The Clemson Tigers football team heads up I-81 to face the Virginia Tech Hokies this weekend in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Tigers head into the matchup licking their wounds after they were thoroughly beaten by Louisville at home last weekend.
The loss left a lot of fans questioning a lot of things on both sides of the ball. One thing is for sure though. The Tigers have responded before after demoralizing losses, and I fully expect them to do so again. Against a very good VT squad.
Virginia Tech started the year with all of the pre-season hype a team can get. Pre-season ranked, returning 20 starters from a 7-6 season and seemingly having all of their skill players ready to take the next step. And then the season began, and early losses to Vanderbilt and Rutgers had softened the expectations. Injuries, as of late, stopped a three game winning streak, but this will be a huge test for our Tigers on Saturday.
Here is your preview of Clemson’s Week 11 Opponent, the Virginia Tech Hokies.
Virginia Tech Hokies (5-4 overall; 3-2 ACC)
Head Coach: Brent Pry (3rd Season)
Location: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia
Time: 3:30 PM
Wins against: Marshall, Old Dominion, Stanford, Boston College, Georgia Tech
Losses against: Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Miami, Syracuse
Offense
Offensive Coordinator – Tyler Bowen (3rd Season)
In his third season in Blacksburg, Bowen has the Virginia Tech offense rejuvenated led by a young quarterback, Kyron Drones. Bowen runs a more power-spread offense. One that utilizes the quarterback run as well as the tight ends in the passing game. There will be a lot of RPO and the middle of the field is key to the passing game. Add into that a tremendous running back (Bhayshul Tuten) and you have a quality offensive attack.
Virginia Tech is averaging 385.7 total yards per game (73rd in the country), with 184.2 (114th) coming through the air and 201.4 (26th) on the ground. Tech has scored 30.8 points per game (T-45th).
Here is a look at the projected starters for the Hokies on offense:
| Position | Name (#) | Year | 2024 Statistics |
| Quarterback | Kyron Drones (1) | RS Junior | 127-204 62.3%; 1447 yds, 10 TDs, 5 Ints; 87 rush, 323 yds, 6 TDs |
| Running Back | Bhayshul Tuten (33) | Senior | 142 rush, 951 yds, 12 TDs; 18 catches, 56 yds, 2 TDs |
| Wide Receiver | Da’Quan Felton (9) | Graduate | 24 catches, 242 yds, 2 TDs; 1 rush, 10 yds |
| Wide Receiver | Jaylin Lane (83) | RS Senior | 29 catches, 353 yds, TD; 10 rush, 76 yds, 2 TDs |
| Wide Receiver | Ali Jennings (0) | Graduate | 5 catches, 129 yds, 2 TDs |
| Tight End | Benji Gosnell (82) | RS Sophomore | 27 catches, 279 yds, 2 TDs |
| Left Tackle | Xavier Chaplin (65) | RS Sophomore | |
| Left Guard | Bob Schick (75) | RS Senior | |
| Center | Braelin Moore (61) | RS Sophomore | |
| Right Guard | Kaden Moore (68) | RS Senior | |
| Right Tackle | Parker Clements (70) | RS Senior |
Defense
Defensive Coordinator: Chris Marve (3rd Season)
Coach Marve employs a 4-3 defense. The Vanderbilt alumni had a top 20 defense last season for the Hokies. They are a load up front, led by Antwaun Powell-Ryland who is leading in the nation in sacks this season (12). This will be a big test for the Tigers offensive line and something to follow on Saturday afternoon.
Virginia Tech’s defense is currently giving up 22.3 points per game (T-49th in the country). They are giving up an average of 363.1 yards per game (60th) through 9 games this season. 157.6 yards coming on the ground (83rd) and 205.6 through the air (T-46th).
Here is a look at the projected starters along with their statistics from their early season slate for the Hokies defense:
| Position | Name (#) | Year | 2024 Statistics |
| Defensive End | Antwaun Powell-Ryland (52) | RS Senior | 34 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 12 Sacks; 2 FFs, 3 FRs, Blocked Kick |
| Defensive Tackle | Wilfried Pene (91) | RS Senior | 25 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2.5 Sacks |
| Defensive Tackle | Aeneas Peebles (16) | Graduate | 26 tackles, 5 TFLs, 3 Sacks, FR |
| Defensive End | Cole Nelson (17) | Senior | 23 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 Sack; FF |
| Strongside Linebacker | Keonta Jenkins (7) | Graduate | 46 tackles, 4 TFLs, Int |
| Middle Linebacker | Jaden Keller (24) | RS Junior | 56 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 2 FR |
| Weakside Linebacker | Caleb Woodson (20) | Sophomore | 49 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 2 Sacks, |
| Cornerback | Mansoor Delane (4) | Junior | 41 tackles, TFL, 3 Ints |
| Safety | Jaylen Jones (15) | Senior | 28 tackles, 0.5 TFL, Int |
| Safety | Mose Phillips III (18) | Sophomore | 51 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, Sack, Int, FF |
| Cornerback | Dorian Strong (44) | Graduate | 18 tackles, FR |
Virginia Tech is a +5 in turnover margin on the season and has 16 takeaways (T-17th) with 8 interceptions and 8 fumble recoveries. They have 11 turnovers, 6 fumbles and 5 interceptions on the season.
Special Teams
Here is a look at the projected starters on Special Teams for the Hokies: .
| Position | Name (#) | Year | 2024 Statistics |
| Kicker | John Love (17) | RS Sophomore | 10-11; long of 57 yds |
| Punter | Peter Moore (85) | RS Senior | 45.4 yd avg. long of 61 yds |
| Punt Returner | Jaylin Lane (83) | RS Senior | 11.6 yd avg.; long of 55 yds; TD |
| Kick Returner | Thomas Williams (23) | RS Freshman | 17.3 yds avg. long of 22 yds |
Summary
This has been a tough week for Tiger fans. We have been hearing it from the national media as well as on all of the message boards. The fans are not happy with last week’s performance, and more importantly, the players are disgusted with their play from a week ago. They were exposed a little bit. There’s only one way to go, and that is up.
I fully expect this team to have a great week of practice and take to the road and give their best effort this week against an extremely talented rushing football team. This will be a huge test for our Tigers. The remaining four weeks have a ton of rushing attacks being thrown at the Tiger defense. They cannot afford to give last week’s effort in stopping the run if they want to end the rest of the season unscathed. Huge game for the Tigers.
