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Essentials
- The opponent: Clemson Tigers (7-3, 5-2 ACC)
- Time: 3:30 p.m.
- Television: ABC/ESPN
- Satellite Radio: XM 190, Sirius 215
- Group Viewing: Sabre GameWatcher
- Sabre Weather, Courtesy of Jason Samenow (BadgerHoo): Mostly cloudy, 57 degrees at kickoff – Updates throughout the week!
- The Sabre’s Game Info Page: Depth chart, stadium info and more
- Printable Roster Card: Click here for a one-page roster card to take to the game! (PDF format; to read it, you’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
Game Preview
If a football team doesn’t contain its opponent’s ground attack, it usually doesn’t win too many games. Virginia has defended the run on occasion – but against teams whose running game is its strength, the Hoos have consistently faltered.
Unless a Virginia team that ranks 118th out of 120 teams in FBS offense has an uncharacteristically big day on the road against Clemson this Saturday, the Cavaliers will have to contain C.J. Spiller and the Tiger running game to have a shot at winning. The Hoos’ track record with run defense against teams with sound ground games is not pretty. TCU, Southern Mississippi and Georgia Tech are the only three teams that Virginia has faced this season who rank in the top 25 nationally in run yardage; all three teams rolled for more than 200 yards on the ground. Clemson’s running attack is only the 43rd best in the nation, but Spiller has about as much potential upside as any back in the nation.
Clemson is on a five-game win streak, and has everything to play for – a win seals the Atlantic Division title for the Tigers. If the Cavaliers are looking for a tangible incentive in this game, one option might be to prevent Al Groh from locking up his worst record in his tenure at Virginia; the Hoos have never finished worse than 5-7 since Groh arrived in 2001. In all likelihood, though, the Cavaliers are simply playing for pride, as players said repeatedly after a loss last Saturday. And, if there is anything that has been a constant for the Cavaliers under Groh, it has been their resiliency.
Clemson, though, has Spiller, who is the cornerstone of an offense that has averaged 425.8 yards per game. He also is one of the most dangerous kick returners in the nation and a Heisman Trophy candidate. The rest of the Tiger offense is also no picnic to defend.
Here’s a look at the Tigers, as Virginia attempts to shed some positive light on the end of the season, and to make the ever-hazy ACC all the more unpredictable.
The Offense
- Offense: Spread/Multiple
- Returning starters: 7
- 2008 PPG: 25.2
- 2008 YPP: 5.2
- Offensive strengths: Speed, running backs, big-play threat
- Offensive questions: Third down conversions, passing game, first down rushing efficiency
- Offensive players to watch: RB C.J. Spiller, LG Thomas Austin, WR Jacoby Ford
Bonus Box – Offense |
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Spiller is a dynamic athlete before you even get to the football field; he has also run track for the Tigers since his freshman season, and last year was 13th in the nation in the 100 meters with a time of 10.30 seconds. And, of course, Spiller is no shrimp either – he stands at a compact 5’11”, 195 pounds. Then, once you look at his football numbers, Spiller is a model of consistency. He is rushing for 83.6 yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry on the season, and he hasn’t rushed for fewer than four yards per carry in a game since Clemson’s season-opening 37-13 romp over Middle Tennessee State, when he carried four times for 12 yards.
Blocking for Spiller is one of the more sound O-Lines in the conference, but it remains uncertain whether its best piece, left guard Thomas Austin, will play against Virginia. Austin suffered a foot sprain against N.C. State last Saturday, and is questionable for the Virginia game, though Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told reporters Wednesday that he expects Austin to start. A preseason All-ACC selection and a top prospect on Mel Kiper’s “Big Board,” Austin would be making his 34th consecutive start this Saturday.
