Georgia Tech Ready to Challenge Top-Ranked Tigers

Yellow Jackets are focused on themselves, not the Tigers, ahead of the ACC clash with No. 1 Clemson Saturday afternoon in Bobby-Dodd Stadium

The top-ranked team in the country is set to pay a visit to Atlanta's Bobby-Dodd Stadium this Saturday. While the Yellow Jackets acknowledge the daunting task ahead, Georgia Tech is making this week more about itself rather than Clemson. 

Head coach Geoff Collins said he is excited for the opportunity to play such a big-time opponent and but wants his team to focus more on itself and not who is on the other sideline this week. 

"They have great talent on both sides of the ball and special teams. The coaching staff they have does a great job in all phases of the game," Collins said. "But it goes back to the same thing we say every week. We've got to focus on ourselves, get better, and learn from the things we did well last Friday night. The things we did poorly, make sure we're cleaning those up because the margin of error against such great players and coaches is very thin." 

Collins said that preparation is key and the Yellow Jackets must practice at a high-level to be competitive this weekend. 

Among the laundry list of areas to prepare is defending one of the best quarterback-running back tandems in all of college football in Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne. 

"Two of the elite players in college football and we understand the work we have cut out for us not only in the passing game but in the running game," Collins said. "It's well documented that they are elite players in their positions and we've got to play at a high level as well." 

Defensive Coordinator Andrew Thacker is reminding his team this week that the Tigers are great but they're still human and capable of making mistakes. That being said, he needs his squad to be fundamentally sound and flying to the football to make Clemson as uncomfortable as possible. 

"Miami this past week had people in a position to make plays but Travis was able to get out of some things he shouldn't be able to get out of just based on his talent and ability," Thacker said. "He's as hard to tackle as anyone in the county so it'll have to be a team effort very much so focused on our tackling, wrapping and squeezing and being efficient. The biggest piece when you have a guy like that, you need multiple guys to the football." 

At the end of the day, Georgia Tech realizes that while Clemson has proven its mettle, the Tigers are not untouchable. The rules and way the game is played don't change just because the No. 1 team in the country is coming to town. 

"They have elite skills but let's find the guys where we like our matchup. Let's run or throw the ball at these guys and find the matchups that favor us and not worry about who we're playing," offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude said. "Touchdowns still count for six points, a first down is a first down, a hard run is a hard run. They are a very good team but let's worry about playing our style of football and making them defend us. Let's play with that type of attitude,  make them come into Bobby-Dodd on Saturday, and defend us."