Sons of Saturday Game Picks: It's Clemson Week

After a bye week over Thanksgiving following an uninspired effort against Pittsburgh, the 4-5 Virginia Tech Hokies welcome undefeated and #3 Clemson to Blacksburg. Most expect this game to go a certain way for the home team, but others expect a surprise. Let's get into the picks.

Mike McDaniel

Clemson 40 Virginia Tech 14

I don't believe the spread is as far off as folks think it is. Virginia Tech has been off two weeks and I believe that the rest will help guys on both sides of the football. It never hurts to have two weeks to prepare for one of the best teams in the country, and I believe the Hokies will play hard, but lose decisively to the far better team. Clemson wins and covers close.

Adam Rothe

Clemson 65 Virginia Tech 20

ABC needs to put a "Parental Advisory - Explicit Content" warning before this game because it is going to be a primetime slaughter. The only way Tech has a chance in this game is if Bruce Smith, Corey Moore, Kam Chancellor, Kyle and Kendall Fuller, Tremaine and Terrell Edmunds, Deangelo Hall, Chuck Clark, and others suit up for the defense. Hopefully there will be broadcast issues in this game because the entire country doesn't need to witness what is about to take place.

Justin Cates

Clemson 55 Virginia Tech 11

If a team gets blown out in an empty stadium does it really happen? If it occurs on national TV it certainly does. The Hokies will come out charged up after getting embarrassed against Pitt, but unfortunately Clemson will be equally motivated. The Tigers are fully into their standard, "We've been disrepected!" routine despite everyone agreeing they're really good. It's never entirely clear to me what Dabo is upset about, but I suppose it varies based on the day. Clemson cruises but Tech scores three field goals and a safety to make it interesting and get Dabo riled up for the ACC title game.

Pat Rouleau

Virginia Tech 31 Clemson 30

The conversation for two weeks has been "how much will Clemson win by when they play the Hokies?" Given the performance of the last few games, this is a fair statement to make. However, given the slate of games this week not being the best on paper, this means that some weird things will happen. Will "weird things" happen in Lane Stadium tonight? Will this be a classic Virginia Tech from recent memory when games against top teams are close at halftime before the visiting team pulls away in the third quarter? I have no idea, but it's fun to think about good things happening.

Konnor Kilgore

Clemson 52 Virginia Tech 31

A month ago, Tech had shown enough promise this season where I felt I could be optimistic about our chances of pulling off the upset against Clemson. A lot can change over the course of a month. Now I am only optimistic enough that Tech scores a couple of garbage time touchdowns to cover the spread and make this game not look like a complete slaughter. Hey, at least the basketball team upset Villanova!

Preston Huennekens

Clemson 56 Virginia Tech 10

It won't be close, and it won't be pretty.

Chris Himes

Clemson 42 Virginia Tech 17

No way to sugarcoat the explanation this week. This is a terrible matchup for the Hokies who will struggle to score while also being unable to stop a prolific Clemson offense. Expect a large halftime followed by Clemson putting in the reserves early in the 3rd quarter as they attempt to keep everyone healthy heading into their rematch with Notre Dame in the ACC Championship.

Grant Mitchell

Virginia Tech 35 Clemson 34

It's hard to put an exact score on this game, purely due to the unpredictability of college football. What is a guarantee, though, is that Clemson is going to put points on the board. Hendon Hooker and the Hokie offense have mounted would-be comebacks and have demonstrated big-play capability, and will need to tie it all together on Saturday. This shouldn't happen, but it will.

Ryan Wilkes

Clemson 59 Virginia Tech 14

It's a guarantee that Clemson's offense is going to run, pass and do whatever else they want against this Virginia Tech defense. Tech may get an early touchdown but any hope of a close game will quickly be wiped away as this Clemson offense will rarely if not ever be denied access to the end zone.

Ed Williams

Clemson 45 Virginia Tech 20

Clemson will have no issue moving the ball on this Hokies defense, even when Trevor Lawrence heads to the bench in the second half. Hopefully the Vice Squad can win the battle upfront and give Herbert room to run to keep Lawrence off the field for as long as possible.