Chris Hairston at left tackle makes the left side of the line Clemson’s clear strength. With Hairston out of the line-up against TCU and Maryland due to a knee injury, the Tigers ran for just 99 yards in two losses; with Hairston playing, Clemson is 7-1 and has rushed for 181.8 yards per contest. The rest of the offensive line has less experience, but as a whole, the O-Line has surrendered 16 sacks (3rd in the ACC), and 48 tackles for a loss (T-4th).
The biggest offensive improvement the Tigers have seen through 10 games is likely from their quarterback, redshirt freshman Kyle Parker. Like Spiller, Parker is a tremendous athlete – he is a two-year starter on the Clemson baseball team, having hit 26 home runs in his first two seasons. In his first year as the starting quarterback this season, Parker has been a force in Clemson’s five-game win streak. He has thrown for 190.6 yards per game with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions in the streak, and his completion percentage jumped from 48.7 percent in the first five games to 61 percent in the last five.
Parker obviously enjoys throwing to wide receiver Jacoby Ford, who continues to be a dominating presence in the receiving corps. Ford makes up for his small 5’10” frame with blinding speed – like Spiller, Ford also runs track, but Ford is even more successful. He won the National Championship in the 60-meter event in indoor track last year, and recorded 100-meter dash time of 10.01 seconds. Ford leads the Tigers with 39 catches, and has 24 consecutive games with a reception.
With former tight ends coach Billy Napier being promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach this season, the tight end has been thrown to more often – Michael Palmer had just 14 catches last year, but is now second on the team with 27. Parker also obviously utilizes Spiller in the passing game, but not just as a dump-off option; Spiller averages 15.9 yards per catch on his 24 receptions.
Clemson often runs out of the spread formation in three- and four-wide receiver sets. The Tigers carry the ball about four more times per game than last season, and throw roughly two fewer passes per game. They continue to be a downfield threat with Parker under center; he has completed 27 passes of 20 yards or more, 11 of them to Ford and six to Spiller. And, of course, Spiller is always a threat to break a big run. He has 23 carries for 10 yards or more and 8 carries for at least 20 yards. In eight of the Tigers’ 10 games, Spiller has rushed at least once for 58 or more yards.
“Obviously, when you do have players like Ford and Spiller, they should be featured,” Groh said. “They can’t maybe just overwhelm everything else, but by the same token, if you weren’t featuring them, the question would be, why aren’t those two guys getting the ball as much as they should? So unfortunately they get their fair share of shots in the game.”
Where the Tigers have made the biggest strides this year is in ball security – after committing 29 turnovers for a -1 total margin last season, the Tigers have turned the ball over only 19 times with a +6 margin so far this season.
The Defense
- Defense: 4-3
- Returning starters: 8
- 2008 PPG Allowed: 17.3
- 2008 YPP Allowed: 4.5
- Defensive Strengths: Red zone defense, secondary, defensive line, cornerbacks
- Defensive questions: Linebackers, safeties
- Defensive players to watch: CB Crezdon Butler , LB Kavell Conner, NG Jarvis Jenkins
Bonus Box – Defense |
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The Clemson defense has been sporadic. Sure, against the ground-eating offenses of Georgia Tech and TCU, the Tigers surrendered 388 and 418 yards, respectively, but they also allowed 294 yards in a 24-21 loss to a generally woeful Maryland offense. Conversely, they held Boston College – their chief competition for the Atlantic Division title – to 54 yards of offense in a 25-7 Clemson victory. Overall, the Tiger defense to this point is a similar unit to last year’s in many ways – both averaged close to 300 yards of offense allowed, with roughly 130 of those on the ground and roughly 170 in the air.
The key to Swinney’s defense is the secondary – Clemson’s 167.3 passing yards allowed per game is second in the ACC. The more mind-boggling stat, though, is that the Tigers already have 20 interceptions, the highest total in the nation and six more than any other ACC team. Remarkably, DeAndre McDaniel has eight of them, which ties an all-time single-season Clemson record – that number is even more impressive given that this is McDaniel’s first year at strong safety, after playing linebacker for two seasons. Free safety Marcus Gilchrist has contributed five interceptions. Corner Crezdon Butler is also capable of a take-away – he has a lone pick this season, but his 11 career interceptions tie him with McDaniel for the active ACC leader.
