Saturday night marks a crossroads for the Clemson Tigers and head coach Dabo Swinney, who welcome in the Virginia Tech Hokies in a highly-anticpated matchup.
Memorial Stadium should be sold out this weekend, and Swinney will look to continue the strong stretch coming out of the open date. However, when looking at the advanced analytics, it could mean that Clemson has to survive a strong test from the Hokies to pick up its third ACC win of the season.
Fortunately for fans, there tends to be a lean towards the Tigers in that department, according to Versus Sports Simulator. It gives Clemson a 64% chance to win on Saturday, with an average score being around 29-23.
This contest has been one that has constantly switched in the projections, due to the losses that both teams have had since the month of October began. Virginia Tech had a two-game skid against Pitt and Cal, losing by a score in both games, to be forced to win out for the remainder of the season. However, when the month began, the Tigers only had a 53% chance to win.
The model gives Swinney’s group a defense with a B+ grade, while the offense is generously given a B- grade. That’s how Clemson has won games over the course of this season, with the defense leaving enough points on the board for the Tigers to score on sporadic occasions.
On the flip side, Virginia Tech is given a C+ overall ranking by Versus, with its best quality being a B- offense. However, it’s important to note that the Hokies’ defense, although graded a C+, leads the country in tackles for loss and is also first in the ACC in sacks and forced fumbles.
Regardless, Clemson is expected to hit the ground running, with this amount being the most it has scored against a Power Four opponent at all this season.
The home-field advantage plays a small factor in the Tigers' favor, with betting markets having them favored by about a field goal. Even with the game being at Memorial Stadium, Versus has Clemson as the favorite regardless of where the game is. If the game were at Lane Stadium, Swinney’s group would have a 52% chance to win the game on Saturday.
However, there’s much more to a game than the model itself, but the advanced analytics show advantages on Clemson’s end that perhaps others aren’t thinking about. Swinney will look to reinforce that at home on Saturday, playing a team that will be playing with hopes to remain in the ACC Championship contention pool.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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