Virginia coach Tony Elliott will return to Clemson on Saturday afternoon as a huge underdog against the 10th-ranked Tigers.
Clemson (5-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won five straight games since a season-opening loss to then-No. 1 Georgia. The Tigers opened the week as a three-touchdown favorite against the visiting Cavaliers (4-2, 2-1).
Elliott played wide receiver at Clemson and coached at his alma mater under Dabo Swinney for 11 seasons from 2011-21, winning two national championships. He was Swinney’s offensive coordinator the last time Virginia visited Death Valley, in 2020.
“That’s going to be a little strange, for sure,” Swinney said of facing his longtime staff member. “Tony is just family to me. Not just somebody that I have worked with.”
Elliott was a team captain in his final season at Clemson in 2003, which was Swinney’s first year as an assistant coach for the Tigers.
“I’m sure there will be some cool moments for him coming in,” Swinney said. “Maybe a little weird moment here or there. Being in the visiting locker room and all that type of stuff on the other side of it. But at the end of the day, it’s about the game and not any circumstances. You don’t get distracted by any circumstances of the game. Just focus on the game and what you got to do to be ready to play.”
Elliott, now in his third year at Virginia, said he will have to put his emotions aside and make the visit to Clemson, S.C., a business trip.
“That’s one of the best relationships I have in all of my life,” Elliott said about Swinney, per the Daily Progress. “And it’s been awesome to see him start as a father figure and then to my position coach to mentor to colleague. That’s Coach Swinney. But we’re going down there and we want to beat him.”
It won’t be easy.
After going scoreless in the first quarter, Clemson rolled to a 49-14 win at Wake Forest last weekend. Cade Klubnik passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns, Phil Mafah ran for 108 yards and two scores, and Jake Briningstool caught seven passes for 104 yards and one TD.
The Tigers rank second in the ACC in scoring (41 points per game) and total offense (482.3 yards per game). Mafah is third in the league in rushing (604 yards), and Klubnik is third in touchdown passes (17) while throwing just two interceptions.
The Tigers will face a Virginia team that already has more wins than in either of Elliott’s first two seasons: 3-7 in 2022 and 3-9 in 2023.
The Cavaliers were two minutes away from being 5-1 last weekend before Louisville scored a late touchdown for a 24-20 victory in Charlottesville, Va. Anthony Colandrea passed for 279 yards and a touchdown and ran for a team-high 84 yards. Malachi Fields caught nine passes for 129 yards, his third 100-yard effort of the season.
Klubnik could be in for a big afternoon against a Virginia defense that ranks 15th in the 17-team ACC against the pass, allowing an average of 260.5 yards per game.
This will be the 50th meeting between the schools. Clemson leads the series 40-8-1 and has not lost to Virginia at home since 2001. The Tigers have won the last five matchups.
