North Carolina will travel down to Death Valley Saturday looking for their first win on the road at Clemson since 2001.

The Tigers sit at 1-2 on the season, but are coming off a respectable overtime loss at Tallahassee against the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles. The Tar Heels, meanwhile, are coming off a blowout loss to the surging East Carolina Pirates, but sport a 2-1 record.

Clemson leads the all-time series 35-19-1, and drubbed UNC 59-38 in the last meeting in 2011.

The two schools have a lot at stake in this 2014 encounter. Clemson can ill afford another conference loss, while UNC is in need of a quick turnaround after a demoralizing defeat last weekend.

 

Offense

The Tar Heels have been streaky on this side of the football. It’s a little bit of a case of Jekyll and Hyde. Marquise Williams has shown flashes of brilliance at the quarterback position, but not enough for the UNC coaching staff to keep redshirt freshman Mitch Trubisky over on the bench. The rotation continues, but the more concerning thing for the Tar Heels is the lack of an emerging dominant player in the backfield. None of the athletes in the deep stable of running backs have laid claim to the bulk of the carries. In short, although UNC is capable of explosive plays, there’s no reliable, consistent option to hang your hat on right now in the crucible of competitive games.

As for the Tigers, they also plan to go with a QB rotation. Freshman signal caller Deshaun Watson displayed his uncanny ability to stay calm under pressure last week at rowdy Doak Campbell Stadium. And so head coach Dabo Swinney has granted him the starting job against UNC this week, but he still expects to give some snaps to Cole Stoudt on Saturday. The Tigers have a steadier rushing attack than the Tar Heels and will take full advantage of a solid offensive line that got a shot in the arm last week after dominating the No. 1-ranked Seminoles up front. The quarterbacks figure to have plenty of time to get the ball out to their playmakers, as the UNC defense has struggled to apply consistent pressure this season.

EDGE: PUSH

 

Defense

In this category, there’s really no contest. The Tigers are in another league. With defensive end Vic Beasley anchoring a unit loaded with veteran experience and tenacious aggression, the Tigers can strike fear into the hearts of opposing offenses. Clemson completely shut down the FSU running game last week, and will likely have its way again with a mediocre UNC rushing attack this week. And just in case there wasn’t any other reason to like the home team’s advantage in this department, they boast the reigning National Player of the Week in linebacker Stephone Anthony.

The Tar Heels were hapless on defense last weekend at ECU. Missed tackles and blown assignments will get you into trouble against any team, and against Clemson on the road? Well, that’s just disastrous. UNC better hope that Norkeithus Otis is fully healthy on Saturday, their linemen are able to penetrate into the Clemson backfield and the secondary is as opportunistic as they’ve ever been to somehow try and slow down the Tiger offense.

EDGE: Clemson

 

Special Teams/Intangibles

Yes, the Tar Heels have sparkplug Ryan Switzer in their special teams return arsenal, but the sophomore has failed to summon the kind of magic he conjured in year one at Chapel Hill. But the Tar Heels have another solid weapon in the form of punter Tommy Hibbard. He can really flip the field on opponents. The Tigers, though, have played good special teams most of the season and contained a talented FSU return team for most of the game last week.

The main separating factor here, however, comes with the home field advantage. UNC is young and inexperienced. The bright lights and seismic decibel levels in Death Valley should hurt Carolina’s chances and lift a Clemson squad hungry for an ACC win.

EDGE: Clemson

 

Prediction

UNC was already in trouble enough up front, and now the Tar Heels will face Tiger defensive end Vic Beasley with two offensive linemen sitting out (including Landon Turner, who is listed as doubtful). Clemson can run at nearly every position, as proven by their classic game at No. 1 FSU just last week. UNC, on the other hand, doesn’t figure to have the athletes to match up for four quarters, especially on the road in a hostile environment. The Tar Heels will score, but not nearly enough to make it interesting in the waning minutes.

Clemson 45, UNC 24

 

You can follow Matt on Twitter @moakes3