CLEMSON, S.C. — The Clemson Tigers are a narrow 3-point favorite heading into Saturday night’s prime-time clash against Virginia Tech, but their defensive front is dealing with a significant question mark.
According to the latest ACC availability report, senior defensive tackle Vic Burley will be a game-time decision for the 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
Burley was initially listed as questionable with an undisclosed injury on Thursday, a designation that remained unchanged through Friday evening.
A Momentum Halt?
The timing of the potential setback is frustrating for the senior lineman. Burley is coming off a game against Charleston Southern where he recorded his first career sack and logged a season-high 10 defensive snaps.
His season has been a stop-and-start affair. Burley missed Clemson’s first two games of the year, serving a suspension following a disorderly conduct arrest during the offseason. Now, just as he was beginning to carve out a larger role in the defensive rotation, an injury threatens to sideline him once again.
The Tigers (4-2, 2-1 ACC) will need all the defensive reinforcements they can muster as they host a 5-2 Virginia Tech team (2-2 ACC) under the lights in Death Valley, a game critical to keeping Clemson’s ACC championship hopes alive.
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