Clemson Football: Upset Checklist for Virginia Cavaliers

Clemson football must avoid the major letdown against Virginia

There’s no doubt that Clemson football has the most depth and talent of any team in the country, but that doesn’t mean the Tigers are exempt from being upset.

We’ve talked all week about how much better Clemson football is than the Virginia Cavaliers and there’s no doubt- really- that the Tigers should win this game comfortably.

But, every week during the season, Rubbing the Rock takes a look from the perspective of the enemy. What would it take for the Clemson football team to get upset?

Here’s a look at Virginia’s upset checklist for the weekend.

How Clemson football gets upset on Saturday

• The Tigers show up looking forward to the Miami game
• Virginia has big defensive linemen in the trenches and they somehow find ways to get in the backfield and create several negative-yardage plays.
• Clemson turns the ball over multiple times
• Tiger defensive backfield allows too many explosive plays, giving UVA momentum and belief as the game moves forward
• Virginia plays a clean game, free of turnovers and mental mistakes
• The Cavaliers hold on for dear life and hope for the best result

This is quite the extensive checklist that Virginia has to accomplish and the truth of the matter is that all six things listed above will have to be true for the Cavaliers to come away with the victory.

The first thing that has to happen for Clemson to lose is that the Tigers have to come out of the gate taking the game for granted, perhaps looking forward to Miami. After that, you’d need to see Virginia play its ‘A’ game that includes no turnovers and forcing a couple of miscues from the Tigers.

Can it happen? Absolutely, anything can happen. But we wouldn’t be expecting Clemson football to come out unfocused or unprepared for this one, especially after a week off.