The Clemson Tigers and the Virginia Tech Hokies will settle their differences in the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The contest will decide who has the rights to call themselves 2016 ACC Conference champions. The game is scheduled for Saturday, December 3rd at 8 p.m. ET and can be seen on the ABC Network. Heading into this contest, the Clemson Tigers are -10 point favorites and the over/under is penciled in at 58.
The last time these schools played was in 2012, when the Tigers notched a 38-17 victory in Death Valley. Clemson recorded three interceptions, including two off of Hokie quarterback Logan Thomas. Tiger’s running back Tajh Boyd also ran for two scores and passed for another.
#3 Clemson (11-1):
Dabo Swinney’s Tigers are coming off of an easy win over South Carolina in Death Valley, as Deshaun Watson tied his career high with six touchdown passes. Clemson took an early lead and never looked back, on their way to the team’s largest margin of victory in the rivalry since 1900.
All totaled, Watson has completed over 300 passes for over 3,600 yards with 34 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The multi-dimensional signal-caller also has gashed teams with his feet, running for 439 yards and four scores.
The Tiger’s running game has struggled some this year, but they seemed to get better as the season progressed. Running back Wayne Gallman is coach Dabo Sweeny’s first choice out of the back field. This year, he has carried the rock 179 times for almost 943 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson loves to spread the ball around to plenty of dangerous wide outs. Five different receivers have caught over 30 passes in 2016, and all have scored multiple times. Mike Williams leads the way, with 79 catches for 1,114 yards and 10 scores.
The Tigers are giving up just over 300 yards per contest in 2016. That effort is good enough to place them in at eighth in the country. Opposing quarterbacks have found it hard to do much of anything against the Tigers secondary. A big reason why is the pressure that their talented defensive line puts on them. Clemson is 12th in the country against the pass, allowing only 180 yards a game.
#23 Virginia Tech (9-3):
In Blacksburg last week, the Hokies used a career-high 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Sam Rogers to route Virginia 52-10. Justin Fuente’s team didn’t even need the victory, because they clinched their birth into the title game when North Carolina lost to NC State last weekend. It will be Virginia Tech’s first showing in the title game since 2011.
Hokies quarterback Jerrod Evans is quietly becoming one of the nation’s most productive players under center. Every week he has proven that he can beat teams with his arm and his legs.
This year, Evans has accumulated over 3,000 yards on just 226 attempts. The accurate passes have went for 26 touchdowns. More impressively, the man-under-center is also responsible for only five interceptions this season.
Virginia Tech got an impressive performance from their full back Sam Rodgers last week against Virginia. On most occasions, running back Travon McMillian has done most the damage out of the back field.
In 2016, the tail back has toted the rock 129 times for over 600 yards and four scores. It’s important to note, quarterback Jerrod Evans is Virginia Tech’s leading rusher, also scampering for 713 yards and eight touchdowns.
Three receivers catch the majority of the passes from quarterback Jerod Evans. Together, they have collected almost 170 catches for almost 2,300 yards and 18 touchdowns. Tight end Bucky Hodges is starting to become a favorite target of Evans. The stout player has 42 catches for almost 500 yards and seven trips to pay-dirt.
It’s pretty obvious that the defense in Blacksburg is back in 2016. Against the run this year, the unit is ranked 39th in the country allowing a tad over 145 yards a contest. In fact, Virginia Tech is also 20th in the country, allowing only 21.1 points per contest.
Trends and Notes:
The Tigers are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 neutral site games.
The Hokies are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
The Over is 4-1 in the Tigers last 5 games overall.
The Under is 18-7 in the Hokies last 25 conference games.
The Underdog is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings between the two schools.
Game Prediction:
The Clemson Tigers offense is starting to pick up some steam heading into this match-up against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Quarterback Deshaun Watson has been solid over the last three weeks and that will continue on Saturday.
Jerrod Evans may be the most underrated signal-caller in college football and his offense just put up 52 against Virginia last week. Virginia Tech will utilize his arm and his legs to put points on the board and try to stay up with Clemson’s high-powered attack.
Clemson has some unfinished business after last year’s loss in the championship game. The way they’ve been playing over the last month is indicative of that. The Tigers will give the Hokies more of the same and score enough points to win.
The Hokies’ offense has turned the corner and should find ways to score against the Tiger’s stout defense. That’s all you need to know in this ACC Conference championship game on neutral ground. Take the over 58 and watch Clemson advance to the College Football Playoffs.
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