ACC Network (Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Coley Harvey)
RADIO: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)
SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM 138 or 193

CLEMSON/VIRGINIA SERIES HISTORY

- OVERALL: Clemson leads series, 40-8-1
- HOME: Clemson leads series, 21-3-1
- ROAD: Clemson leads series, 18-5
- NEUTRAL: Clemson leads series, 1-0
- LAST MEETING: Oct. 3, 2020 (41-23, W)
- STREAK: Clemson, Won 5

NOTABLE

*Elliott played wide receiver at Clemson from 1999-2003 and was a team captain of the 2003 squad for which Dabo Swinney served as Elliott’s position coach in Swinney’s first year at Clemson. Elliott later served 11 years as an assistant coach at Clemson from 2011-21, helping the Tigers to a 130-21 record in his tenure. On Saturday, Elliott will become the 15th head coach all-time to face Clemson after having previously coached the Tigers in either a head coaching or assistant coaching capacity. He will become the fourth former Clemson player to face the Tigers as a head coach, joining Jules Carson (Wofford), Bobby Johnson (Furman) and Mike O’Cain (NC State).

*Prior to this week's game, Clemson will honor one of the greatest players in program history when it formally unveils C.J. Spiller's spot in the Clemson Ring of Honor on Memorial Stadium's facade right before kickoff.

*Clemson is attempting to win a sixth consecutive game against Virginia for the first time since opening its all-time series against the Cavaliers with a 29-game winning streak across the 1955-89 seasons. That previous 29-game winning streak is tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in FBS history for one team over another and the second-longest in a series that did not take place over uninterrupted consecutive seasons.

*Kobe Pace and Sage Ennis both transferred from Clemson to Virginia and played under Elliott in from 2020-21, when he was the Tigers’ offensive coordinator. Pace is currently second on the team in rushing and has two touchdowns this season. Ennis is sidelined for the remainder of the season due to injury.

*On the Virginia football staff there are several Clemson ties, including head strength & conditioning coach Adam Smotherman (Brent Venables’ get-back coach), offensive analyst Maverick Morris, offensive recruiting coordinator Adam Choice, Director of Recruiting Justin Speros, Director of Equipment Room Operations Eddie Chavez and Director of Football Operations Lindsey Morris, all of whom spent time on staff with Elliott at Clemson.

ABOUT VIRGINIA

Elliott’s program is beginning to find its footing in 2024 and stands at 4-2. But the remaining schedule is daunting, with North Carolina, Pitt, Notre Dame, SMU, and Virginia Tech all remaining. That currently ranks as the 19th-toughest remaining schedule in the country.

Sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea is a playmaker who can make a dazzling play, followed by a head-scratcher. He’s thrown for 1490 yards and has added 242 on the ground. His main target is receiver Malachi Fields, who has 37 receptions for 541 yards. Pace has earned the majority of the carries, but Xavier Brown is averaging 7.26 yards per carry and has three more yards than Pace (334-331) on 25 fewer carries.

Offensively, Virginia is averaging 435 yards per game (44th) and 260.2 passing yards (42nd). The defense has been good against the run (123.3ypg) but not against the pass (260.5ypg).

The defense is full of older players. Defensive end Kam Butler played his first four seasons at Miami (OH) and started way back in 2018. He has played in 60 career games. However, it’s defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter who is the true disruptor – he makes play and occupies blockers and is considered one of the ACC’s best.

ABOUT CLEMSON

Through six games, quarterback Cade Klubnik has thrown for 1,528 yards and 17 touchdowns to just two interceptions. Against Wake Forest last week, he threw for 309 yards on 31-of-41 attempts with three touchdowns. He’s also just two yards shy of 200 (198) yards on the ground. Against the Demon Deacons, the offense ran a season-high 85 plays and racked up 566 yards of total offense with 37 first down, the third-most in program history.

Phil Mafah keeps churning out yards and running over hapless defenders, trucking his way to 604 yards on 87 attempts. Klubnik has distributed the ball evenly, with Antonio Williams leading the way with 25 receptions, followed by tight end Jake Briningstool’s 24 catches. Briningstool is marching steadily to own several Clemson tight end records.

The defense allows 348.3 yards per game (60th) and has been susceptible against the run (140.3ypg, 65th) but is getting better each week. Just a few weeks ago, this unit ranked 108th nationally. Linebacker Wade Woodaz leads that group with 42 tackles, while Barrett Carter has added 35.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

Virginia has the horses up front on the defensive line to keep the Clemson running game in check. Clemson’s defense has struggled at times early in games before making halftime adjustments. If Colandrea and Brown can get to the edge on the Tigers, they can have success. But Clemson’s defense will lock it down, Colandrea will make a mistake, and it will start to unravel.

Klubnik and the passing attack will be too much, allowing big Mafah to find holes and the Tigers to pull away. If Virginia pulls off the upset, the Tigers will have to turn it over while the Cavs start fast and keep up the pressure. Virginia has been behind by double-digits in several of its wins, but falling behind against the Tigers isn’t optimal.

FINAL SCORE: CLEMSON 38, VIRGINIA 16

TigerNet picks

David Hood - TigerNet senior writer - 38-16 Clemson
Mickey Plyler - The Roar 105.5 morning show host - 42-17 Clemson
Nikki Hood - Staff writer - 38-17 Clemson
Brandon Rink - Associate editor - 44-20 Clemson
Tony Crumpton - Associate editor - 45-14 Clemson
Ryan Kantor - Contributing Writer - 47-14 Clemson
Ariana Pensy - Intern - 45-17 Clemson
Merrell Mann - Photographer - 45-13 Clemson
Brooks Thomason - Intern - 42-20 Clemson
Grayson Mann - Staff writer - 41-17 Clemson

PREDICTION TRACKER

Game	Actual	David Hood	Plyler	Nikki Hood	Rink	Crumpton	Kantor	Pensy	M. Mann	Thomason	G. Mann
Georgia	34-3 UGA	27-24 CU	23-21 CU	24-17 CU	29-20 UGA	27-20 UGA	28-21 UGA	24-17 UGA	17-14 CU	27-21 UGA	27-23 UGA
App State	66-20 CU	34-14 CU	30-16 CU CU	38-17 CU	34-17 CU	31-17 CU	35-10 CU	30-10 CU	31-10 CU	31-13 CU	28-10 CU
NC State	59-35 CU	34-13 CU	38-16 CU	42-20 CU	30-13 CU	28-10 CU	35-14 CU	34-17 CU	38-17 CU	31-10 CU	31-10 CU
Stanford	40-14 CU	44-20 CU	48-17 CU	38-10 CU	44-16 CU	42-14 CU	41-17 CU	45-17 CU	48-21 CU	40-20 CU	41-17 CU
FSU	29-13 CU	41-13 CU	42-10 CU	42-17 CU	38-16 CU	35-14 CU	40-14 CU	55-7 CU	44-20 CU	31-16 CU	45-14 CU
Wake Forest	49-14 CU	47-20 CU	44-20 CU	52-14 CU	45-20 CU	48-13 CU	48-14 CU	35-14 CU	42-13 CU	38-17 CU	45-10 CU
Points	-	5	5	10	9	9	9	6	5	9	6

* Points: 3 pts for best correct prediction of the week (tiebreaker is Clemson score), 2 pts for picking score exactly, 1 pt for picking the correct winner