By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney has always spoken highly of Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer. He respects the way Beamer has run the Hokies’ program the last 26 years. As Swinney says it, Beamer has done it the right way and that’s why he is a winner—255 career victories, multiple ACC and Big East Titles and one national championship game appearance.

But there is one record that really sticks out in Swinney’s mind. Since joining the ACC in 2004, Beamer’s Virginia Tech teams are 27-6 in road conference games, including a 41-23 win in Death Valley in 2007.

“That is incredible,” Swinney said. “To have that type of record really is because it is hard to win on the road. I don’t care who you play, it is hard to win on the road. These guys have been pretty consistent, and quite frankly, they have done a pretty good job when they have come to Death Valley.”

Beamer’s teams are 2-1 at Memorial Stadium, where the No. 13 Tigers will be hosting Military Appreciation Day in Saturday’s noon tussle with the Hokies.  Virginia Tech beat the Tigers 37-0 in 1998, and prior to that Clemson beat the Hokies 40-7 in 1988.

But the road has not been so kind to Virginia Tech this season. The Hokies come to Clemson with a 0-3 record on the road, including a 48-34 loss at North Carolina on Oct. 6.

Virginia Tech (4-3, 2-1 ACC) has struggled in every avenue when it’s away from Lane Stadium. The defense is giving up an astonishing 36.7 points and 521.7 yards per game on the road, while the offense is not fairing much better.

Quarterback Logan Thomas has thrown six of his eight interceptions in road games. The Hokies have turned the ball over nine times combined in the three games, while averaging only 86.3 yards running per game.

“We haven’t played as well as we need to on the road, so that’s another challenge for us,” Beamer said. “We are going to have to play really well to hang in there.”

It will not help that the Tigers (5-1, 2-1) have won their last 10 home games and are an impressive 23-4 in Death Valley under Swinney.

“Going down there is going to be a challenge for us,” Beamer said.

That might be true, but the Hokies will come into the game with a little momentum thanks to last week’s win over Duke. The Blue Devils had won four straight prior to last Saturday and jumped out to a quick 20-0 lead in the first quarter.

But Virginia Tech rallied to score 41-unanswerd points and held Duke to 22 yards rushing.

“This is a huge challenge in Virginia Tech, who is coming off a good win versus Duke,” Swinney said. “They’re a team we will have played for the third time here in the last year. But I have a lot of respect for Virginia Tech. They’ve pretty much been the measuring stick for our league.

“It looks like they’re starting to really play with a lot of confidence. We’ll have a big challenge here on Saturday. We’ll have to play very well.”