Division Leaders Square Off In Big-Time ACC Battle

 For Virginia Tech, it’s a chance for redemption. For Clemson, it’s just another game as a target.

 The ACC foes square off Saturday night at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg in the marquee game of the weekend. The Hokies are ranked 13^th in the nation while Clemson comes in as the nation’s No. 2 squad.

 

Virginia Tech QB Josh Jackson has shown steady leadership (The Virginian-Pilot)

  The teams played a memorable ACC Championship game last year, Clemson hanging on for a 42-35 win after Virginia Tech came back from 35-14 down in the second half. Fans may be pointing to that game as a rallying cry, but Hokies coach Justin Fuente isn’t.

 “We haven’t talked about and won’t talk about it,” Fuente said. “I think everybody handles those things differently. That was last year. My message was that that was last year’s team – last year’s Virginia Tech team versus last year’s Clemson team. This is a completely different situation. We’ve got guys that played in that game and are no longer here, and so do they. So we won’t use it as a reference point.

“We battled, our guys believed, they fought, and I tell you what, I knew we were gonna win, and I was wrong. We didn’t. It hurts, you know?”

 Both teams boast strong defenses, Clemson allowing just 9.3 points per game, third best in the nation and Virginia Tech giving up just 10.3 per game, sixth best. Virginia Tech gets it done mostly with its back seven, while Clemson swarms the backfield with the best front four in America.

 It should be a fascinating battle, and the team that best weathers the storm and makes the adjustments wins.

 Clemson already has some impressive pelts on its wall, beating ranked foes Auburn and Louisville, which gives Tigers coach Dabo Swinney optimism.

 “We’re battle tested,” Swinney said. “We’ve played two top-15 teams, one of them at their place. And then we played a tough Boston College team – physical. So we’ve had our noses bloodied. We’ve had to respond to some adversity. It hasn’t all been just rosy.

“Had some emotional moments. Had big plays go against them. We’ve had some physical matchups. We played against an unbelievable quarterback in Lamar (Jackson). We played against great defenses.”

 Tech is led by linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who has 4.5 tackles for loss and is the spiritual leader on Bud Foster’s unit. End Andrew Motuapuaka has been a pest, posting 2.5 sacks and emerging as one of the better pass rushers in the ACC.

 Offensively, redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Jackson has been up to the challenge, completing 65.2 percent of his passes and posting a nifty 11-1 TD-INT ratio. He’s also not afraid to push the ball downfield, averaging a healthy 9.8 yards per attempt. His favorite target is senior receiver Cam Phillips, who already has 34 catches, fourth best nationally, and averages 15.4 yards per catch. Phillips has found the end zone five times, and will need to a priority for the Clemson defense. Tech has done a good job protecting Jackson, allowing just four sacks this season.

 Clemson was flash last season behind the masterful play of quarterback Deshaun Watson, but this year the Tigers have become more of a grind it out offense. Kelly Bryant has been up and down as a passer, boasting an impressive 67.9 completion percentage, but much of that has been safe passes to the running back or underneath throws to crossing receives. Bryant has just two touchdown passes, but he’s proven dangerous as a runner, scoring seven touchdowns on 66 carries.

  

Clemson DE Austin Bryant has been a sack machine (The Post and Courier)

 The Tigers use a committee approach in the backfield, but freshman Travis Etienne has been explosive, averaging nearly 13 yards per carry and scoring four touchdowns, and Tavien Feaster has been more of the power option. Deon Cain and Hunter Renfrow are experienced receivers and will be part of the game plan.

  

 Defense is where Clemson makes its bones, however. End Austin Bryant has five sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss, and inside man Christian Wilkins can wreak havoc in the backfield (2.5 TFL) and drop into coverage. There aren’t many as versatile as he is, and Fuente knows that he will have to get creative on offense, especially since Clemson has already posted 17 sacks.

  

 “It’s not a read and react situation,” Fuente said. “It’s a pin your ears back and try to create havoc.”

 Phillips is looking forward to the spotlight and knows this will be a big chance for Tech to prove itself against one of the big boys.

  

 “A lot of people don’t get these chances, and I will say we worked to get here, it wasn’t just handed to us,” Phillips said. “Some people didn’t think we would be 4-0, whatever that may be, but we’re here now, and we get a big game into our house this weekend.”

  

 Swinney knows that Lane Stadium will be charged up from the outset, and he will have to make sure his team doesn’t get overwhelmed by the spectacle of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and the raucous Hokies crowd.

 Playing at Louisville early took some of the nerves away, so Swinney sees this as more of a chance to build.

 “Any time you can draw from experience, it can kind of give you an understanding of what to expect,” Swinney said. “When you take a team on the road to Louisville early in the season, with a bunch of new guys that haven’t played on the road, that’s really good experience.

“So now those young guys have been in that and they can hopefully draw a little bit from it.”

 Clemson has won the last four meetings, including 23-3 in their last trip to Blacksburg, in 2011.

  

 Fuente knows that this is a golden opportunity for his team, but he also knows that there is zero margin for error if the Hokies want to show the nation they have truly arrived.

  

 “You’re not going to get away with much of anything,” Fuente said. “You make a mistake, they’re going to make you pay. You can’t take one step in the wrong direction or hesitate for half a step when you’re playing the type of talent that we’re going to go up to. It’s like defusing a bomb. Like one small snip of the wire that’s incorrect, and boom. You blow your hands off. That’s how talented and how good they are.”

