Virginia Tech (5-2, 2-2 ACC) at Clemson (4-2, 2-1 ACC). Saturday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m. ET, Memorial Stadium, Clemson, S.C., ESPN.
Your hosts are Dixie-Lynn Pruitt, a Clemson fan who owns 43 orange items and twirls a flag on every stop, and Ruthanne Dellinger, a Virginia Tech fan who marches with one maroon drum major's baton and jumps every time her defense gets a stop.
Dixie-Lynn: Orange you glad you came for Homecoming, Ruthanne? I'll twirl, you jump. We'll be a sight.
Ruthanne: One baton is plenty, Dixie-Lynn. Exit light, enter stats.
Players to watch
Virginia Tech quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer has 1,984 yards, 15 touchdowns and two interceptions, completing 72.6%. Receiver Que'Sean Brown has 46 catches for 616 yards. Running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. has 613 yards and four touchdowns. Aycen Stevens leads with seven sacks, and Keon Wylie leads with 37 tackles.
Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds has 943 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Running back Gideon Davidson has 430 yards and five touchdowns. Receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. has 29 catches for 340 yards. Will Heldt leads with four sacks, and Corey Myrick has 44 tackles. Kicker Nolan Hauser made the 56-yard walk-off kick that won the 2024 ACC title over SMU.
Ruthanne: Seven sacks for Stevens. I jump for every one.
What happened last week
Virginia Tech beat Georgia Tech 34-24 after leading 24-3 at halftime. Grunkemeyer went 15 of 22 for 250 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another. Brown caught six passes for a career-high 182 yards, the sixth-most in a game in school history, and added a 63-yard punt return.
Clemson shut out Charleston Southern 37-0, its first shutout in five seasons. Chris Johnson Jr. ran for two touchdowns, and the Tigers ran for 231 yards. Hauser hit a career-long 59-yard field goal, and Kylon Griffin returned a kickoff fumble for a touchdown. The defense held the Bucs to 0 of 11 on third down.
Dixie-Lynn: A 59-yarder. My heart, y'all.
Injuries and availability
The official ACC availability report for this game hasn't been published yet. No injury news has surfaced for either team.
What the coaches are up to
James Franklin is in his first season at Virginia Tech. He was hired Nov. 17, 2025. He coached Vanderbilt from 2011 to 2013 and Penn State from 2014 until 2025. This is the hardest stretch of the Hokies' season: three of their next four games are on the road, at Clemson, SMU and Miami.
Dabo Swinney took over seven games into the 2008 season. He won national titles in 2016 and 2018 and is the winningest coach in Clemson and ACC history.
Player storylines
Grunkemeyer and Brown face a Clemson pass defense ranked 39th. Clemson's offense faces a Hokie run defense allowing 87.4 yards a game, 10th in FBS. Clemson converts only 33.3% of its third downs. Both teams are minus-4 in turnover margin. Virginia Tech's two losses both came down to the final play.
What's happening on campus
It's Clemson Homecoming Week, Oct. 16-24, with the theme "Flight 1889". Students build floats on Bowman Field. The 70th annual Tigerama pep rally is Friday at 8 p.m. in Memorial Stadium, rain or shine, with a block party beforehand under the North Upper Deck. The Homecoming Queen is crowned there, and indie rock band West 22nd performs. The Fall Ring Ceremony follows on Sunday.
Anything else fun and true
Both head coaches know big October nights. Franklin coached Vanderbilt and Penn State before Blacksburg, and Swinney is the winningest coach in Clemson and ACC history. Saturday night in Death Valley, under the lights, on Homecoming, is about as big as October gets.
Ruthanne: Death Valley at night, Dixie-Lynn. My baton has never been more ready. Exit light, enter Hokies.
Dixie-Lynn: Bless you for trying, sugar. Bring a poncho for Tigerama.
The Cover Window
My call: Clemson Tigers 27, Virginia Tech Hokies 24.