Clemson football vs. Virginia: Kick time, TV channel, injury report, weather

After two weeks on the road, the Clemson football team is back at home and facing a familiar face this weekend at Memorial Stadium.

Here’s your gameday guide for No. 10 Tigers’ home game Saturday against Virginia, led by former Clemson wide receiver and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.

Clemson vs. Virginia game, TV info

Who: No. 10 Clemson (5-1, 4-0 ACC) vs. Virginia (4-2, 2-1 ACC)

When: Noon Saturday

Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson

TV: ACC Network

Broadcast crew: Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Coley Harvey

Stream: Via ESPN or the ESPN app

Radio: 105.5 FM in the Clemson area (see all Clemson radio affiliates here)

Satellite radio: SiriusXM Channel 138 or 193

Series history: Clemson leads 40-8-1 and has won five straight

Clemson vs. Virginia Vegas odds

Clemson is currently favored by 21 points against UVA, according to the VegasInsider.com consensus line. The Tigers have now been favored by at least 16.5 points in their past six games (and at least 20 points in three of those contests).

Weather forecast for Clemson, SC

“Generally sunny” with a high of 72 degrees, according to the Weather.com 10-day forecast. There’s no rain in the forecast either, so it should be a clear and warm day for Death Valley’s second home noon game of the year.

Top storylines for the game

• Clemson coach Dabo Swinney joked this week that finally, at age 54, he’s growing up. That’s because he’ll coach against one of his former players for the first time Saturday. Elliott was a wide receiver at Clemson from 1999-2003 and a team captain for then-receivers coach Swinney during his 2003 senior year. He later rose to fame as a Clemson assistant coach — and was the co-offensive coordinator with Jeff Scott for Clemson’s 2016 and 2018 national championship teams — before taking the UVA job. Elliott will be only the fourth former Clemson player to face the Tigers as a head coach.

• On the injury front, the Tigers continue to heal up, among starters at least. True freshman wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. is the most prominent publicly identified player with an injury; he twisted his ankle two games ago, missed the Wake Forest game and is considered day-to-day. Swinney expressed optimism that backup offensive lineman Collin Sadler (calf) and defensive lineman Stephiylan Green (undisclosed) will play.

• Thanks to a career year from quarterback Cade Klubnik, an improved offensive line and an upgraded skill position group, Clemson is reaching levels of offensive productivity unseen since its last College Football Playoff appearance. Two worth highlighting: With another big game Saturday, Clemson could reach 40 points for the fifth time in the first seven games of a season for the third time ever (2019, 2020) and average 6.5 or more yards per play in six straight games for the first time ever on record.

• Elliott’s career record at Virginia so far is 10-18, but that doesn’t paint the full story of his tenure. The Cavaliers are off to their best six-game start since 2021 and, with six games remaining, need just two more wins to qualify for a bowl. Virginia has also played plenty of good teams tough: The Cavs rallied from down 10 to take a fourth-quarter lead on Louisville last week but ultimately lost 24-20. Elliott also had his signature win last year when Virginia marched into Chapel Hill and upset No. 10 UNC.

Clemson vs. Virginia players to watch

• Clemson WR Troy Stellato: A veteran who’s displayed impressive chemistry with Klubnik, Stellato had a season-high six catches for a career-high 72 yards (and a crucial second quarter touchdown) against Wake Forest.

• Clemson DB Khalil Barnes: Barnes, primarily a safety, has had a more subtle start to his sophomore season but had success playing the nickelback spot for Clemson against Wake Forest – and could see more time there.

• Virginia QB Anthony Colandrea: Don’t let his 6-foot height fool you; Colandrea is a fearless playmaker for Virginia who started six games as a true freshman and had 363 total yards against Louisville last week.

• Virginia WR Malachi Fields: Fields has three 100-yard games this season already and is a matchup problem (and jump ball candidate) at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds.

Clemson football 2024 schedule

• Aug. 31: vs. Georgia in Atlanta, L 34-3

• Sept. 7: vs. App State, W 66-20

• Sept. 14: OPEN

• Sept. 21: vs. NC State, W 59-35

• Sept. 28: vs. Stanford, W 40-14

• Oct. 5: at Florida State, W 29-16

• Oct. 12: at Wake Forest, W 49-14

• Oct. 19: vs. Virginia, noon (ACCN)

• Oct. 26: OPEN

• Nov. 2: vs. Louisville

• Nov. 9: at Virginia Tech

• Nov. 16: at Pitt

• Nov. 23: vs. The Citadel

• Nov. 30: vs. South Carolina

Clemson football 2024 depth chart

As of Oct. 14

Offense

QB: Cade Klubnik (Christopher Vizzina)

RB: Phil Mafah (Jay Haynes OR Keith Adams Jr.)

Outside WR: Antonio Williams OR T.J. Moore (Cole Turner)

Slot WR: Tyler Brown OR Troy Stellato (Misun Kelley)

Outside WR: Bryant Wesco Jr. OR Adam Randall (Cole Turner)

TE: Jake Briningstool (Olsen Patt-Henry)

LT: Tristan Leigh OR Collin Sadler (Elyjah Thurmon)

LG: Marcus Tate OR Collin Sadler (Trent Howard)

C: Ryan Linthicum (Harris Sewell)

RG: Walker Parks (Trent Howard)

RT: Blake Miller (Collin Sadler)

Defense

DE: Peter Woods (Jaheim Lawson)

DT: Payton Page OR Tré Williams (Vic Burley)

DT: DeMonte Capehart OR Tré Williams (Stephiylan Green)

DE: T.J. Parker (Cade Denhoff)

Strongside LB: Wade Woodaz (Jamal Anderson)

Middle LB: Wade Woodaz (Sammy Brown OR Dee Crayton)

Weakside LB: Barrett Carter (Sammy Brown OR Dee Crayton)

CB: Avieon Terrell (Shelton Lewis)

SS: Kylon Griffin OR Tyler Venables (Ricardo Jones)

FS: R.J. Mickens (Tyler Venables)

Nickelback: Khalil Barnes (Shelton Lewis)

CB: Jeadyn Lukus (Ashton Hampton)

Special teams

PK: Nolan Hauser (Robert Gunn III)

P: Aidan Swanson (Jack Smith)

KO: Robert Gunn III

LS (PK): Holden Caspersen

LS (P): Philip Florenzo

H: Clay Swinney

PR: Antonio Williams

KOR: Phil Mafah (Jay Haynes)