No. 3 Clemson will play his final 2020 regular-season game on Saturday at Lane Stadium in Virginia Tech. If the Tigers win, they will qualify for the ACC Championship Game for the sixth consecutive season and face the No. 2 Notre Dame again on December 19th.
Clemson’s game at Florida State was postponed, just hours before the ET kickoff in the afternoon, and the decision was followed by controversy in December. There were some questions left regarding the team’s opening date on the 12th. Will the Florida State game be played after that? Will Clemson decide to schedule another ACC opponent instead of a 10-game ACC schedule? What happens if Miami, who lost to Clemson, have a better winning percentage of 9-1 compared to Clemson’s 8-1 and so they are invited to the ACC Championship Game over the Tigers?
The ACC took the step to calm the waters of uncertainty with a simple announcement: the three teams arguing for the ACC Championship Game will be decided on a nine-game model rather than a 10-game model. Notre Dame has secured a spot, Clemson could win in Blackberg and Miami need a Tigers defeat, as well as wins against Duke (December 5) and North Carolina (December 12) to play for the convention title.
It’s easy for Tiger: win and regain with the Irish in Charlotte. Get lost and things become very difficult. Will the Tigers take care of the business against an enemy who has won more than five matches or will play hockey spoilers and end the reign of ACC Champs? Let’s take a look at the story behind the story before making some expert choices.
Storylines
Clemson: The damage at Notre Dame made up a lot due to the absence of star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but there were also other staffing issues that were arguably effective on the final result – especially when you consider the stellar game by DJ Yuagaleli in double-overtime. Damage. Both defensive tackle Taylor Davis and middle linebacker James Skalski were back in the lineup against Pete and their effects were felt early and often. This is not the first year that Clemson has suffered injuries on the defensive side of the ball just to be healthy and reach his full, most dominant form in the championship season. Basically it’s part of the way you handle injuries. Absence of startups can give younger players and backups a more significant game experience and beginners are not put back into action too soon. The end result is a defense that is res deep, fresher and healthier in the postseason, ready to quell the opposition in four quarters of an intense and physical game with a championship on the line.
Virginia Tech: The Hawkeys got off to a late start to the season but it made such a startling impression in the opening few weeks that the ACC Championship argument was taken into account. Virginia Tech have lost four of their last five games, seemingly in tears right now, including a home loss to Liberty, which was as much of a “gut punch” as it meets a blocked field goal. Score is called back due to pre-kick timeout. This is a team that has his identity behind the physically offensive line in the offense with Khalil Herbert Gugging Defense, but he loses his edge and is struggling to defend the pass against Pitt. Clemson’s arrival comes at a time of gut-checks taken by some gut punch teams in 2020, so how the Hawkeyes respond to the challenge will say a lot about the condition of the locker room here in December.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, December 5 | Time: 7:30 pm and
Location: Lane Stadium – Blacksburg, Virginia
TV: ABC | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Clemson picks on Virginia Tech game forecast
Tiger is ruthless on the way he takes care of the business as you get closer to the college football playoffs and I expect that to continue in Blacksburg. I made the mistake of being smarter and picking up against Clemson last week and I won’t make that mistake again. If Virginia Tech could defile the game, it would be able to cover it, but you don’t have to bet on unusual circumstances with the Clemson team, which is (again) looking for its best form at the end of the year. Pick: Clemson-22
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