Virginia Tech vs Clemson Line
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
This Saturday the Virginia Tech Hokies and Clemson Tigers will face off in the ACC Championship Game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Tigers rolled passed the Hokies 23-3 at Virginia Tech back on Oct. 1, but it’s Virginia Tech who comes in playing the best football down the stretch. The Hokies went on to win their final seven games of the regular season to finish 11-1, while the Tigers come in having lost three of their last four after opening the season 8-0. Not only do these two teams have a lot to prove, but they are playing for an automatic bid to a BCS bowl game.
Taking a look at the week 14 lines, oddsmakers currently have Virginia Tech favored by 7-points over Clemson with the total set at 52.5 points.
Virginia Tech:
It should come as no surprise that the Hokies are playing their best football as the season winds down. It has been a staple for head coach Frank Beamer, and you can bet his team is going to play a lot better than it did in the first meeting against the Tigers. Despite their 11-1 record, a weak non-conference schedule seems to have taken the Hokies out of the National Title picture. I believe the lack of respect only fuels this team to play even harder, but they won’t need any extra motivation when they step on the field against Clemson.
Offensively the Hokies come in 37th in total yards per game (423.0) and 44th in points per game (30.1), but were unable to get much of anything going in their loss to Clemson. The Hokies managed just 3-points on 258 yards of total offense. Sophomore quarterback Logan Wilson was held to just 125 yards on 15 of 27 passing, while star running back David Wilson managed just 123 yards on 20 attempts.
I believe their is plenty of reason to believe Virginia Tech will have a much better performance this time around, and it all starts with the sophomore quarterback. Since that loss to Clemson, Thomas has really stepped up his game. He’s averaging 234 ypg during the Hokies seven game win streak with 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions. Coming into the game against Clemson he was averaging just 190 ypg with four touchdowns to five interceptions.
The other difference maker is Wilson, who is third in the country with 1,595 rushing yards. He did his part against the Tigers earlier this season, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Now that he has Thomas playing better alongside him, the Hokies should be able to take advantage of a Clemson defense that finished 86th against the run, allowing an average of 186.5 ypg on the ground.
Clemson:
It’s hard to figure out exactly what has gone wrong with the Tigers over the last month of the season, but it would be foolish to overlook this team. Their perfect season was ended in 17-31 loss to Georgia Tech. They would go on to clinch the ACC Atlantic in their next game against Wake Forest, before suffering two horrible losses at NC State (13-37) and South Carolina (13-34). The big question you have to ask yourself is whether or not this team packed it in once they knew they were going to play in the conference title game. This is still the same team that knocked off three ranked teams in consecutive weeks (#21 Auburn, #11 Florida State, and #11 Virginia Tech).
Offensively the Tigers opened up the season putting up a ridiculous amount of points on the board. During their 8-0 start to the season they averaged just over 40 ppg. That number has dropped to 33.3 ppg, as they have managed to score just 18.5 ppg over their last four.
In their game against Virginia Tech, the Tigers didn’t exactly have a great offensive performance. Sophomore quarterback Tajh Boyd was just 13 of 32 for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Andrew Ellington and Mike Bellamy each finished with a rushing touchdown, but combined for just 87 yards on 22 attempts. Sensational freshman wide out Sammy Watkins was held to a season-low three catches for 38 yards.
With the Hokies offense playing much better than it was the last time these two teams played, it’s going to come down to whether or not the Tigers can get the offense back on track. While Virginia Tech comes in 9th against the run (98.7 ypg) , they are 40th against the pass (203.3 ypg). Head coach Dabo Sweeney and his assistants have to find a way to get Watkins involved. His big play ability is what they have to have to win this game, as they aren’t going to run over the Hokies with their ground game.
Betting Trends:
Virginia Tech is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games as a favorite of 3.5-10.0.
Clemson is 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0.
Got something to say?
