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Before the Tigers and Jackets battled in Death Valley Clemson celebrated the anniversaries of some previous teams. A trip down the Hill brought back great memories to some of the former Tigers. Check out some great pregame pictures in Bart …
Before the Tigers and Jackets battled in Death Valley Clemson celebrated the anniversaries of some previous teams. A trip down the Hill brought back great memories to some of the former Tigers.
Check out some great pregame pictures in Bart Boatwright’s pregame Photo Gallery.
Death Valley was back rocking in the first half before the weather delay. Clemson did enough to get the first ACC win of the season over Georgia Tech. Check out some more pictures from the 14-8 victory in Bart Boatwright’s second game Photo Gallery.
Death Valley was back rocking in the first half before the weather delay. Clemson did enough to get the first ACC win of the season over Georgia Tech.
Check out some more pictures from the 14-8 victory in Bart Boatwright’s second game Photo Gallery.
The focus turned this week to the first road game of the season against N.C. State. There was still plenty to discuss from the Tigers’ struggles in the win against Georgia Tech as well. Robert, Davis and Sam hit the TCI headquarters to discuss the …
The focus turned this week to the first road game of the season against N.C. State. There was still plenty to discuss from the Tigers’ struggles in the win against Georgia Tech as well.
Robert, Davis and Sam hit the TCI headquarters to discuss the highlights from two days of coaches and player interviews.
Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott met with the media following the 14-8 win over Georgia Tech. Elliott went in-depth on the offensive performance against the Jackets.
Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott met with the media following the 14-8 win over Georgia Tech.
Elliott went in-depth on the offensive performance against the Jackets.
Swinney Postgame Press Conference Report
Clemson, S.C. – It wasn’t pretty, but the Tigers found a way to defeat Georgia Tech and move to 1-0 in the ACC Saturday in Death Valley. The Clemson Insider was on hand for all of the action. Check out some great pictures from the win in Bart …
Clemson, S.C. — It wasn’t pretty, but the Tigers found a way to defeat Georgia Tech and move to 1-0 in the ACC Saturday in Death Valley.
The Clemson Insider was on hand for all of the action. Check out some great pictures from the win in Bart Boatwright’s Photo Gallery.
Sixth-ranked Clemson barely hung onto a 14-8 win that was delayed by weather for nearly two hours at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Here’s a look back at how the Tigers came out on top in their conference opener. What happened? It took over five …
Sixth-ranked Clemson barely hung onto a 14-8 win that was delayed by weather for nearly two hours at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Here’s a look back at how the Tigers came out on top in their conference opener.
What happened?
It took over five hours, but Clemson came away with its second win of the season and first in conference play. Just barely.
Georgia Tech had Clemson on the ropes for most of the evening. In fact, the Yellow Jackets had a chance at tying the game. And yet, the Tigers prevailed.
They bent until they couldn’t bend anymore, but with the game on the line, by mere instincts, James Skalski snuffed out a shovel pass that was caught by Georgia Tech tight end, Dylan Deveney, and made the stop.
And yet, the game still wasn’t over. After taking a Delay of Game penalty, Clemson elected to line up out of the shotgun from their own endzone. Will Shipley was four yards deep and fumbled the football in his own endzone. Somehow, someway Shipley recovered the football, for a subsequent safety.
Clemson was lucky to walk out of Memorial Stadium with a win.
After an emotional defensive stand, the Tigers could have had Uiagalelei fall forward and the game would’ve been over. Instead, the Tigers made it much harder than it needed to be, as they did most of Saturday night.
While the offense, again, struggled for most of the night. It was the defense that rose to the occasion, hanging onto Saturday’s win for dear life.
What went wrong?
Just about everything that could go wrong on the offensive end of the football, went wrong for Clemson.
D.J. Uiagalelei was largely ineffective yet again, as far as the passing game is concerned at least. As ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky mentioned on the broadcast of Saturday’s game, the gunslinger trusted his arm a little too much. His footwork, especially the planting of his backfoot, seemed to be the root of a lot of his missed throws.
There were times were Uiagalelei put a little too much zip on the ball. There were instances that he wasn’t on the same page as his receivers.
Clemson was able to run the football at will when the Tigers committed to the run, but they didn’t fully buy into the running game until late in the second half.
Uiagalelei completed 18 of 25 passes for just 126 yards while adding 46 yards on the ground. Clemson ran the ball 41 times for 158 yards on the night.
Game-changing moment
The biggest play of the game is likely Clemson’s biggest play of the season to date. On Third and 14 from Georgia Tech’s 29-yard line, Clemson had its backs against the wall.
