VIRGINIA TECH PREVIEW

#15 Virginia Tech (4-1, 1-0 ACC) @ #22 Clemson (4-1, 2-1 ACC) Saturday, October 6th, 6 PM EST, ESPN HD, XM 191 (Clemson feed), XM 193 (ISP feed).

The Line: Clemson -5.5

Edge goes to:

Offense: Clemson

Defense: Push (Clemson third overall in ACC, VT fourth overall)

Special Teams: Virginia Tech

Intangibles: Clemson and the noise of Death Valley countering the mojo of the neckbubble.


Our Panel of Probably Drunk Derelicts Say:

Willy Mac: There they are. Those are my orange tinted glasses... in the trash. That loss was haunting. It wasn't Tommy's fault, it was solely placed on the players. It kind of reminded me about the Texas A&M game when we played them in College Station. Though the scores weren't similar, the effort from the Clemson bench was. We went on to drop three more in a row after that game. I say we at least lose this one due to aftershock. Then we turn around and throw down on Central Michigan. Please let me be wrong, but there were too many mistakes in that last game. I think we still play our heart out, but Virginia Tech still has too many answers. If we can pressure their quarterback (who is just awful) we might be able to pull this one off. Lastly, if we get Davis over 100 yards, and quit tryig to push CJ Spiller and let him work his own problems out, we could also improve our chances of winning. I saw a ridiculous stat the other day that stated we were 7-0 when Davis gets over 100 yards in a game. Oh, and who'd have thought that a game between South Carolina and Kentucky would have been so highly touted?

Virginia Tech 21, Clemson 17

Yeah, I don't see how this guy thought it was cool either.

Chili: That we lost to GT was not a surprise, that we looked so colossally inept in most facets of the game. Special teams, blocking, and our receivers were all pathetic. Do I think we can turn it around and beat VT? Sure, that's Clemson's MO. I also don't think VT has near the team they did last year. Tommy's Law, which I'll probably have to mention more than I care to this season, holds sway again, meaning either we win fairly easily or lose masterfully. I don't even care anymore.

Neckbubbles X, Rollercoaster Express Y

[I AM NOT EVEN USING A DELIGHTFUL PICTURE. BOOM.]

Seigler: I'm really not believing that we're favored in this game. Based on the meltdown we saw last weekend though, and the fact that I'll actually be at this game, I think the prediction might be accurate. I don't think we'll let VT dominate us again. Tommy knows this might be this season's key victory, and the one that might allow him to keep his job. Each year he defeats a team he's not supposed to , while getting embarrassed by a lesser opponent. This year, I think VT will be the team that keeps him around ( as if anyone thinks his job's really in danger). I think Clemson's defense will do fine this game, our special teams might kill us again though. Harper and the rest of the offense, particularly the line, are going to have to step it up or things will get very ugly. I'm really thinking that we might see Willy Korn this game. I know it wasn't really Harper's fault so much last game as his lack of protection, but I wanted to predict his fall from grace before the GT game. For fear of jinxing us (which I might have just for thinking it), I withheld my comments hoping that I was going to be wrong. I'm going to step over the line now though and say if he's not getting the job done ( ie, a one TD lead by half time, minimum) we'll see Korn come in and try his luck. This might be Harper's last game as a starter, as I'm predicting that Tommy might be looking to bench him ( based on the fact that Korn shot to the top of the depth chart during pre-season, and Korn might think of transferring if he doesn't get more playing time, just thoughts though). Despite all the politics involved, I think this will be a heck of a game. One I am certainly going to enjoy. We've got something to prove now, and if we have hope of getting anywhere this season we'll have to start on Saturday. In a close and hard fought game Clemson redeems themselves in the end.

Clemson 21 Virginia Tech 17