The Clemson defense put together an inspired performance on Saturday night against Virginia Tech, and the unit was a bright spot in the defensive slugfest at Memorial Stadium – for most of the night.
Unfortunately, after coming up with a bunch of crucial stops throughout the contest, the defense faltered down the stretch when Clemson needed a stop the most, as the Tigers (4-3, 2-2) suffered a gut-wrenching 20-16 loss to the Hokies (6-2, 3-2).
Tom Allen’s defense kept the Tigers within striking distance as the offense tried to find its footing amid plenty of struggles, especially in the first half when Clemson managed only 94 yards of offense. The Tigers overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to take a 16-10 lead at the end of the third quarter.
But late in the fourth quarter, after failing to move the ball much at all for most of the game, Virginia Tech’s offense stepped up against Clemson’s defense to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
The Hokies drove deep into Clemson territory, and facing a fourth-and-1 from the 5-yard line in the waning moments, Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer found wide-open tight end Luke Reynolds for his second touchdown of the night with 1:44 left, which proved to be the game-winning score.
Facing an explosive Virginia Tech passing attack led by Grunkemeyer – who entered the week as the ACC’s passing leader with 1,984 yards – Clemson kept him in check for the most part. He only threw for 156 yards, but was able to hook up with Reynolds for two pivotal scores.
Reynolds’ first touchdown reception, a 6-yarder late in the second quarter, capped a 17-play, 87-yard drive that took seven minutes off the clock and gave the Hokies a 10-3 lead heading into halftime.
“Honestly, just really two plays on defense,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said after the game. “I thought our defense played their tails off. They played tough, they played physical.”
Clemson’s defensive front was relentless for most of the game, and the Tigers brought down Grunkemeyer for six sacks, a season-high for the Tigers, as they disrupted the Hokies’ offensive rhythm and consistently stalled drives.
Clemson held Virginia Tech to just 234 yards of offense, including just 99 in the second half.
“They were averaging 37 points a game coming in, and we held them to 20,” Swinney said. “They were averaging 148 yards rushing. We held them to 1.9 a carry. 11th in passing in the country, held them to 164. They were averaging 440. We held them to 234. So, I thought we did enough on defense and special teams to win the game.”
Unfortunately for Swinney’s team, the Hokies came alive in crunch time.
Trailing by three points with 6:29 remaining, Virginia Tech put together an 11-play, 69-yard drive, capped off by Grunkemeyer’s fourth-down touchdown pass to Reynolds. The Hokies were aided by multiple critical defensive penalties against Clemson and used 4:45 of clock, giving the Tigers very little time to respond after getting the ball back.
The Tigers were flagged three times on the game-winning drive, one for a late out of bounds hit and two pass interference penalties. Elliot Washington was called for a late hit out of bounds on Grunkemeyer that negated a holding call on the Hokies. Jerome Carter then was charged with a PI and Washington was also charged with a PI at the goal line on a deep pass that moved the ball inside the Clemson 15.
It was a disappointing ending for a defense that dominated the Hokies for most of the night. The Tigers held Virginia Tech to 70 rushing yards while posting the six sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
It marks Virginia Tech’s first win over Clemson since 2007 and the first time Swinney has lost to the Hokies as the Tigers’ head coach.
The loss is a huge blow to Clemson’s hopes of making it to the ACC Championship Game in December. After three straight games at home, Clemson hits the road to face Florida State next Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network.