One of the Tigers’ most prolific players in the front seven is defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, but he has missed the last three contests with a sprained MCL, and is questionable for Saturday. Swinney told reporters Wednesday, though, that he believes Bowers will play against Virginia, and that he did not look tentative for the first time since the injury in Wednesday’s practice. Bowers was the leading tackler on the D-Line in 2008 with 52 stops, and has tallied 38 tackles already this season plus three TFL and three sacks in his limited action.
Opposite Bowers is defensive end Ricky Sapp , who is tied for the team lead with 10 TFL, is first in sacks with four, and is second in quarterback pressures with 14. Also with 10 TFL is tackle Jarvis Jenkins, while middle linebacker Brandon Maye leads Clemson with 15 pressures and has 70 tackles to lead the front seven. Kyle Conner is the veteran leader of the front seven – his 63 tackles this season give him 265 for his career, the most among active Clemson players.
What allows Clemson’s safeties to make so many interceptions is their tendency to play man-to-man in a look that resembles Cover 2. Clemson excels in not allowing the big play on the ground, as teams have just seven rushes of 20 yards or more; opponents’ 23 passes of 20 yards or greater, meanwhile, are more than balanced out by the Tigers’ 20 interceptions, though only one of them has been returned for a TD.
The Special Teams
Though Spiller is a dominant running back, his best chance for a game-changing play comes on kick returns. Spiller averages 33.9 yards per return – fourth in the nation – including three touchdowns. He also has shown explosion on punt returns, averaging 31.8 yards on six attempts with one TD. It is Ford, however, who handles most of the punt return duties, though he is averaging just 13.3 yards on eight returns.
Swinney is not afraid to use Richard Jackson from far-away distances on field goals. Jackson had a 53-yard field goal early in the year, though he has missed all four of his attempts between 45 and 50 yards. Jackson is 17-25 on the year overall with his worst outing coming last week when he missed both of his attempts from 38 and 26 yards. Jackson’s strong leg, however, has made him a weapon on kickoffs – his 65.2-yard kicking average is tied for first in the ACC, and kickoff coverage has been outstanding for the Tigers; they allow just 19.8 yards per return.
In the punt game, Dawson Zimmerman has a 39.7-yard punting average that has remained quite consistent – his per-game average has ranged from 32.2 to 44.8 yards, and he has put between 1 and 2 balls inside the 20 in each game. Punt coverage, though, has Clemson sitting at the 11th in the ACC with a net punt average of 33 yards per punt.
The Final Word
Last season’s 13-3 loss to Clemson at Scott Stadium was one of those turnover-ridden games that Wahoo fans remember all too well. Neither team gained more than 200 yards of total offense, but Virginia’s was more counterproductive, turning the ball over four times to the Tigers’ one.
This year’s Tiger team is even better at turning over its opponents, and Virginia can expect Clemson to aggressively seek out turnovers as it tries to wrap up the Atlantic Division. Offensively, the Tigers may give the ball to Spiller even more than usual, as the Cavaliers have yet to prove they can stop a solid ground game.
In order to pick up an improbable win on the road, Virginia will first and foremost have to manage Clemson’s knack for big plays. Whether it’s Spiller in the running game or on kick returns, deep balls from Parker to Ford or Spiller in the passing game, or an interception from the Tigers’ ball-seeking secondary, Virginia must make Saturday’s game a slug-it-out affair.
Moreover, Saturday’s contest will be a true test to see if this Virginia team has reached its breaking point. In one of the most raucous stadiums in the ACC, against a hungry opponent, and facing a Heisman Trophy candidate, the challenge will not so much to be whether the Cavaliers win the game, but whether they can continue to put up a fight.
