Georgia Tech Falls to Clemson 14-6
Yellow Jackets Lose A Valiant Fight In A Game For The Ages
Georgia Tech and Clemson have been competing in football for a long time. They first met in 1898–during the William McKinley administration. They’ve played 80 plus games. (you know it’s a strong rivalry when there is disagreement about the exact number of official games played). Even without doing a boatload of research, it’s safe to say that they’ve never played a game like the one on Saturday at Clemson.
The heavily favored Tigers won, 14-6. They prevailed. Clemson “got the W”. But in every other aspect of the day, this game represented a huge step forward for Georgia Tech. They ignored the fact that they were four touchdown underdogs. And that they had a quarterback making his second start ever. And that they had given up 7 sacks in their first two games to far inferior defenses. As they prepared to take on one of the top defensive fronts in the country, they willfully ignored all of that.
And they fought. To the end. An end which seemed like it was not going to arrive fast enough for Clemson. First there was a weather delay, a precautionary pause for lightning “in the area” that halted play with 32 seconds left in the first half and Tech down 7-0. When play finally resumed almost 2 hours later, the two teams finished the blip of second quarter time, which featured a 22 yard field goal by Tech’s Brent Cimaglia to bring the score to 7-3 at “halftime”. But given the 112 minute break just prior to that moment, it was decided that the teams would proceed right into the 3rd quarter.
Through all the gyrations with the time and weather, the essence of this grind of a football game pushed along. Tech came to play. They displayed their own tough defense which, coupled with the erratic play of Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei, made for a tight game. Add in a Tech offense which was not going to beat itself, and you get a terrifically tough match. Instead of the anticipated Clemson cakewalk, the 70,000 plus who came to see a cruise-in win for the home team witnessed a nail-biter which fed their deeper anxieties.
The early word is that Clemson 2021 has a problem on offense. A weak passing game. Projectile dysfunction, as it were. This game did nothing to dispel that notion. The Tigers gained 284 total yards. Though Uiagalelei went 18 for 25 passing, those completions netted only 126 yards. He was badly off-target a few times, crimping any ambitions Clemson harbored regarding a vertical passing attack. Their run game saved the day in Tigerland, though averaging a normally pedestrian 3.9 yards per rush. Freshman Wiil Shipley was the workhorse, gaining 88 of those yards on his 21 carries. Nothing spectacular in those numbers, but he was reliably productive in key moments. And in the 2nd half, the Tiger braintrust saw fit to allow their QB, all 6′ 5″ 250 lbs. of him, to be a run-first guy for a spell. For the game DJU carried 8 times for 46 yards. That paid off on Clemson’s second and final scoring drive of the game, notably on his 16 yard plow up the middle to wriggle out of a momentary 3rd and long predicament. That drive ended with another 3 yard TD run by Shipley deep into the 4th quarter.
Under the direction of QB Jordan Yates, Tech created enough return punch to make the Tigers worry. Following Clemson’s second score, Tech came right back down the field with a 7 minute drive, ending with another short Cimaglia field goal to take it to 14-6.
A beautiful onside kick by Jude Kelley was then recovered by Tech’s Malachi Carter and the Jackets were back in business.
Down 14-6, Yates and mates moved crisply down the field to earn a first down at the Clemson 3 yard line with time ticking down. Four plays – two passes, two runs–yielded no touchdown. But when Clemson regained the ball on downs, their effort to run out the clock failed when Will Shipley recovered his fumble into his own end zone giving Tech 2 more points–and one more possession. On the ensuing kickoff to Tech, Gibbs took a fair catch. With only 7 seconds, Yates was unable to launch an effective Hail Mary pass and the game was finally over.
The nation’s 6th-ranked team showed up to bully its recently relatively puny neighbor. You know, that frail guy next door who lost to Northern Illinois two weeks earlier. But on this day the would-be bullies found that their neighbor has grown up a good bit. Clemson was barely able to overcome a determined group of Yellow Jackets.
Tech outgained the Tigers. Jordan Yates played with savvy and poise. Against Clemson’s stout rush, he hit on 20 of 33 throws for 203 yards. He completed throws to 8 different teammates, including 4 to tight end Dylan Deveney. And he threw no interceptions again this week.
On special teams, the Jackets had another solid day. Cimaglia hit both of his field goal tries, each from 22 yards out. Gavin Stewart again was effective on kickoffs, yielding no returns. Punter David Shanahan averaged 44 yards per kick. And the onside kick by Jude Kelley was executed in textbook fashion, allowing Tech that chance to pull off a miracle win.
And therein lies the deeper significance of this game. On the road against a very stout opponent, Tech was in a position to win at the end.
That fact alone will buoy the spirit of Tech fans. A year ago, Tech lost to this school by 64 points. Of course, Clemson is a different team now. But as we learned on Saturday, so is Georgia Tech. Fans saw with their own eyes the impressive talent and determined disposition of this 2021 team. And they liked what they saw.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports