It's been a rough week for the Tiger faithful. Louisville smacked Clemson back down to reality after six straight bottom-of-the-barrel teams.
Now, it's time to regroup and figure out how to finish the season strong. Clemson's ACC hopes are out of its hands now, so all it can do is win out and hope for the best. That starts this week with Virginia Tech.
The Hookies have been a weird team. They've lost to Vanderbilt and Rutgers but were a play away from defeating Miami. They're also off a loss, although it was a tough one in overtime against Syracuse. Can the Tigers bounce back against the Jekyll and Hyde of the ACC, or are they still licking their wounds from the loss to Louisville?
RTR Staff Predictions: Clemson Football vs Virginia Tech
Matthew
This will be a telling week for Clemson. Heading into one of the tougher atmospheres in the ACC, will the Tigers suffer a hangover after losing to Louisville and dropping out of the College Football Playoff picture? What’s more, the Tigers’ defense could be banged up but so too could Virginia Tech which might be playing its backup QB for the second week in a row.
This game will tell us quite a bit about this program’s resolve and character. With Clemson likely to have an edge at QB, the Tigers should prevail on the road and keep their slight ACC title hopes alive.
Clemson 34 – Virginia Tech 28
Austin
In the back of my mind, I worried about the quality of Clemson's offense before the Louisville game. It turns out its numbers were, indeed, inflated. The competition hasn't been great this season. Georgia, Louisville, and Florida State were the only teams with competent defense, and the Tigers averaged 17 points against them.
I don't expect it to change against Virginia Tech. The Hookies are in the top 20 in defensive efficiency and are higher than all Clemson's opponents except Georgia. However, Tech isn't as good as Louisville on offense, and I wasn't entirely upset with the Tigers' effort on defense. Except for one busted play, they held the Cardinals to field goals in the second half.
With that being said, I expect Clemson to go into Blacksburg with something to prove. It'll be low-scoring, but the Tigers come out on top.
Clemson 24 – Virginia Tech 14