Uiagalelei, who never looked quite comfortable during Saturday’s contest, surveyed the field. Instead of testing Georgia Tech with his arm, he dared the Yellow Jackets to bring him down. By the looks of the play call, a quarterback power may not have been what Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott had in mind, for what was the game’s deciding play.
But, it worked.
Uiagalelei powered forward for 14 yards, picking up a first down and keeping Clemson’s hopes at making the contest a two-possession game.
The Tigers would score what would be the game-winning touchdown, four plays later.
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Clemson, S.C. – It is Game Day in Death Valley where No. 6 Clemson hosts Georgia Tech as they being the march towards another ACC Championship. The Tigers’ defense goes for their third shutout in a row to start the season. Location: Memorial Stadium …
Clemson, S.C. — It is Game Day in Death Valley where No. 6 Clemson hosts Georgia Tech as they being the march towards another ACC Championship.
The Tigers’ defense goes for their third shutout in a row to start the season.
Location: Memorial Stadium (Death Valley)
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.
Television: ABC
Announcers: Dan Orlovsky, Bob Wischusen, Kris Budden
2021 Record: Clemson 1-1, Georgia Tech 1-1
ACC Record: Clemson 0-0
Series History: Georgia Tech leads series 51-31-2
Last Meeting: Clemson won 73-7 on October 17, 2020
CLEMSON OPENS CONFERENCE PLAY SATURDAY VS. GEORGIA TECH
Clemson returns to Death Valley this week for its 2021 conference opener on Saturday, Sept. 18 when the Tigers host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Clemson enters the contest having won 29 consecutive games at Death Valley, a school record and the nation’s longest active streak. With a win on
Saturday, Clemson can tie 1928-33 Tennessee, 1952-61 Auburn and 1994-99 Florida (30 each) for the 21stlongest home winning streak in FBS history. It would be the 24th home winning streak of 30 games or more in FBS history.
After being held to two yards on 23 rushing attempts (including seven sacks credited as rushes) in the season opener, Clemson entered last week’s game against South Carolina State looking for improved production from its running game. The Tigers succeeded, gaining 242 yards on 36 carries, an average of 6.7 yards per rush. The 240-yard week-over-week improvement in
rushing yards is Clemson’s largest in a single season since a 276-yard jump from the Florida State game to the Louisville game in 2018.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK
– Clemson attempting to win a 30th consecutive home game to extend its school record for both the longest home winning streak and longest home unbeaten streak in school history (as well as extend the nation’s longest
active home winning streak). Of the 135 players on Clemson’s 2021 roster, 130 have never experienced a home loss in their Clemson careers. Five sixth-year “super seniors” on Clemson’s 2021 roster were on the 2016 team that recovered from a home loss to Pitt by winning the national championship that season.
– Clemson (29) winning a 30th straight home game to record the 24th home winning streak of 30 games or more in FBS history.
– Clemson (29) attempting to tie 1928-33 Tennessee, 1952-61 Auburn and 1994-99 Florida (30 each) for the 21st-longest home winning streak in FBS history.
– Clemson attempting to add to its national-best 48-1 record at home in the College Football Playoff era (since 2014).
– Clemson attempting to earn its 34th all-time victory against Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is one of 11 schools against whom Clemson has earned at least 30 all-time victories (South Carolina, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Furman, Virginia, North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Presbyterian and The Citadel).
SERIES HISTORY VS. GEORGIA TECH
Georgia Tech holds a 51-33-2 lead in the series against Clemson, but Clemson has a 22-17 lead since Georgia Tech joined the ACC prior to the 1983 football season.
Clemson has won a program-record six in a row against Georgia Tech. Prior to the current six-game winning streak, Clemson had won four in a row over the Yellow Jackets just three times, including the first four games of the series from 1898-1903 as well as a fourgame stretch from 1993-96.
Dabo Swinney was already the first Clemson coach to beat Georgia Tech four consecutive times and will attempt to push that streak to seven with a win this year. Clemson had multiple coaches in the two Clemson four-game winning streaks in the series predating the current streak.
The series dates to a 23-0 Clemson win in Augusta, Ga. in 1898, just the 11th game in Clemson football history. Clemson won the first four games of the
series, including games in 1902 and 1903 when John Heisman was at the helm. Clemson defeated Georgia Tech, 73-0, in Atlanta in 1903 with Heisman as head coach. Heisman then left Clemson to become Georgia
Tech’s head coach.
RECORD DAY IN ‘THE A’ LAST YEAR
Clemson’s 73-7 win at Georgia Tech in 2020 resonated historically. Among the superlatives from that contest:
– Clemson’s 66-point victory margin was the largest in a game between two ACC teams since the conference’s inception in 1953.
