Keys to Victory: No. 1 Clemson vs. Virginia

Each week we give you a look at the history of the game, three keys to success, plus Swanny’s prediction.

The Match-Up:

#1 Clemson (2-0 overall, 1-0 ACC) vs. Virginia (1-0 overall, 1-0 ACC)

Clemson vs. Virginia 2019

Series History:

Clemson leads: 39-8-1
at Clemson: 20-3-1
at Virginia: 18-5
Neutral: Clemson leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Clemson won 62-17 (Dec. 7, 2019)
Last Virginia win: 30-10 (2004)
Streak: Clemson has won 4 straight in the series

Tracking History:

Clemson on Saturdays: The Tigers enter the contest having won 45 consecutive Saturday games, tied with the 1953-57 Oklahoma Sooners for the longest streak in FBS history, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Clemson can take sole possession of the longest Saturday streak in FBS history with a win Saturday night.

Stat of the Week:

Clemson is attempting to win a fifth consecutive game against Virginia for the first time since opening its all-time series against the Cavaliers with a 29-game winning streak across the 1955-89 seasons. That previous 29-game winning streak is tied for the sixth-longest winning streak in FBS history for one team over another.

Clemson Sports Talk

Lyn-J Dixon carries the ball against UVA in the ACC Championship last December.

Key 1: Trim the trees

Entering tonight’s contest in Death Valley, Virginia will have a decided height advantage at wide receiver and tight end. Lavel Davis, a 6’7 210-pound freshman, caused issues for the Duke Blue Devils last weekend, snagging four receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the Cavs 38-20 win.

The thing many Tiger fans might not know is that the Wahoos also have a 6’7 258-pound tight end, Tony Poljan could also create a mismatch against Clemson’s defense.

We asked Coach Swinney about the duo and what Clemson needs to do to contain the lengthy Cavaliers targets.

"First thing, you got to challenge them, you got to get up there and compete with them at the line of scrimmage. Try to make them work to get down the field. Then it's competitiveness on the ball, timing on the ball, all those type of things-- rerouting people, not letting them have, again, free releases, and make them have to have wider arcs and things like that. That cuts the field space down, use the sideline as a defender as well, to where the quarterback has to make a very, very precise throw, because there's not much room to work with."

Keep an eye on the length of UVA tonight against a Clemson secondary that boasts their tallest player at just 6’2.

Key 2: Establish Etienne

Two games into the 2020 season, and we’ve yet to see Travis Etienne have one of those “wow” moments. Limited to just 25 carries and just 170 yards in two games, mostly due to playing time, Etienne has to be chomping at the bit to put up a huge performance.

All offseason, we discussed the possibility of both Etienne and Trevor Lawrence making a run for the Heisman Trophy, and if the duo is going to pull it off, Etienne has to begin putting up huge yardage.

Last year against UVA, Etienne rushed for 114 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown. That’s an average of 8.1 yards per carry. Ideally, we’d like to see Etienne hit the 150-yard mark today with at least two scores, giving Etienne a solid performance heading into the Miami game.

After not scoring against The Citadel, if Etienne gets in the endzone this week, he will tie Florida’s Tim Tebow (38 games from 2006-09), and Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Dixon (38 from 2012-15) for the Football Bowl Subdivision record with career games with a touchdown scored.

Key 3: Frustrate UVA upfront

Clemson’s youth on the defensive line has been a strength this year as Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee have lived up to the billing through the first two games of the season.

Now that teams have some film of the dynamic freshman duo, is there something on tape that UVA can exploit at the line of scrimmage? 

Our guess is that neither player has presented enough to take advantage of and the disruptions that they’ve caused, along with rest of Clemson’s defensive front will create trouble on the ground and through the air against Virginia.

If the Tigers can get into Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s head, he could have a long night ahead of him. Tonight will be just his second college start and Clemson presents quite a challenge.

“He’s a challenge. He’s a problem. He’s a really good player,” Swinney said. “He looks like a young Steve Young out there. Lefty, crafty, creative, extends plays, tough runner, really good size, accurate thrower, really has no fear. Puts the ball up and trusts his guys to make competitive plays.”

Prediction:

I’ve laughed all week at the way Dabo Swinney made last season’s 62-17 win over Virginia feel like a close game heading into the latter moments.

Clemson cruised in Charlotte against the Coastal Division Champions last season, and I don’t see why they won’t cruise this evening either.

Clemson has won a school-record 23 straight home games and is a national-best 42-1 at home since 2014. The Tigers have outscored opponents 1782-548 at home in that span, an average victory margin of 28.7 points per game. This one will fall into that same range.

Swanny’s Prediction: 47-17 Clemson