Keys to the game for Clemson's matchup with Virginia

Clemson is coming off a dominating performance at Wake Forest. Now, the Tigers are heading back home to take on a 4-2 Virginia that gave Louisville everything it wanted and more.

What does Clemson need to do to keep the Cavaliers from repeating that performance against the Tigers? Here are the Keys to the game against Virginia:

Keys to the game: Clemson vs Virginia

Keep Mafah hot

In the last few games, Phil  Mafah has come alive. He’s rushed for blank yards in three games, and the Tigers need to keep him hot against Virginia.

The Cavaliers are the 49th-best regarding rushing yards given up per game. But here’s the thing — they haven’t played a team with a top-50 rushing attack. Lousiville, which ran for 177 yards against Virginia, is ranked No. 60. The other FBS teams they've faced are Wake Forest (No. 82), Maryland (No. 93), Coastal Carolina (No. 52), and Boston College (No. 70).

Clemson is 29th and yards per game. If they can lean on the momentum of Mafah and the running game, the Tigers can break the game open with the pass.

Virginia is one of the worst passing defenses in the country, coming in at 260.5 yards per game (No. 111). On its face, Clemson should throw all over their defense, but if there’s no running game, the Cavaliers could empty the box and add extra defenders to make Cade Klubnik's life more difficult. On the contrary, if Clemson can beat them down on the ground, Virginia will be forced to add people to the box to stop it. That’s when the Tigers can take shots for the rest of the game, potentially scoring at will.