CLEMSON -- Because of the nature of college football recruiting in the early 2020s, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik had plenty of "FaceTimes" with then-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.
But not much in the way of actual "facetime," lower case "f," because of restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Lots of FaceTimes and lots of text messages," Klubnik said. "He was probably one of the big reasons I wanted to come here because of the man, and the resume, and the coach he was -- and the person he was, and is."
Clemson's noon kickoff with Virginia on Oct. 19 will provide Klubnik his first opportunity to shake hands with one of his main Tiger recruiters, in the flesh, but from the opposing sideline. Because Elliott left for the Cavaliers in December 2021, before Klubnik enrolled the following January.
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Will their first meeting be somewhat unpleasant for Elliott, because the junior quarterback has become all the coach thought he could be? Or will the coordinator who formulated game plans for Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence somehow find the upper hand in his return to Death Valley?
Here are four things to watch in a matchup of familiar foes. Sort of.
Agent of chaos
When Dabo Swinney was asked about Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea this week, the questioner used the term "agent of chaos."
That rang true to Clemson's coach.
"He creates a lot of chaos, that's for sure," Swinney said of the sophomore gunslinger.
Colandrea is perfectly willing to hold onto the ball and scramble for extreme lengths of time. Like many mobile quarterbacks the Tigers have seen, whether it be Stanford's Ashton Daniels last month, or Florida State's Jordan Travis in previous seasons, it can cause extreme headaches.
Will Clemson's defense bring the requisite discipline to bottling up Virginia's "agent of chaos"? Will the Tigers' secondary cover for as long as necessary and not allow separation during a scramble drill?
"If he gets outside the pocket," Swinney said, "you're four Mississippi, five Mississippi, six Mississippi, seven."
If Colandrea can't get to seven Mississippi, that's best for the Tigers.
Cover up Fields
Not only does Colandrea have license to roam, but he has a 6-foot-4, 220-pound target in Malachi Fields to throw it up to.
Fields is one of the ACC's most productive receivers this season, hauling in 37 catches for 541 yards.
"Probably one of the biggest kids we'll see all year," Swinney said. "Big, confident player."
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Luckily, the No. 10 Tigers have a couple of bigger corners in Jeadyn Lukus and Ashton Hampton that stand 6-2. Clemson also has one of the bigger-hearted corners in college football, 5-11 sophomore Avieon Terrell.
"I've seen a lot of big guys that won't tackle nobody, and I've seen some little guys that will light you up," Swinney said. "We're fortunate we got AV. He's got the mindset to do whatever needs to be done at the position."
It will be interesting to see which corner lines up opposite Fields. If it's Terrell, does he rise to the occasion, per usual?
Between goal lines
Virginia and Clemson aren't afraid to play big, whether it's the Cavaliers pulling out a Philadelphia Eagles-like "tush push" to pick up fourth downs or it's the Tigers newly unveiled "jumbo" package at the goal line.
It's less a question of whether either team will pull out these formations and more whether each defense will deprive their rival the opportunity.
Virginia's offense picks up its share of yards, averaging 435 per game. But the Cavaliers -- somewhat like the Tigers of a year ago -- only score 27.3 per game. Elliott's squad still struggles on third down, converting at 35.5 percent.
The Cavaliers have kicked the most field goals in the ACC, 12, just one ahead of the Tigers, who kicked seven in one game at Florida State.
Will Clemson's defense do enough on first and second downs to assure Virginia doesn't have a chance to "Brotherly Shove" on fourth? Will the Tigers' offense put its red zone struggles at FSU way in the rearview mirror and finish more drives in the end zone, as they did at Wake Forest?
The better rush defense
One of these defenses allows 4.5 yards per carry.
The other, 3.7 per rush.
Few would probably guess the lower number belongs to Virginia, though Clemson's stats are warped by a couple of bad second halves by second- and third-stringers in blowouts over App State and N.C. State.
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Nonetheless, the success of each defense in limiting the other side's ground game will probably dictate the outcome here. Virginia does allow 260 yards per outing in the air, because the Cavaliers' secondary keeps everything in front of them and forces opponents to string together drives.
Clemson rusher Phil Mafah has eclipsed 100 yards in four of his last fives games, but it's been slow rolling, at times, early in games. Can he bite off some big chunks and force Virginia's defense to deploy more assets versus the run?
And another familiar face, ex-Clemson rusher Kobe Pace, returns to Death Valley with the Cavaliers. Can the Tigers stuff the 5-10, 215-pound senior Pace (331 yards) and his running mate Xavier Brown (334)?
"Look forward to seeing him, but hopefully he doesn't have too good a game against the Tigers," Swinney said of Pace. "Then kill everybody else. Run over everybody else."
Prediction
Clemson 38, Virginia 17