Clemson, Virginia Tech Fight For ACC Championship

One off day in October is all that is keeping the Virginia Tech Hokies out of the current BCS Championship Game discussion.

Frank Beamer's boys at least have a shot to avenge their lone defeat when they meet the Clemson Tigers in the ACC title tilt this Saturday (8:00 p.m. ET) at Bank of America Stadium.  College football oddsmakers like the Hokies' chances, opening them as 6½-point favorites, a number that is up to seven at most Las Vegas books listed on the Don Best odds screen.

Saturday's scoreboard tally is 52½, and the game will be televised by ESPN with Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit behind the microphones.

Virginia Tech was a touchdown favorite at home on Oct. 1 when the Tigers visited Blacksburg.  Both squads were off to 4-0 starts and ranked just outside the top 10 before Clemson handed the Hokies a 23-3 defeat.  Credit for the upset goes to a Tigers defense that limited the Hokies to a season-low 258 total yards.

The Hokies have reeled off seven consecutive wins since that loss, but covered the spread in just three of those games and only four of the 12 all season.  The current win streak includes surviving a couple of scares at Duke (14-10 as 15-point favorites) and vs. North Carolina (24-21 laying 9½).

There was nothing scary about Virginia Tech's last game, unless you were wearing a Virginia Cavaliers uniform.  The Hokies rolled to a 38-0 triumph on the road as 5-point favorites that clinched the Coastal Division title to set up this rematch.

Logan Thomas has done a good job stepping in at quarterback and trying to replace the legendary Tyrod Taylor.  The sophomore is completing more than 60 percent of his throws for over 2,500 yards, connecting for 18 scores against seven interceptions.  He's added another 414 rushing yards to his scorecard, crossing the goal line 10 times.

Junior tailback David Wilson has been the main cog of the offensive wheel, ranking fifth in the country with nearly 1,600 yards on the ground and exceeding the 100-yard mark on 10 occasions.  That includes 123 yards on 20 carries against the Clemson defense in the previous meeting.  The Va Tech ground attack ranks 26th in the country with an average just below 200 yards per game.

The Hokies defense sits 12th in the country allowing 302 yards per contest – the unit surrendered 323 in the first meeting with Clemson – and seventh nationally allowing 15.5 points per outing.

Clemson was practically an afterthought in the ACC before the season began, ranking sixth in futures odds to win the conference (12/1) and third in the Atlantic Division at 5/1 behind Florida State (1/3) and Maryland (7/2).  Dabo Swinney and the Tigers apparently didn't get the memo telling them they were not supposed to reach the ACC Championship.

The Tigers didn't let up after upsetting Virginia Tech on Oct. 1, reeling off three more wins following that game to sit 8-0 and climb as high as fifth in the BCS Standings near the end of October.  The 8-0 record included a 7-1 mark against the spread.

But that's when the good times started to come to an end. Clemson comes into this matchup having dropped three of its last four games.  The lone victory was a 31-28 squeaker as a 16½-point favorite vs. Wake Forest that took a 4th-quarter rally with a last-tick field goal to win it.

Despite stumbling down the stretch, it's still been a great season for Swinney's young squad.  Tajh Boyd has been solid under center as a sophomore, and freshman Sammy Watkins has starred as a receiver and kick returner, ranking fourth in the country in all-purpose yards (175.1 YPG).

Georgia Tech chewed the Tigers up on the ground in the Yellow Jackets' 31-17 victory on Oct. 29 that started the slide.  Even accounting for Tech's strong ground game that ranks third in the country in yardage, the Clemson run defense has been suspect most of the season, and that has to be a concern for the Tigers going up against Wilson and the Hokies ground game.

Clemson has more ACC football titles than anyone with 13, but will be looking for its first crown in 20 years.  Virginia Tech is shooting for its fifth since 2004, the Hokies' first year in the conference, and fourth in the past five seasons.  This isn't the first time Va Tech will be playing for the conference title against a team that won the regular season meeting.  Boston College got the best of the Hokies during the 2007 and 2008 campaigns, only to fall to the Hokies in the ACC Championship both years.

There's a slight chance of rain in Charlotte, NC this Saturday when the thermometer is expected to read in the mid-40s at kickoff.