First look: What to know about Clemson’s next opponent, the Virginia Cavaliers
Clemson easily handled Wake Forest and The Citadel the first two weeks of the season, before getting this past weekend off. Up next, the Tigers are expected to get a tougher challenge from a Virginia squad that beat Duke 38-20 on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know about the Cavaliers.
Virginia (1-0) at No. 1 Clemson (2-0)
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina
TV: ACC Network (Dave O’Brien, Tim Hasselbeck, Katie George)
Line: Clemson by 28
Three storylines for Tigers vs. Cavaliers
1. This will be a rematch of last year’s ACC championship game, although both teams have several new pieces in place. For Virginia, star quarterback Bryce Perkins is gone and has been replaced by Brennan Armstrong. The Cavaliers also lost their top two receivers from last year in Joe Reed and Hasise Dubois. For the Tigers, top-10 pick Isaiah Simmons and three of the four starters on Clemson’s secondary are now playing in the NFL. Clemson also lost four of its starting five offensive linemen off of last year’s team. The Tigers won last year’s ACC title game 62-17.
2. After a couple of easy victories in games that were never really competitive to open the season, Clemson’s schedule will start getting harder the next few weeks. UVA opened the season with a 38-20 win over former Clemson backup QB Chase Brice and Duke last week. And after facing the Cavaliers this weekend, Clemson will host No. 8 Miami on Oct. 10.
“We’re fixing to get really challenged here moving forward. We’re going to find out a lot about our team,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said this week.
3. Virginia did a great job against Brice, who Dabo Swinney said would play in the NFL one day when Brice was at Clemson. The Blue Devils held Brice to 16 of 36 passing (44.4 percent) and picked him off four times. Clemson has more offensive talent than Duke, and Trevor Lawrence is considered by most to be the best QB in the country. Still, you can bet the performance of Virginia’s secondary against Brice and Duke has the Tigers’ attention.
Virginia players to watch
1. Sophomore quarterback Brennan Armstrong was impressive in his first career start, passing for 269 yards and two scores and rushing for 47 yards and a touchdown. The lefty did throw a pair of interceptions but still did enough for the Cavaliers to earn the victory. Armstrong was a four-year starter at Shelby High in Shelby, Ohio and was ranked as a three-star recruit for the class of 2018.
2. Senior linebacker Zane Zandier led Virginia in tackles last season and picked up where he left off against Duke. The Pittsburgh native was all over the field against the Blue Devils, recording 15 tackles, including two for loss.
3. Freshman receiver and South Carolina native Lavel Davis Jr. caught a pair of touchdowns against Duke and finished with four catches for 101 yards in his first college game. Davis attended Woodland High. He was not offered by Clemson.
Clemson vs Virginia, ACC betting odds for this week’s football games
- N.C. State at Pitt (-14), noon (ACC Network)
- North Carolina (-14) at Boston College, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
- Virginia Tech (-10.5) at Duke, 4 p.m. (ACC Network)
- Jacksonville State at Florida State (-26.5), 4 p.m. (RSN)
- Virginia at Clemson (-28), 8 p.m. (ACC Network)
