Clemson @ Va Tech (10/26)

[Bama Boy]

James Davis's shoulder is still causing him problems. Listed as questionable and "50/50" from Tommy Bowden, but I'm positive he'll play. They also get Stuckey back from injury, he probably could have played against GT (was seen running all over campus), but they wanted to be safe and not subject his foot to getting rolled up on or anything.

Lost their best OL guy on the 3rd play against GT, but they are deep there. Looks like the TE Hunter is going to be out, and seem to be ok there, though Hunter was a reliable pass catching threat.

I'm tossing these things out there for knowledge's sake, as someone who follows Clemson closely.

Personal opinion is Clemson probably wins regardless of whether Davis plays or not, but I wouldn't be nearly as confident about covering points without him in there. Interested to see if the line moves any based on that news.

[jzieg2313]

Here is the best analysis I can give from the side of a huge Clemson fan. I am not a sunshine pumper and the only time I bet a Clemson game all year was for them not to cover 17 versus Wake. Iggy may remember me asking him about that game. Anyways, here are a few things I haven't seem mentioned:

1) The weather in Blacksburg on Thursday night is supposed to be cold, rainy, and windy. The only other time Clemson played in a similar environment was against Wake Forest and they trailed 17-3 going into the fourth quarter. Proctor has a tendency to float balls down the field and was picked of three times against Wake. However....

2) This will be Clemson's first game back with stud receiver Chansi Stuckey since prior to the Wake game. Proctor and Stuckey are best friends on-and-off the field and frankly Proctor has looked lost without him. He should be close to 100% on Thursday from a broken bone in his foot. He was leading receiver in the ACC last year and was first-team all conference this year. Having Stuckey will back will be a HUGE bump to the passing game.

3) Coach Bowden said today that James Davis is not reacting well from his shoulder stinger suffered on Saturday. He described him as 50/50 for Thursday. IMO, he will play but it will be in a back-up role to Spiller. Spiller has really came on the last few weeks rushing for at least a 100 yards in three of the last four games despite being a back-up. He is electric with the football, but has struggled with turnovers early this season. This is a problem that could really hurt Clemson against VT.

4) Special teams have been a nightmare for Clemson this year. We have had three fields goals blocked, allow a ton of yards to kick returners, and fumble on punt returns. The only area we have been consistent is punting but have come dangerously close to have a few blocked. VT will beat Clemson if we have these types of problems up there. The good news is everything was much improved last week versus GT. Changes on the personel of the special have improved the units and am only concerns at this point about the young punt returners fumble problems.

5. Finally, I just don't see anyway that VT is going to be able to do anything on offense versus Clemson. Our defense is really hitting its stride in its second year under a new defensive co-ordinator. His scheme emphasizes on taking away the big play and making teams drive down the field. I can't see how VT will be able to execute on a contiunous basis. Clemson ranks 4th and 7th in the nation in Total Defense and Scoring Defense, respectively.

I honestly think Clemson will win this game my two touchdowns if they can avoid big turnovers and special team mistakes. This Clemson team has shown no signs of letting down and overcame two blocked kicks returned for scores to beat FSU in Tally a week after a devastating double OT loss to BC. If special teams become a issue this game is a toss-up. Another thing working in Clemson's favor is thatthey cannot afford a another conference loss if they want a shot at the conference title. BC owns the tie breaker and they are currently tied in the standings. Clemson will not have a letdown.

I am an optimist and like what I saw out of special teams last week enough to feel they have improved. I think VT will be pumped full of emotion for the first quarter, but Clemson is just the better football team. My final prediction.

Clemson- 24
VT- 10


(Sorry for typos, I don't feel like re-reading.)

[sfwusc]

[ QUOTE ]
Clemson's not much for letdowns. They followed their big win over #9 (at the time) Florida State with a 52-7 pasting of North Carolina, and the week after their big comeback against Wake, they beat Temple 63-9. If there's one team I'm not worried about suffering a letdown in this situation, it's Clemson.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is true for this year. If you look at history, then big wins are almost always followed by let downs.

[iggymcfly]

James Davis upgraded to probable

I was pretty sure he'd play anyway, but this might be helpful to those on the fence.

[droopy0021]

Va Tech is going to rotate QBs to some degree....sounds they're trying to pull out any/all stops (even if just to throw something else for Clemson to gameplan).

Va Tech QBs

I especially find the comparison to QB combo Leak/Tebow of Florida laughable (maybe worth another unit or 2).

[sshan83]

No one thinks this is a trap line?? The line is so low that it makes me concerned...

[03 Z4]

Only thing I see going for VA Tech is they're very tough at home in hyped-up nat. televised game. Crowd will be really into it at start of game.

I do have a bet on Clem.

[Jaguar101]

[ QUOTE ]
Clemson's not much for letdowns. They followed their big win over #9 (at the time) Florida State with a 52-7 pasting of North Carolina, and the week after their big comeback against Wake, they beat Temple 63-9. If there's one team I'm not worried about suffering a letdown in this situation, it's Clemson.

[/ QUOTE ]

LMFAO! Are you seriously saying that Clemson isnt a letdown team by backing it up with HUGE wins over the POWERHOUSES of UNC and TEMPLE?? I think VT is a little different

VT takes this one outright or atleast only losing by 3

[kdog]

I'm with Jaguar on this one. From what I've seen this year there are a lot of teams in the ACC that are pretty evenly matched, including these two. When one lays more than a field goal to another on the road I'm either taking the points or passing the game.

[iggymcfly]

If they didn't let down against UNC and Temple, that means that they're actually much, much less likely to let down against a real team like Va. Tech. I'm not using the UNC game as evidence of their overall skill, just showing that they were playing at peak capacity that game to win by 45.

As far as evenly matched goes, I don't see how VT and Clemson fit that description at all. Both of the good teams VT's played this year are common opponents with Clemson (GT and BC).

Va. Tech
09/30 #24 Ga Tech L 27-38
10/12 at BC L 3-22

Clemson
09/09 at BC L 33-34 (2OT)
10/21 #13 Ga Tech W 31-7

Not that common opponents are everything, but that's an 18 point difference on one opponent and a 35-point difference on the other. I really don't think VT and Clemson are within 1 TD of each other talent-wise.