Let’s take a look at Clemson’s Week 3 opponent, Virginia. The game is at 8 pm Saturday on the ACC Network.

HEAD COACH: Since arriving at Virginia for the 2016 season, head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s impact on the Cavalier program has been immense.

From a 2-win season, to the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division Championship and 3 straight Bowl game appearances, Virginia football’s ascent has both remarkable and historic.

Mendenhall came to Charlottesville after a highly successful 11-year career at BYU with a vision and a plan of execution for the daunting renovation project he faced. He has masterfully crafted principles and culture, and instilled pride and purpose, leading to a standard of unbroken growth in just 4 seasons.

In 2019, UVA placed 10 players on the ACC All-Academic team, the most in the program’s history. Linebacker Jordan Mack was named the ACC’s Jim Tatum Award winner as the league’s top football scholar -athlete and was a finalist for the William B. Campbell Trophy, known in the sport as the “academic Heisman.”

OFFENSE: Robert Anae enters his 5th season at Virginia and 14th as an offensive coordinator under Mendenhall.

The 2019 season was special one in Charlottesville as the Cavaliers won the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division for the 1st time and made their 1st appearance in the ACC Championship game.

Viriginia appeared in its first New Year’s bowl game, the Orange Bowl, and finished ranked 24th in the final College Football Playoff poll and 25th in the final USA Today coaches poll.

It is the Cavalier’s 1st string of 3-straight bowl appearances since they went to 4 bowl games from 2002-05.

DEFENSE: Nick Howell is in his fifth season at Virginia on Bronco Mendenhall’s staff and is the defensive coordinator/secondary coach.

Despite losing multiple starters on the defensive side of the ball for the season, UVA broke the program record for sacks in a season in 2019.

The Chris Long-led defense in 2007 set the standard with 43, and the 2019 edition concluded the year with 46, which ranked 6th in the nation.

Inside linebacker Jordan Mack led all ACC linebackers with 7.5 sacks. In all, 27 of Virginia’s 46 sacks were recorded by linebackers. Howell’s defense did this despite losing 5 starters and various other players to season-ending injuries before the Orange Bowl.