The Virginia Cavaliers (4-3, 2-2 ACC) were handed their second straight ACC loss of the 2024 campaign, suffering a 48-31 defeat at the hands of the 10th ranked Clemson Tigers (6-1, 5-0 ACC) on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The Cavaliers were enjoying a touchdown lead, 10-3, early in the second quarter before the Clemson offense went to work, blitzing the Cavaliers, scoring 35 straight points to stifle any hopes of Virginia leaving Death Valley with a ‘W’.
Virginia was forced to punt on their opening drive of the game after being predictable, running the ball three times and being stopped cold in their tracks by the Tigers lockdown defense on a 3rd and two. Clemson then made them pay, methodically driving down the field for a field goal prior to the Cavaliers manufacturing a drive that resulted in three points despite getting all the way down to the Clemson five-yard line, showing that the Virginia red zone struggles have yet to be resolved.
The field goal booted by place kicker Will Bettridge was on a fourth and one, showing a lack of aggressiveness or possible change in the game plan by coach Tony Elliott compared to fourth and short situations in the red zone in past games.
“It was great to see a ton of people” from his former life at Clemson, he said. “As I told the guys last night, my job is stay focused and focus on being the best version of myself to help this football team. Unfortunately, I’ve got to do a better job to have them execute at a high level.”
On the next Clemson drive, signal caller Cade Klubnik made a huge blunder, throwing the ball directly to Kam Robinson, who then intercepted the pass for the Cavaliers. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea and company were able to take full advantage of the turnover, with a touchdown drive that included a 20-yard scamper by Colandrea and an eight-yard touchdown reception by Dakota Twitty.
“Sometimes, you just don’t have as good of a game as you do others, and that’s OK,” said Klubnik, who finished 23 of 35 passing for 308 yards. “That’s why you get to have peace after the game knowing we put up 500 and something yards and however many points.”
In immediate response to the score, Klubnik and the Clemson offense caught fire, starting off with an 80-yard drive that ended with Phil Mafah’s first touchdown of the day to tie the game 10-10. After that, Virginia punted before the Tigers added another touchdown to go up 17-10 at the break.
Embed from Getty ImagesOut of the locker room, the Tigers continued their dominant performance with three consecutive touchdown drives, which included two receiving touchdowns by Patt-Henry Olsen as Klubnik became red hot.
“That was just us believing in each other and we’re all going to ride behind (Klubnik) no matter what,” Patt-Henry said. “It comes with the hours of hard work, all the preparation in just being able to trust each other.”
On the other hand, Colandrea struggled to find a consistent rhythm after the breakneck start. His most glaring mistake of the day was a fumble on a sack, giving the Tigers outstanding field position, which they capitalized on with a touchdown to go up 38-10. On the ensuing drive, Colandrea connected with Malachi Fields over the middle for a 44-yard touchdown, the best offensive play of the day for the Cavaliers.
Colandrea finished with 159 yards, two touchdown passes, and no interceptions, while Fields led the way in the air for the Cavaliers with three receptions for 65 yards and a score. Even with the touchdown from Fields, the contest was already decided, as Clemson had already taken a choke hold and were in firm control of the game.
In the final moments, Colandrea was benched, giving Tony Muskett an opportunity to play as the graduate student produced a touchdown drive and two-point conversion in mop up duty.
After that, despite the game being out of hand, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney kept the starters in, with Klubnik hooking up with TJ Moore for a 34-yard touchdown against the Virginia second stringers. In response, Muskett fired back with a 65-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Davies with less than two minutes remaining in the game to make it 48-31 as the final score.
Clemson has its second bye week of the season before starting the home stretch of the regular season against the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday November 2.
After suffering their second straight loss, the Cavaliers will look to regroup back at home as they host the North Carolina Tar Heels on October 26th at Scott Stadium.
