Georgia Tech's Offense A No-Show Against Clemson in Blowout Loss

Coming into the day, Georgia Tech was hoping to show they had taken strides as a program and defeat Clemson for the first time sine 2014. The offense for Georgia Tech was rolling and this appeared to be the weakest Clemson team in years.

While Georgia Tech has shown improvements as a program under Brent Key this season, they still have a long way to go before they catch up to Clemson. Dabo Swinney and the Tigers completely outclassed Georgia Tech today in a dominant showing.

The Tiger's elite defense showed up in a big way today against what has been one of the best offenses in the ACC. After some mistakes in the first quarter, Clemson did not let Georgia Tech have any real hope of winning this game. The defense could not get off the field on third and fourth down early in the game and just wore down because of the offense putting them out there for so long. It was a tough showing for the team after a promising couple of weeks.

Let's recap the afternoon in Death Valley.

1st Quarter

Clemson won the toss and deferred. Haynes King and the offense were up first in Death Valley.

A false start set the offense back five yards, but Jamal Haynes had a 13-yard gain to get the yardage back for Georgia Tech. However, a drop on the next play set up third down and on that third down, Haynes King had Eric Singleton open for a possible touchdown, but they could not connect and the Yellow Jackets went three and out.

Clemson took over at their own 27-yard line. The Yellow Jackets defense stuffed two straight runs by Phil Mafah and then nearly picked off a pass on third down. It was a great start to the game for the defense forcing a three-and-out to get the ball back to the offense.

King and the offense would take over at their own 23-yard line for their second drive of the game, but similar issues kept the offense from moving the ball. Another false start on the offensive line and a sack by the Clemson defensive line doomed the drive.

The defense had another great effort, but the first real momentum swing of the afternoon came when Clemson tried a fake punt deep in their own territory and Georgia Tech stopped it. It was a huge gamble by Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney and it failed and set up the Yellow Jackets in great scoring position.

Facing a third and goal, Georgia Tech really needed to get some points after the fake punt blunder by the Tigers. King kept the ball and stretched out over the goal line for the first score of the game. It was 7-0 Yellow Jackets and things got very quiet in Death Valley.

Clemson took over and started moving the ball for the first time in the game. Klubnik was getting the ball out quickly to his receivers and running back Will Shipley. After picking up a first down, Clemson was setback 15 yards by an unsportsmanlike penalty. The Tigers would keep moving it however and it was Shipley that was hurting Georgia Tech early in the game.

Facing a fourth and seven, Swinney elected to go for it and Klubnik was able to find Beaux Collins for a 20-yard gain to pick up a first down. It was a chance for Georgia Tech to kill the momentum that Clemson had picked up, but they were unable to do so.

That was the end of the quarter and Georgia Tech led 7-0. It was a good start for the Yellow Jackets, but plenty of work was left.

2nd Quarter

Clemson started the quarter with a 2nd and 8 on Georgia Tech's 16-yard line.

The Yellow Jackets got the Tigers to another fourth down, but Mafah picked it up to set the Tigers up inside the ten. After two more failed runs, Cade Klubnik found Collins again, but this time for a touchdown. It tied the game at 7-7 with 11:45 to go in the first half. The Tigers did a great job of picking up third and fourth downs on the drive and Klubnik made the throws he needed too.

The offense could not find anything on the next drive and had another three and out. Clemson got the ball in great field position after a good punt return and the Tigers were well-positioned to take the lead.

For the second consecutive drive, Clemson executed well on third and fourth down. Klubnik found Tyler Brown for an unbelievable catch in the end zone and that gave the Tigers their first lead of the game 14-7 with 7:17 left in the first half. It was an eight-play, 42-yard drive for Clemson and at this point in the game, Clemson was outgaining Georgia Tech 140-38.

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The next drive for Georgia Tech started out strong but ended in another punt. Haynes broke a 40-yard run to begin the drive and on what looked like a potential big play, Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins broke up a deep pass intended for Singleton. The Yellow Jackets were forced to punt and things were trending in the wrong direction quickly.

Clemson started moving the ball well on the next drive, but linebacker Kyle Efford came up with a huge sack to force a 3rd and 18. It looked like Georgia Tech would hold the Tigers and force a punt, but Klubnik picked up 17 yards on a scramble and then the Tigers picked up another fourth and short. Those two plays would give the Tigers momentum for the rest of the drive and it would end in another Tigers touchdown to make it 21-7.

Georgia Tech appeared to be trying to run out the clock, but Dontae Smith picked up a fourth down and they decided to put the ball in the air and try to move it before the half. That turned out to be the wrong choice because King threw an interception that set Clemson up with a chance to score before the half was over.

The Tigers attempted a field goal as the half ended, but it was blocked by Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets trailed 21-7 at the half and with Clemson getting the ball to start the half, the beginning of the third quarter was going to be huge.

Georgia Tech only managed one yard passing in the first half and aside from Jamal Haynes, they could not get an inch against this elite Clemson defense. The Yellow Jackets were outgained 249-89 in the first half.

3rd Quarter

Clemson opened the half with the ball and started moving it down the field. Klubnik found Collins for a 20-yard gain and then Shipley for nine before Mafah picked up a first down. The Yellow Jackets found a way to get a stop however and Clemson would have to punt it back to the Georgia Tech offense.

The dreadful day for the offense continued though. It was another three and out and they lost a yard in the process. Georgia Tech was forced to punt it away to the Tigers.

The one brief moment that Georgia Tech had some momentum came when Jaylon King made a terrific play and intercepted Klubnik to give Georgia Tech great field position. After Singleton Jr picked up a first down, King threw another interception and his rough game continued. Clemson took over with little time left in the third and the game was all but over at that point. Clemson would continue to dominate Georgia Tech and even though the Yellow Jackets started to move the ball late in the game, it was too little too late and Clemson had already put in most of their backups.

Dontae Smith and Dylan Leonard tacked on two late touchdowns to make it 42-21, but the game was well in hand.

Georgia Tech would finish with 254 total yards of offense. Haynes King was 13-31 for 129 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. It was arguably the worst game of the year for the Yellow Jackets quarterback.

Game Recap and Looking Ahead

King has been a great player for Georgia Tech this season, but he has had games where he turns the ball over and it costs the team and that occurred today. He struggled against Boston College, Miami, and Bowling Green earlier this year and he had another turnover-filled day today and did not give his team a chance to win the game. There is not an aspect of the game that I can point to where Georgia Tech played well and it is not all his fault, but King is their most important player. If he does not play well, it is hard for Georgia Tech to win football games.

Next week's game against Syracuse is going to be huge for Georgia Tech. With a game against Georgia at the end of the season (a game in which they will be significant underdogs), next week could be the difference between Georgia Tech going to a bowl game or not. This team has bounced back before and they will need to do so against Syracuse next Saturday in Atlanta.

Georgia Tech vs Syracuse kicks off next week at 8:00 on the ACC Network.

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