Dr. Pepper ACC Football Championship Game
#5 Virginia Tech Hokies vs #20 Clemson Tigers
Bank Of America Stadium – Charlotte, North Carolina
Saturday, December 3, 2011, 8:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Virginia Tech -6 1/2
Current Line: Virginia Tech -7
Opening Total: 52 1/2
Current Total: 53 1/2
Opening Money Line: Virginia Tech -260 / Clemson +220
Current Money Line: Virginia Tech -265 / Clemson +225
The 11-1 Virginia Tech Hokies are #5 in the BCS standings. The Hokies have won 7 straight games under coach Frank Beamer. The only loss on their record came at home to Clemson October 1 23-3. The Hokies get a chance for revenge as the take on 9-3 Clemson in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte. The Tigers started off the season 8-0 but have lost 3 of their last 4 games under coach Dabo Swinney. The winner of Virginia Tech-Clemson is likely headed to the Orange Bowl against the Big East Champion, and the loser of this game will potentially go to the Chik-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta.
The last time Clemson played Virginia Tech, the Tigers won 23-3 earlier this season. Clemson took a 10-3 lead into the locker room at halftime and outscored the Hokies 13-0 in the second half. Virginia Tech had only 258 total yards and 17 first downs. Tech had 2 turnovers and Clemson had 1. Clemson had 323 yards and 18 first down. It was the first time Clemson had beaten Virginia Tech in five tries dating back to 1989. Clemson leads the overall series 18-12-1.
Last week Virginia Tech traveled to in-state rival Virginia in a battle to decide the ACC Coastal division title. The Hokies were 4.5 favorites on the road on the college football betting line. Virginia Tech dominated from start to finish in a 38-0 rout. The Hokies were up 21-0 at the end of the third quarter and scored 17 fourth quarter points to finish off the shutout. The Cavaliers had 4 turnovers and allowed 4 Virginia Tech sacks. Virginia Tech had 410 total yards including 183 rushing yards. Hokie quarterback Logan Thomas had 187 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushed for 27 yards and a touchdown. Running back David Wilson had 24 carries, 153 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Receiver Marcus Davis had 5 catches, 119 yards, and a touchdown. Jarrett Boykin had 4 catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. The Cavaliers had 241 yards including 30 rushing yards, and 14 first downs.
The Hokies are averaging 422.9 yards a game including 199.8 rushing yards and 223.2 passing yards a game. Virginia Tech is scoring 30.1 points a game. The Hokies have allowed 13 sacks and have 13 turnovers. Tech is 88/188 on third and fourth down conversions, and 47/62 scoring in the red zone with 34 touchdowns. Virginia Tech is holding opponents to 302 total yards, including just 98.7 rushing yards a game. The Hokies are only allowing 15.5 points a game. All 3 are ranked in the top 12 nationally. The pass defense allows 203.3 passing yards a game. Virginia Tech has forced 22 turnovers and 37 sacks this year. Hokie opponents are 58/183 on third and fourth down conversions, and 22/34 scoring in the red zone with 18 touchdowns. Virginia Tech has one special teams touchdown this year on a punt return.
Thomas is 193/319 passing (60.5% completion) with 2,525 yards, 18 touchdowns and 7 interceptions along with 125 carries, 414 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Wilson has 255 carries, 1,595 yards, and 9 touchdowns, along with 18 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. He has 2,083 all-purpose yards. Josh Oglesby has 84 carries, 314 yards, and 6 scores, and 5 catches for 29 yards. Receiver Danny Coale has 50 catches, 776 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Boykin has 54 catches for 673 yards, and 5 touchdowns. Marcus Davis has 25 catches, 449 yards, and 5 touchdowns. D.J. Coles has 27 catches, 333 yards, and 2 scores. Chris Drager has 12 catches including 2 for touchdowns. Receiver Dyrell Roberts is out for the season with an arm injury. Kicker Cody Journell is 42/43 on extra points and 13/16 on field goals with a long of 41 yards. The Hokies have 4 defensive players listed as questionable or out.
Last week, Clemson was a 3.5 point road underdog at rival South Carolina. The Gamecocks took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter but the Tigers tied it up in the second. South Carolina scored just before halftime to take a 17-10 lead. The Gamecocks never relinquished the lead as they won easily 34-13. Clemson had the only turnover of the game. The normally high-powered Clemson offense struggled mightily as they could only manage 153 total yards and 12 first downs. Celmson quarterback Tajh Boyd had only 83 passing yards with a touchdown pass and an interception. He was sacked 5 times. South Carolina had 420 total yards including 210 rushing yards.
Clemson is averaging 440.2 yards, including 288.5 passing yards and 151.8 rushing yards. The Tigers are averaging 33.2 points a game. Clemson has 20 turnovers and has allowed 29 sacks this season. Clemson is 92/206 on third and fourth down conversions, and 39/47 scoring in the red zone with 29 touchdowns. The Tigers are allowing 383.5 yards including 186.5 rushing yards and 197 passing yards a game. Clemson is allowing 27.5 points a game. The Tigers have forced 19 turnovers and have 22 sacks this season. Tiger opponents are 77/197 on third and fourth down conversions, and 34/40 scoring in the red zone with 21 touchdowns. Clemson has 4 defensive/special teams touchdowns.
Boyd is 254/424 passing (59.9% completion) for 3,338 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, along with 121 carries, for 158 yards and 4 touchdowns. Running back Andre Ellington has 193 carries, 937 yards, and 9 touchdowns, along with 20 catches for 114 yards. Mike Bellamy and D.J. Howard also get significant carries and each has at least one touchdown run. Bellamy has three. Receiver Sammy Watkins has 72 catches, 1,073 yards, and 10 touchdowns, along with 26 carries for 174 yards. Watkins has over 1,900 all purpose yards and has a kickoff return for a touchdown DeAndre Hopkins has 55 catches, 779 yards, and 4 touchdowns. Dwayne Allen has 46 catches, 545 yards, and 6 scores. Jaron Brown has 28 catches, 365 yards, and 4 touchdowns. Kicker Chandler Catanzaro is 44/45 on extra points and 19/24 on field goals with a long of 47 yards.
Clemson is 7-5 against the spread this season and the total is 6-6 in those games. Virginia Tech is 4-8 ATS and the total is 4-7-1 this season. The Hokies are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings against the Tigers and 4 of the last 5 games have gone under the total. Virginia Tech is 4-0 ATS in December games, 4-1 as a neutral site game as a favorite of between 3.5 and 10 points, 43-20 in conference games, 42-20 against teams with winning records, 3-8 as a favorite, after a straight up win, and overall, 2-7 in grass, 1-6 after allowing less than 20 points, and 0-4 after a cover. Clemson is 12-3 ATS as an underdog of between 3.5 and 10 points. 7-3 in conference games, 20-9 as an underdog, 5-12 after scoring 20 points or less, 1-4 after a straight up loss and after failing to cover, 1-6 in December, and neutral site games, 0-4 overall, and on grass.
Clemson sure picked a bad time for their offense to go into the tank. After averaging almost 41 points a game in the first 8 games, the Tigers are only scoring 19 points a game in the last 4. The Tigers’ defense isn’t good enough to compensate for the offense not scoring. Clemson dominated the last meeting, and I look for Virginia Tech to return the favor in the ACC Championship.
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