In their first meeting at Lane Stadium, the Clemson Tigers defeated the Virginia Tech Hokes easily, dismantling them in a 23-3 beating. While Virginia Tech have improved as a team since that game while the Tigers have gone backwards in recent games, the same matchup problems that caused that result still exist.
ACC Championship 2011, Clemson Vs. Virginia Tech: Hokies Need To Pressure Boyd To Minimize Matchup Problems
Virginia Tech Hokies blog Gobbler Country has picked out some of the key personnel matchups and outlines what needs to happen for VT to avoid a repeat of the first meeting between these two teams.
One guy who killed us in the first meeting and still has the ability to kill us is TE Dwayne Allen. We don't have anyone who can match-up with him and if we aren't able to get pressure on Tajh Boyd, he'll be able to find Allen in the middle of the field. I'm interested to see what Bud Foster will dial up to try and take away the success they had with Allen and what effect that will have in other parts of the field.
Every team that has had success against Clemson has gotten pressure on Tajh Boyd and forced him into difficult throws and bad decisions. The ACC Championship should be no different for the Hokies.
For more on this game, visit Virginia Tech blog Gobbler Country and Clemson blog Shakin’ The Southland. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Football for more on Championship Weekend.
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