– The 66-point victory margin tied for Clemson’s seventh-largest in school history and its largest since a 66-point win against South Carolina State in 2014. It was Clemson’s second-largest win all-time against a school presently in the Football Bowl Subdivision, trailing only a 73-0 victory against Georgia Tech in 1903.
ONE OF THE ERA’S WINNINGEST PROGRAMS
Clemson’s recent success has been particularly pronounced in the midst of Clemson’s six-year streak of College Football Playoff appearances since 2015.
Alabama and Clemson rank No. 1 and 2 in the country in wins in that span, with the two teams combining for five out of six national championships in that time frame.
“A”NOTHER “C”LEMSON “C”HAMPIONSHIP
With its sixth straight conference title last year, Clemson became the first program ever to win 20 ACC Championships, five more than Florida State, which ranks second with 15.
Clemson was the first program in the conference championship game era to win six straight conference championship games. Clemson also became the first ACC program to win six consecutive outright titles, as Florida State had a streak of nine straight ACC titles, but that streak included two co-championships that prevented Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles from ever winning more than three straight titles outright.
In 2020, Clemson and Oklahoma’s six-year streaks of outright titles made the two programs the first among current Power Five programs to win at least six straight outright titles since Oklahoma (12 from 1948-59) as part of the now-dissolved Big 8 Conference.
TCI Predictions
Robert – Clemson 64, Georgia Tech 7
Sam – Clemson 55, Georgia Tech 13
Davis – Clemson 42, Georgia Tech 10
Gavin – Clemson 45, Georgia Tech 14
Bart – Clemson 45, Georgia Tech 10
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Georgia Tech was caught off guard in its season-opening loss to Northern Illinois two weeks ago, and he is making sure his sixth-ranked Tigers do not fall in the same trap against the Yellow Jackets. The Tigers …
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Georgia Tech was caught off guard in its season-opening loss to Northern Illinois two weeks ago, and he is making sure his sixth-ranked Tigers do not fall in the same trap against the Yellow Jackets.
The Tigers (1-1) open up ACC play against Georgia Tech today at Death Valley. The oddsmakers list Clemson as a 28-point favorite, despite the fact the Tigers are still trying to find their way offensively.
“We just have to cut out some of the mistakes,” Swinney said on Off Campus with Mark Packer Thursday on ESPNU Radio. “We put the ball on the ground four different times (against S.C. State). We only lost one, but we were very fortunate. So, we have to do a much better job from a ball security standpoint.
“Then we missed some plays that were there. We made a ton of plays, obviously, but we missed some plays. We ended up having a tipped ball interception, and they got three points off of that, so we need to quit scoring for the other team and then we had an overthrow interception from when Taisun [Phommachanh] was in there. We had a couple of drops, and we have to get a little better with our blocking on the perimeter. So, there are a lot of things to keep cleaning up.”
That is why Swinney does not want his team to get a false sense of security, considering they have beat the Yellow Jackets in each of the last six years, including a 73-7 win in Atlanta last year.
In the two years the Yellow Jackets have been led by head coach Geoff Collins, Clemson has averaged 62.5 points and 651.5 yards against the Jackets.
But Swinney says this year’s Yellow Jackets are not those Yellow Jackets.
“(Northern Illinois) caught them off guard with some unbalanced stuff and kind of possessed the ball and got the run game going. It was just a few plays here and there,” Swinney said. “Again, they ended up scoring late and went for two and won the game. But (Georgia Tech) bounced back last week and played great.
“This is a much, much improved Georgia Tech team. They have a ton of experience.”
The Yellow Jackets (1-1) bounced back with a 45-17 win over Kennesaw State last week. They held Kennesaw State’s triple-option rushing attack to 149 yards and to just 3 of 15 on third down. They allowed just 260 total yards.
“This is a good football team that I think has made a ton of improvement,” Swinney said. “You can see the culture taking root there that Coach Collins is trying to get instill and you see them play hard. Anytime you see guys play with the type of effort that they play with, it just shows you they believe. They have a lot of respect for their coaches.”
And the Yellow Jackets would love nothing more than to knock off the No. 6 team in the country, while snapping the Tigers’ 29-game home winning streak at the same time.
Clemson is also trying to win its 31st straight game against a full-time ACC opponent, as well as win a seventh consecutive conference opener.
“It is the first game in the ACC for both teams. Everybody wants to get off to a good start and get a win,” Swinney said. “So, we have to play well.”
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
Overview of Clemson’s first home game which also fell on the 20th anniversary of 9-11, and C.J. Spiller’s thoughts on his induction into CFB Hall of Fame.
Overview of Clemson’s first home game which also fell on the 20th anniversary of 9-11, and C.J. Spiller’s thoughts on his induction into CFB Hall of Fame.
