Ethan Grunkemeyer has thrown 15 touchdown passes in seven games. Clemson, as a team, has thrown two.
That’s the loudest number heading into Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, where Virginia Tech (5–2, 2–2 ACC) visits Clemson (4–2, 2–1 ACC) at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. A win would make the Hokies bowl-eligible in coach James Franklin’s first season. Clemson is 6–0 against Virginia Tech under coach Dabo Swinney.
Here is who has the edge at each position.
Quarterback
Edge: Virginia Tech
This is the widest gap on the field. Grunkemeyer, a junior who followed Franklin from Penn State, has completed 167 of 229 passes for 1,984 yards with 15 touchdowns and two interceptions. That’s 8.7 yards per attempt.
Clemson senior Christopher Vizzina hurt his elbow in Week 2, and true freshman Tait Reynolds has started every game since, beginning Sept. 19 against North Carolina. Vizzina practiced fully last week for the first time since the injury, but Swinney isn’t making a change. He’s thrown for 943 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He ranks 127th in ESPN’s QBR, the lowest among Power 4 starters. On throws of 20 yards or more, he’s two of 21.
Running back
Edge: Virginia Tech
Sophomore Jeffrey Overton Jr. has 613 yards and four touchdowns on 103 carries, including 209 yards at Boston College. Clemson sophomore Gideon Davidson, a Lynchburg, Va., native, has 430 yards and five touchdowns on 79 carries. Senior SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr. ran for two scores against Charleston Southern.
What sets Overton apart is his ability in the passing game. He is fourth in receiving yards at Virginia Tech, catching 22 passes for 219 yards with two receiving touchdowns.
Wide receiver
Edge: Virginia Tech
Senior Duke transfer Que’Sean Brown has 46 catches for 616 yards and three touchdowns. His 182 yards against Georgia Tech were the sixth-most in a game in program history, though only 2 of them came after halftime.
Clemson’s top target, junior Bryant Wesco Jr., has 29 catches for 340 yards and no touchdowns, and junior T.J. Moore has 27 for 244 and one score. The Tigers’ two receiving touchdowns are the fewest in the FBS.
Tight end
Edge: Virginia Tech
Junior Luke Reynolds, a former five-star recruit and Penn State transfer, was named a first-team midseason AP All-American last week. He has 43 catches for 449 yards and four touchdowns. Clemson junior Christian Bentancur has 10 catches for 127 yards all season.
Offensive line
Edge: Virginia Tech, barely
Neither line has kept its quarterback clean. Virginia Tech has allowed 18 sacks in seven games. Clemson has allowed 17 in six, a per-game rate that ranks 121st nationally. The run game breaks the tie. Overton is producing, and Clemson’s backs get hit behind the line nearly eight times a game.
Defensive line
Edge: Virginia Tech, slightly
Senior Aycen Stevens is tied for second in the country with eight sacks and leads the ACC with 53 sack yards. Fifth-year tackle Kemari Copeland was a third-team All-ACC pick in 2025. Clemson senior Will Heldt has four sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss, and the Tigers piled up 13 tackles for loss against Charleston Southern. The matchup tips it: Stevens gets a line that ranks 121st in sacks allowed.
Linebacker
Edge: Clemson
Junior Sammy Brown (41 tackles) and fifth-year Alabama transfer Jeremiah Alexander (38) anchor the middle. Their coordinator, Tom Allen, ran Franklin’s defense at Penn State in 2024, so expect few surprises in either direction.
Fifth-year Keon Wylie has led Virginia Tech in tackles in each of the last two games. Still, Georgia Tech’s Alberto Mendoza completed 18 of 20 passes against the Hokies in the second half.
Secondary
Edge: Clemson
This is Clemson’s best unit, 19th nationally in pass efficiency defense. Senior cornerback Elliot Washington II has three interceptions, and junior Ashton Hampton ranks second in the country in passes defended per game. Southern Miss transfer Corey Myrick leads the team in tackles.
Virginia Tech gave up 321 passing yards to Cal backup Jackson Brousseau and drew two 15-yard penalties on consecutive plays of Cal’s winning drive. Brown against Washington and Hampton is the matchup of the night.
Special Teams
Edge: Clemson
ESPN’s FPI rates Clemson’s special teams No. 2 nationally. Junior Nolan Hauser leads the country with 2.5 field goals per game at a 93.8% clip, and Wesco has a punt return touchdown. Hauser’s 59-yarder against Charleston Southern was the second-longest in school history.
Brown’s 63-yard punt return against Georgia Tech was a bright spot. He leads the country in yards per punt return (24.3). If fifth-year kicker John Love can continue the momentum from last week, the two special teams units are pretty even.
The verdict
Six edges to three. The defenses are nearly identical on the scoreboard: Virginia Tech allows 21.1 points per game, Clemson 21.5. The difference is how they score. The Hokies score touchdowns. Clemson kicks field goals, converting only 40% of its red zone trips into touchdowns, 133rd nationally.
Defensive coordinator Brent Pry can crowd the line and make a first-year QB beat him deep. The offense has to finish drives because every stall gives Hauser a chance.
Win, and Virginia Tech is bowl eligible heading into its off week. The Hokies have the better quarterback, the better skill players and more edges on the depth chart. They lost to Pitt and Cal anyway. Saturday asks whether they can be the better team in the fourth quarter, too.
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