CLEMSON – It’s a big weekend for this Clemson football team

The 23rd-ranked Tigers (6-2, 5-1) will hit the road to face Virginia Tech (5-4, 3-2), with Dabo Swinney’s team hoping to bounce back from the demoralizing home loss to Louisville.

5 things to watch out for

1. Pride is at stake: We’re about to find out exactly what this Clemson team is made of. The loss to Louisville all but dashed any hopes the Tigers had of advancing to the ACC championship game. Miami or SMU would have to lose twice for that to be possible.

So what’s left to play? As the playoffs expand to 12 teams this season, all NY6 bowls are now part of it. Second-tier bowls are about the only thing on the table at this point, barring a ton of unforeseen chaos. All that to say that this team plays out of pride.

Swinney did a really good job of pushing all the right buttons last year when the team entered the latter part of the season with a 4-4 record. It will take a similar effort to keep this season from being derailed.

2. Can the Tigers find a way to stop the run: The Tigers were completely gashed on the ground last week as the Cardinals racked up over 200 rushing yards. After a lackluster performance, Clemson is now allowing 140 rushing yards per game. For a program of this caliber, which prides itself on its ability to stop the run, this is unacceptable.

Things aren’t about to get any easier either. Even without leader Bhayshul Tuten, the Hokies managed to gain 249 rushing yards in last week’s loss to Syracuse. Tuten and his 6.7 yards per carry will likely be back for this one.

Even more concerning is the fact that backup quarterback Collin Schlee ran for 54 yards and this defense has had its share of difficulty slowing down athletic quarterbacks who can run. Starting quarterback Kyron Drones is even more of a threat with his legs and there’s a very good chance he’ll be back this week.

Can the Tigers find a way to slow down this high-powered rushing attack? Especially if Peter Woods can’t go? The defense allowed six runs of 10 or more yards last weekend, including two of more than 40. That can’t happen again this week, no matter who is available or unavailable.

3. Where are the explosives? Clemson completed just two passes that totaled more than 15 yards in last Saturday’s loss. One of them came late in the fourth quarter, after the game was all but decided. This offense reached its peak when it showed its ability to spread the field. The receivers need to provide more help to Cade Klubnik than last weekend, otherwise it could be another long night.

4. Can this team execute a basic FG attempt: Four times this season, Nolan Hauser has had a field goal attempt blocked. Twice against Florida State and two more this past weekend. Not once was this due to wrongdoing on his part. All four were blocked and each time it was due to a break in the protection on the left side.

There is absolutely no excuse for this problem to persist. These deficiencies should have been corrected weeks ago, but they reared their ugly head again against Louisville. Has this been resolved?

5. Win the battle at the line of scrimmage: Clemson just lost the battle at the point of attack last week. Louisville was the more physical team and for much of the night it wasn’t even close. On both sides of the ball.

After showing signs of massive improvement in year one under Matt Luke, the offensive line took a step back last week. The run blocking wasn’t up to par in the first half, as was the pass protection.

Things weren’t any better on the other side of the ball. The defensive line looked undisciplined much of the evening. Over-pursuit, bad angles and missed tackles were all problems.

To win this game, the Tigers must win the lines of scrimmage.

A limited number of signed Cade Klubnik road sign replicas are available! Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or buy online!