Coming off a perfectly-timed mid-season break, Clemson's Tigers get down to the nitty-gritty in their quest for a second straight Atlantic Division title on Saturday when they play host to Virginia Tech at Death Valley.
Maryland heads into the weekend as the ACC's lone remaining unbeaten team in conference play at 2-0, and the Terps have a chance to solidify their top position on Saturday in a 3:30 p.m. home game against 1-1 N.C. State.
In another game with division-race implications for Clemson, Florida State (3-1) plays at Miami (3-1).
At this point, the only ACC teams in control of their own destiny are Maryland, N.C. State and Virginia Tech. If any of the three was to 'win out,' it would claim its division championship.
Clemson, 2-1 in ACC play, will be looking to press its home-field advantage against the Hokies, who have taken an up-and-down ride to a 4-3 first-half record. Virginia Tech fell behind 20-0 at home on Saturday against Duke, before surging to a 41-20 victory.
The Tigers will be trying to tie a school record by winning their 11th straight game at home. The record was set during the 1937-42 era under coaches Jess Neely and Frank Howard, and matched during the 1989-91 period under Danny Ford and Ken Hatfield.
During its current 10-game home winning streak - which dates back to the 2011 season opener - Clemson has averaged 41.7 points per game.
Dabo Swinney has an .866 winning percentage against ACC competition at Memorial Stadium as Clemson's head coach.
Catanzaro Still Streaking: Junior placekicker Chandler Catazaro goes into the Virginia Tech game with a school-record streak of 19 consecutive field goals. He's closing in on the ACC record of 27 set by N.C. State's Mike Primanti in 1995-96.
Tigers 13th In Harris Rankings: Clemson is ranked 13th nationally in the latest Harris Interactive Rankings. Alabama holds the No. 1 position, and is followed by Oregon, Florida, Kansas State and Notre Dame. Florida State is eighth.
Virginia Tech Tickets Available: A limited number of tickets are still available for the Clemson-Virginia Tech game, Clemson announced Monday morning.
2014 Clemson commit C.J. Fuller
Clemson 8, USC Upstate 7
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 2
antpruitt writes:
i'm a little nervous about this weekend. VT might be a jeckyl and hyde on us.
-RAP, II
@ihavnolyfe
putter2 writes:
Defense has got to mix it up and play pressure defense with disguised blitzes
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.