It’s been an ugly one in Blacksburg so far for the Clemson Tigers.
Anyone hoping the Clemson Tigers‘ 33-21 loss to the Louisville Cardinals last week in Death Valley was a “one-off” — albeit one with incredibly bad timing this late into the regular season — to a team with a great defensive game plan has had a rude awakening.
A week after the loss to Louisville, Clemson hoped for a turnaround against a Virginia Tech Hokies team with four losses. It’s been anything but that so far at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech leads Clemson, 7-0, at halftime. Here’s how both teams got to that point.
Clemson’s offense can’t finish drives
After Clemson’s defense opened the game with a three-and-out stop, Cade Klubnik and the offense’s first drive got off to a promising start. But the Tigers couldn’t finish after using 15 plays to move the ball 48 (net) yards to the Virginia Tech 32.
Klubnik was picked off by Jaylen Jones on a jump pass at the 4-yard line. The Tigers took 6:31 off the clock but came away with zero points.
On its second drive, Clemson went for it on 4th and 2 at the Virginia Tech 26-yard line, but Klubnik was sacked on a play that was blown up by Cole Nelson on the right side of the Tigers’ defensive line.
Clemson’s offensive line is flailing
After the first quarter, Clemson had seven first downs to Virginia Tech’s one. The Tigers had 91 yards of total offense while holding the Hokies to 35 yards (23 of which came on one chunk play). But the Tigers also allowed three sacks in the opening period.
After T.J. Parker forced a fumble by Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones early in the second quarter, Clemson took over with promising field position at the Hokies’ 36. But Klubnik failed to scramble for a first down when he attempted to run on 3rd and 1 and lost two yards as the O-line broke down again.
Special teams continues to be an issue for Clemson… and a plus for Virginia Tech
Clemson, which has had issues in the kicking game for the past two seasons, proceeded to line up for a 46-yard Nolan Hauser field goal try. The kick was blocked by Keyshawn Burgos and returned for a touchdown on a scoop and score by Quentin Reddish for the game’s first (and only) points.
It was Hauser’s sixth blocked kick of the season, and the third in the last two games.
At halftime, Clemson has nine first downs to Virginia Tech’s seven. The Hokies have amassed only 96 total yards against the Tigers’ 4-3 defense while Clemson has been held to 152. Klubnik was off-kilter, completing just 8-of-19 attempts for 81 yards with the interception plus the three sacks.
There have been other mistakes as well. Normally sure-handed receiver Antonio Williams dropped a wide-open pass early in the second quarter that could have gone for big yards. Klubnik then overthrew Bryant Wesco who was open on a streak pattern down the left sideline.
With the No. 4 Miami Hurricanes falling on the road to Georgia Tech in a 28-23 upset, Clemson would still need another Miami loss or an SMU loss to get back into the ACC championship race. But none of that can happen if the Tigers can’t fix their own woes starting in the second half against a hungry Virginia Tech team.
