Tigers Were Not Surprised With Armstrong's Performance
Clemson defeated Virginia 41-23 Saturday night in Death Valley and while the game never truly felt in doubt, the Tigers were playing on their heels at times
Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong was able to keep the Cavaliers from falling into an all-out Clemson rout, which was no surprise for defensive coordinator Brent Venables and his unit.
"He was exactly what we saw on film. They have a designed quarterback draw on every play so everybody has got to be aware," Venables said following the win over Virginia. "You have to have discipline in the rush lanes and whoop blocks. He's a good athlete and exactly what we thought he was."
The sophomore finished the night 24-of-43 passing for 270 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the Cavaliers in rushing with 22 carries for 89 yards.
While he had more success than the Tigers would have liked, his elusiveness and ability to extend plays didn't catch Clemson off guard.
Clemson freshman defensive lineman Bryan Bresee shared the same thoughts in his post-game interview with the media.
"(I wasn't surprised) because I mean we've watched film on them. So we knew (Armstrong) could run from the beginning and that he was a really athletic quarterback," Bresee said. "We worked a lot on trying to contain him. He worked a couple of plays but that was expected."
He added that was frustrating that the defense was unable to help slam the door shut in the first half--- particularly in the final moments of the first half where the Tigers gave up a four-play, 65-yard drive heading into the locker room for halftime.
"Yeah, It's always frustrating when the other team scores," Bresee said. "But we just kept our heads up. We knew there was still a lot of game left. We stayed with our gameplan and just kept working."
