ATLANTA – No. 4 Clemson (1-0) started tonight at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a win over Georgia Tech (0-1). Here are four sequences that went a long way to decide the outcome, a turnover and a 41-10 victory for the Tigers.
Clemson got a special teams boost early in the second quarter when Carson Donnelly broke Tech’s defense and blocked a David Shanahan punt. A loose ball was recovered by Brannen Spector, who set up Clemson’s offense at the Tech 5-yard line with easily his best field goal of the night. The Tigers managed just 4 yards on their next three drives but decided to go for fourth and goal. The decision paid off as Clemson took a 7-0 lead with 43 seconds, 9 minutes and 43 seconds left in the second quarter when Will Shipley rushed left tackle out of the yard. Tech went 42 yards on 9 plays midway through the second quarter for its first trip to Clemson State, but the Yellow Jackets eventually stalled and Judd Kelly’s 50-yard field goal attempt came up empty. Clemson’s offense took over and put together its best drive of the half, marching 67 yards in eight plays to end the lead. DJ Yougalley, who went 3-for-4 on the drive, completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 Clemson before hitting Beaux Collins in the back of the end zone before running right to avoid pressure. 3:52 left in the half. Tech took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched into Clemson territory, though the Tigers had plenty of chances to put the Yellow Jackets off the field. First, with Tech facing fourth-and-6 from the Tigers 37, Sims connected with Malik Rutherford up the middle for 10 yards to keep the drive alive. Four plays later, KJ Henry’s pressure forced Sims into an early fumble that went over linebacker Jeremiah Trotter near the goal line. The Yellow Jackets made Clemson pay for the missed opportunity one play later when Sims found EJ Jenkins in the back corner of the end zone for a 13-yard score, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 14-10 with less than 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Clemson scored points on consecutive drives in the third quarter and put together its longest drive of the game to push the lead back to double digits, though getting there was a bit unusual. On the ensuing possession, Clemson faced third-and-4 from its own 32, and Yougalelei looked like it was going down for a sack. But the Clemson quarterback shoveled the ball to Shipley before he fell to the ground, and Shipley ran 10 yards for another touchdown. Yougalley completed the next three passes to move the Tigers deep into Tech territory.
turning point
Already leading by two touchdowns, Clemson took control early in the fourth quarter when Tech opted to go fourth-and-2 from its own 42 and Hassan Hall found him on a jet sweep but was tripped behind the line and turned over. The ball goes down to Clemson. The Tigers moved into the red zone on three plays, eventually facing a BT Potter field goal, and Clemson’s second interception on Tech’s possession resulted in another short field. Shipley was in the end zone four plays later, giving the Tigers a 34-10 lead and allowing them to start emptying the bench.
State of speaking: 20
That’s what Clemson had to cover on two touchdown drives thanks to the punts that were blocked. First, Donnelly passed to block David Shanahan’s punt early in the second quarter to set up Clemson at the Tech 5, which led to the Tigers’ first touchdown of the night. Early in the fourth quarter, freshman Wade Woodaz entered the game, setting up Clemson’s final touchdown of the night at the Yellow Jackets’ 15. On a night when the offense struggled, special teams provided a lift to help Clemson out.
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