The Tigers entered Saturday night knowing that a win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg would not only get them into the ACC championship game but a rematch with No. 2 Notre Dame.
The Hokies came in hoping to upset the Tigers, ruin their season, and dethrone the reigning ACC champions. It would start off well for Virginia Tech but their turnovers and inability to stop Clemson finally took its toll in a second half that saw the Tigers pull away in a 45-10 win.
Weekly Stock Report:
Trevor With A Pedestrian Like Game: It was pretty obvious that Trevor did not have his best game against the Hokies. Lawrence was 12 of 22 for 195 yards, one touchdown, and one interception through the air while getting 41 yards and two touchdowns on seven rushing attempts. The one interception came in the third quarter and he had another in the first quarter that should’ve been picked but fortunately was dropped….. Stock Way Down
Injuries Continue To Mount Up: After the first drive of the game LB James Skalski did not return and came out for the second half in street clothes due to some stiffness. Later in the half his backup, Jake Venables, went to the locker room and would not return with a broken arm. Baylon Spector left injured. Andrew Booth Jr was out injured. Not something you want to see. Especially this year with Notre Dame on deck….. Stock Down
Spiers Has Horrific Night: Will Spiers has been having an all conference type season to this point but not last night against the Hokies. He had punts of just 33 and 32 yards. He even had a seven yard punt that set Virginia Tech up at the Clemson 32. By far one of, if not, his worst ever game punting at Clemson….. Stock Down
Defense Steps Up: After some early struggles the defense seemed to settle in and shut the Hokies down in the second half. Va Tech only had 11 yards in the third quarter. That was good to see after losing both Skalski and Venables. The closest the Hokies came to scoring again was on a Hail Mary throw at the end of the first half that was caught at the two but never made the end zone….. Stock Up
Disney Spirit Award Winner Rewarded: During last week’s Military Appreciation game the Tigers coaching staff gave Darien Rencher some opportunities at the end of the game to get a touchdown but were unsuccessful. Well, not against Virginia Tech. Rencher took the ball late in the fourth quarter and scampered 50 yards for a touchdown that gave Clemson a 45-10 lead but it seemed to do more than that on the Tigers sideline as players were still congratulating Rencher well after the play. It would also be the last score of the Tigers night….. Stock up
Kendrick Gets Opportunities: At the end of the first half Virginia Tech threw a Hail Mary that could have tied the game up but Derion Kendrick would keep that from happening. After going up for the interception and the ball bouncing off of his hands in the end zone it ended up in Raheem Blacksheer’s hands at the two yard line. When he tried to score Kendrick met him and muscled him out of bounds before he could score. He also had a 66 yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second half….. Stock Up
And from elsewhere from across the country…..
Coastal Carolina: On a week that the Chanticleers started out playing Liberty but then found out that it would not be possible, they contacted BYU and set up what quickly became known as the Mormons vs the Mullets. In a game that was worth the price of admission (if you could get in that is), between two of the remaining unbeatens, Coastal went ahead in the fourth quarter and their defense was able to hold the Cougars two yards short of the goal line on the last play of the game….. Stock Way Up
Auburn: The Tigers entered the fourth quarter in pretty good shape but gave up 17 unanswered points to Texas A&M and lost 31-20. Another loss that has had some questioning whether or not Gus Malzahn will be the head coach there much longer….. Stock Way Down
LSU: The defending national champs can now say that they’ve had one of, if not, the worst seasons following a national title in NCAA history. Saturday night, at home, they not only lost, but got embarrassed by No. 1 Alabama, losing 55-17 in a game that they gave up 650 total yards to the Tide….. Stock Way Down
