Virginia's high-octane offense is a precursor to what Chad Morris will run at Clemson

We may have overlooked the Virignia Cavaliers a bit. Despite playing for a trip to the College Football Playoff last fall, nobody was giving Tony Elliott's program all that much hope about getting back to Charlotte this season. Well, you can't spell Charlottesville without Charlotte... The former Clemson offensive coordinator was in his bag with new quarterback Beau Pribula running point in his offense.

Simply put, what we saw happen in Scott Stadium on Saturday afternoon is what we should hope the Clemson offense will look like under Chad Morris. He plans to run the football more than Garrett Riley did the last few years. With Elliott being his former running backs coach when he last ran the Clemson offense, it may be a sign of what is to come for the Tigers. They must use the run to open up the pass.

On the afternoon, Virginia carried the ball 57 times for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Pribula led the way out of the backfield with 110 rushing yards on 15 carries. He backed that up with a dazzling 9-of-11 completions for 155 yards and two jaw-dropping touchdowns. While Christopher Vizzina may not be as athletic as Pribula, there is a non-zero chance Tait Reynolds might already be, so let that sink in.

Tait Reynolds can be the key to unlocking everything in Clemson offense

As you look at these two passing highlights from Pribula on Saturday, who do you think is more likely to make these huge completions with the context of Morris' Clemson offense: Vizzina or Reynolds?

When Morris talked about running an uptempo spread at Clemson again, this is what he is referring to. He got to watch last year's Virginia team from close up with his son Chandler Morris running the offense. Given that Pribula is a more talented quarterback than him, this could end up being another special year season for Virginia. Thankfully, Clemson does not draw the Cavaliers on the schedule.

While Pribula may not be a household name for many college football fans, he did have year's worth of starts coming in, but those came over at Missouri. Clearly, he has grasped the offense Elliott and Des Kitchings like to run at Virginia quickly. Pribula may have been in college for a minute, but this offensive scheme just goes to show that it favors one's athletic gifts over experience in the system.

Look. It is not going to be a perfect match between what Kitchings does at Virginia and Morris does at Clemson. However, these two ACC offenses might be closer than you would think. Even if Virginia went further in ACC play last year than Clemson did, one team has a richer football tradition than the other. That would be a beautiful thing to waste. It is why Morris may nudge Swinney over to Reynolds.

To be frank, Clemson will need to score points in bunches and dominate in the run game to potentially stay in the playoff conversation. Tom Allen's defense will have to improve as the season progresses, but it may not be a driving point of this team right now. With Clemson having a strong offensive line, great wide receivers, and quality tight ends, a vibrant rushing attack may unlock everything for them.

It is why it is so much easier to see Reynolds playing like Pribula than Vizzina becoming more mobile.

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