Virginia Tech struggled mightily in its 24-14 loss to No. 23 Clemson on Saturday night.
The Hokies (5-5, 3-3 ACC) couldn’t get anything going offensively, posting just 228 total yards — including only 40 on the ground — and not entering the red zone until the two-minute timeout in the fourth quarter. They didn’t score an offensive touchdown until there was 1:43 remaining in the game.
While the defense slowed the Tigers (7-2, 6-1) down for a good portion of the day, Tech looked dead in the water with an offense that had trouble operating.
The Hokies started the day on a good note with Jaylen Jones intercepting Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik on the first series. An Antwaun Powell-Ryland sack — the 13th on the year for the nation’s leader — initially moved the Tigers back before Mose Phillips tipped up a deep ball from Klubnik that his fellow safety intercepted.
Tech stood tall defensively throughout the first half and didn’t allow any points despite giving up some yardage. The last time the Hokies gave up an offensive touchdown in a game’s first 30 minutes was Sept. 27 at then-No. 7 Miami.
The lone first-half score came on special teams. While the two offenses combined for 248 yards — 152 from the Tigers and just 96 from the Hokies — Tech got back to its Beamer Ball roots when it blocked a field goal and returned it for a touchdown.
Junior defensive end Keyshawn Burgos pushed up the middle and got his left hand on the kick, and it fell in the lap of true freshman safety Quentin Reddish, who followed lead blockers Phillips and Mansoor Delane 77 yards to the house.
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Tech had an opportunity to extend the margin in the final three minutes of the first half but John Love pushed a 55-yard field goal wide right to keep things 7-0. It was his first miss this year on a kick that wasn’t blocked.
Clemson and Klubnik came out of the second half on fire, though. The junior signal-caller led back-to-back scoring drives after intermission to retake the lead, and the Tigers led the rest of the way.
Klubnik led a methodical eight-play, 60-yard drive that culminated in a 29-yard strike to wideout Cole Turner, who beat Tech cornerback Dorian Strong in the corner of the end zone.
After the Hokies went three-and-out — when an illegal shift negated a 28-yard pass-and-catch from Jaylin Lane — Klubnik torched them again. Though he was stripped on first down by Tech linebacker Keonta Jenkins, Clemson recovered, which allowed Klubnik the opportunity to be a hero on third down.
Delane flew off the edge on a blitz, but Klubnik spun away, picked his head up and found a wide-open T.J. Moore at the 8-yard line, and the receiver danced into the end zone for the 41-yard score. In a flash, it was 14-7.
The Hokies had two opportunities to tie things up but punted before turning it over for the second time on the day. After Tech quarterback Kyron Drones hit wideout Da’Quan Felton for 30 yards down the sideline, he went back that way on the next play — and was picked off. True freshman cornerback Ashton Hampton had a gnarly one-handed interception against Felton at the 7-yard line to halt the Hokies’ drive.
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The Tigers kept piling on, too, as the Hokies struggled to get off the field defensively. Nine of 19 on third downs for the game, Clemson converted twice on a 10-play, 93-yard drive that ended in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to Jake Briningstool. The tight end caught a pass in the flat, evaded a few tacklers and rumbled into the end zone to make it a two-score game.
Tech transitioned quarterbacks after that, rolling with backup Collin Schlee in place of Drones. He picked up 22 yards on his first three plays — a completion to Felton (for 15 yards) and a seven-yard rush — before coming up short on a two-yard scramble when needing one more on fourth-and-3. That was the story of Tech’s offense on Saturday.
The Hokies didn’t have any success until very late, when Schlee led a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that finished in a 14-yard pass to Ayden Greene on a scramble drill.
Running back Bhayshul Tuten, who entered the day banged up but was just 49 yards away from 1,000 on the year, had four rushing attempts for zero yards. Those were the only carries for any of Tech’s running backs, too. The program announced before the game that backup Malachi Thomas was out with an undisclosed injury, and with Tuten not 100 percent, the Hokies were pretty one-dimensional.
The offense couldn’t stay on schedule, converting just two of its 14 third-down opportunities, and lost the time of possession battle 36:41 to 23:19. It turned it over three times, too — a fumble from Drones and one pick each from Drones and Schlee, both of which came in the second half.
Tech’s defense put up a fight, sacking Klubnik four times and picking him off once, but got beat a few too many times in the second half and had trouble getting off the field. The Tigers finished with 378 yards of offense, led by running back Phil Mafah’s 26-carry, 128-yard day on the ground.
The Hokies have an open week before their final two games of the season: at Duke and vs. Virginia. They need to win one of those two to become bowl eligible.
Box Score: No. 23 Clemson 24, Virginia Tech 14
