Clemson vs. Virginia Tech 2017 live stream: Time and how to watch online

The Clemson Tigers are rolling on their quest to defend 2016’s national championship. The 2017 Tigers have already dispatched Auburn and Louisville to state their case as the nation’s No. 1 team. They’ll face another top-15 challenger on Saturday when they travel to meet the No. 12 Virginia Tech Hokies in primetime. The Tigers-Hokies kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ABC (live stream).

The Hokies are on a heater of their own, though their level of competition isn’t nearly as impressive. After fending off West Virginia in the team’s season opener, Virginia Tech has won its last three games by an aggregate score of 129-17. While impressive, those blowouts came against Delaware, East Carolina, and Old Dominion — three teams that won’t be confused for Power 5 competition this fall.

The Tigers put together another dominant performance on defense last Saturday, holding Boston College to just 238 yards en route to a 34-7 victory at home.

The offense had an off day with just seven points through the first three quarters, but the game never really felt as close as it was on the scoreboard. Still, the Tigers won’t be able to afford such a slow start this week against a much more dangerous opponent.

Jackson settled in well in the second half, and the offenses started trading blows. They were at turns tied at 10, 17, and 24. Players kept crumbling to the turf with apparent cramps, but other than that, the game just got better, and the crowd just got louder. So did the coaches, with the benches getting warnings and unsportsmanlike flags.

Despite the effectiveness of the offense so far, there are periods in the game where the Hokies are not executing properly, especially in key areas of the field. Through 23 minutes against an ODU team missing key players, the Hokies were only able to muster a field goal. When it came to critical situations – third downs, red zone – the Hokies failed to do their job. There just isn’t a go-to play or player that the team can rely on in those spots.

I don’t believe we just were sleepwalking and then flipped a switch in the 4th, unless you are saying that the switch was one single player, Travis Etienne is his name. Praise Rumbalaya/Runbalaya (written in alphabetical order and a TM, registered trademark of ShakintheSouthland and requires express written consent for usage of such name without penalty of prosecution, etc etc). This team has work to do before the toughest game on the schedule next week against VaTech.

The Hokies will rely on a freshman quarterback to guide their offense against a ferocious Clemson pass rush — the Tigers sacked Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham 11 times in Week 2. Josh Jackson has kicked off his NCAA career with a bang, throwing for 11 touchdowns in his first four starts, but he has yet to face a defense like Clemson’s. He can prove he’s the genuine artifact — and make his case as a Heisman candidate — by keeping his impressive case on Saturday night.

The Tigers have already proved too strong for a pair of top-15 teams. The Hokies will put up a fight, but Clemson’s defense should prove too strong for the home team to pull off the upset.