After defeating Boston College last Saturday, second-ranked Clemson looks ahead to its next challenge as it travels to Blacksburg, Va., to face No. 12 Virginia Tech in the Tigers’ third prime time top 15 matchup of the season on Saturday.
Clemson has won four in a row against Virginia Tech, dating back to 2011, and the Tigers look to push that record to five in a row on Saturday.
During Tuesday’s press conference and player interviews, we spoke to head coach Dabo Swinney, running back Tavien Feaster, defensive coordinator Brent Venables, and linebacker Dorian O’Daniel about the upcoming matchup.
Here is what we heard:
The team’s last meeting was last year’s ACC Championship Game where Clemson defeated Virginia Tech, 42-35, to win its 16th ACC Championship.
However, it was a tough, down-to-the wire game. The Hokies had one play to tie it up in the fourth quarter, but Clemson cornerback Cordrea Tankersley saved the day with an interception in the final seconds.
The Tigers know that to beat Virginia Tech this year, it will have to take advantage of the opportunities it gets against a Hokies defense that ranks sixth in scoring defense at 10.3 points per game.
“We’re excited about another great opportunity this week,” Swinney said. “Heck of a football team. Very well coached, playing with a lot of physicality. You can tell they have a great belief in what they’re doing. Well coached on both sides. Very challenging in a lot of ways.”
Thus far, Dabo Swinney has been pleased with the way his offense has run the ball. As a team, Clemson is 13th in the nation in rushing at 272 yards per game. Through four games, Feaster has contributed to the run game with a total of 37 rushes for 256 yards and a touchdown. The sophomore is ready to see what he can do on Saturday.
“It’s very exciting,” Feaster said. “Obviously Coach (Bud) Foster, he’s been around for a long time. He has great plans. I’ll be excited to get a shot at the defense.”
Reflecting on last year’s ACC Championship game and Clemson’s defensive performance, defensive coordinator Brent Venables says in order to pull out a win, he has to see much improvement from last year.
“They showed tremendous fight, toughness, both mentally and physically,” Venables said on Tuesday. “They have answers to what you are doing and we are going to have to play much better this time around to have any kind of chance to win.”
Heading into the Louisville game on Sept. 16, Clemson’s goal was to “leave no doubt” after beating the Cardinals by only one score or less in their previous three meetings.
After the close game last year against Virginia Tech, O’Daniel said the goal remains the same heading to Blacksburg.
“I think the juice for this game, just like Louisville, is to leave no doubt,” O’Daniel said. “I’m sure they felt like they had a chance to win at the end last year in the ACC Championship, and like I said, they’re a good team just like Louisville was a good team. Our mindset is we need to go in and play a complete four-quarter game and leave no doubt.”