Clemson D Has Huge Challenge Ahead In Cards' Jackson

 In one corner, you have the defending national champion, and in the other you have the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.

 The teams played a classic last year, easily one of the top three regular season games of 2016, and should stage another memorable contest this Saturday as third-ranked Clemson heads to No. 14 Louisville to take on Lamar Jackson and company.

 The Tigers won 42-36 last year in a contest that had a ton of second half fireworks, including a 100-yard kickoff return from Louisville and two final possessions that ended with a missed field and a gain of 11 yards on fourth-and-12 with 33 seconds remaining. The teams combined for over 1,000 yards of offense, but it was Clemson that was able to exhale once the clock hit zero.

 "Hopefully we can do a little better job taking care of the ball and maximizing our opportunities when they present themselves," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said, recalling that both Clemson turnovers resulted in Louisville touchdown drives.

Lamar Jackson puts pressure on every defense that faces him (Boston Globe)

 Clemson put the clamps on Auburn last week, netting 11 sacks and holding the visiting Tigers to just 68 total net yards, including 38 rushing yards on 42 attempts. While Auburn doesn't have anyone as dynamic as Jackson, Clemson was excellent at the line of scrimmage and had linebackers who filled holes on the rare occasions when Auburn wasn't stopped in its own backfield.

 That kind of attention to detail will be huge against Jackson, the nation's most dynamic runner. He has gotten stronger this year, meaning he can pull away from sure tackles, and still has the wheels to outrun anyone to the end zone.

 To say that he's made Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables just a tad nervous would be quite the understatement.

 "Some of it is fun, and then the more you see of it, the more sick you get because of all the plays he makes, even when it's not there," Venables said.

 Louisville (2-0) has added some wrinkles to its offense, which last year was almost exclusively zone read and spread. There are multiple formations, even some pro style looks, and Jackson has shown great touch on his deep ball, passes he wasn't consistently completing in 2016.

 "He's got a great arm, tremendous, natural wiry stuff," Venables said. "You've got a free corner on a blitz (vs. UNC) and he throws a 75-yard touchdown when the corner just falls off of him. Those are the kinds of things a special player can do. It's one thing to take what's there. He can make something out of nothing all day."

 Don't be surprised if Clemson (2-0) rushes with four, occasionally stunting up front, and spying Jackson with a linebacker, either Dorian O'Donnell or Kendall Joseph. That may or may not be enough, but it should at least make Jackson work for his yardage.

 "Lamar Jackson is an unbelievable player and fun to watch," Swinney said. "He's not fun to prepare for and not fun to play against. I'd much prefer to watch him, I enjoy that a lot better, but we've got our hands full with this guy."

 Jackson leads the nation in total offense, averaging 505 yards per game. Clemson has allowed just five plays over 10 yards, and only one over 20, so it's a matchup of strength vs. strength. While Jackson merits that kind of attention, running back Malik Williams is coming off a career-high 149 yard rushing day against North Carolina.

 Clemson has weapons of its own, as running backs Tavien Feaster, C.J. Fuller and Travis Etienne all average over five yards per carry and have four touchdowns between them. They could add some pop to the Tigers ground attack.

 "Clemson present a great challenge," Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino said. "On offense we have to be able to mix the run and pass effectively. Defensively, we need to find a way to shut down their rushing attack. They also have three receivers that we know very well, and their quarterback has looked extremely good so far."

Kelly Bryant has big shoes to fill for Clemson (The State)

 That quarterback, Kelly Bryant, is anonymous compared to Jackson, but has played well in his own right, completing 68.6 percent of his passes and rushing for 136 yards and three touchdowns. He may not be as electric running the ball as Jackson is, but he has been effective, and has shown Deshaun Watson qualities at times.

 Louisville will likely be without standout corner Jaire Alexander (knee), which means Bryant may look to pass a little bit more this week. But Louisville's defense will keep Clemson honest.

 "I'm sure they will have a few wrinkles that maybe we have not seen," Swinney said. "It's still early in the season, so I doubt that they have used their whole arsenal yet. They have a good veteran group back and a lot of guys that are experienced. We will be ready for whatever they present."

 Each of the last three games have been nailbiters, all Clemson victories, by a total of 15 points, and Petrino feels that being so close will help his veteran bunch.

 "I am hoping that our experience last year with Florida State (a 63-20 win) and going on the road at Clemson will help us," Petrino said. "I thought that, at Clemson, when we started the game we had some guys that were too hyped up, so hopefully that won't be a problem this time.

 "The crowd can make all the difference in the world in a game like this. There's a reason why we have a lot of sacks at home on third down, and that goes all the way back to the Elvis (Dumervil) days. There's no question our crowd has helped us before, and we just have to take it up another notch this week."

 Louisville is 6-1 in home openers under Petrino, but 0-3 all-time against defending national champions.

 Clemson, which has won its last 10 road games, had just 264 yards and turned the ball over twice against Auburn, yet still managed to put together drives of 10 plays (missed field goal), 13 plays (TD) and 10 plays (TD). If Clemson has the ball, Jackson won't be on the field, which means he cannot do any damage.

 And whether shootout or defensive slugfest, Swinney just wants to end the night on the right side of the decision.

 "We just want to win," he said. "We are not trying to win any point show, we are not trying to win the stat wars. We just want to win the game. I'll take 3-2 right now ... 3-2, shake the hand and come on back to the house and let y'all (media) talk about how bad the offense is, and we'll be 3-0 and moving on to the next one."