By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
CLEMSON — Here is a position-by-position breakdown of Saturday’s Georgia Tech at Clemson game.
Quarterback: Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd is having another All-ACC caliber season and is having a better year than last year so far. The Tigers signal caller is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes for 1,351 yards and 12 touchdowns. His decision making, especially in the running game has given the Clemson offense another dimension. Georgia Tech’s Tevin Washington is throwing the football much better this year, completing 60 percent of his passes for 660 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Advantage: Clemson
Running back: Washington is the Jackets best running back, too. He has rushed for 304 yards and is second in the country with 11 rushing touchdowns, four more than the second place guy in the ACC, which happens to be Clemson running back Andre Ellington. B back Zach Laskey has netted 303 yards this year, while A back Orwin Smith has rushed for 245 yards. Ellington leads the ACC with 515 yards. He has scored seven touchdowns this year and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Advantage: Georgia Tech
Wide receiver: Okay, Georgia Tech doesn’t really like to throw the ball, though Jeff Greene is averaging 21.1 yards per catch when it does. Clemson, however, might be one of the deepest receiving corps, if not the deepest, in the country. DeAndre Hopkins leads the ACC in catches (42), yards (604) and receiving touchdowns (6). Sammy Watkins returns after a stomach virus forced him out of action last week and Brandon Ford is starting to make people forget about former tight end Dwayne Allen. Advantage: Clemson
Offensive line: No one expected Clemson’s offensive line five games into the season to allow only seven sacks, especially considering it had three new starters. But since the first quarter of the Auburn game, the Tigers have given up only four sacks and are leading the way for a running game that is averaging 200.6 yards per outing. The Yellow Jackets offensive line does one thing and one thing only, it run blocks. But it does it very well, in fact better than most in the country. Georgia Tech leads the ACC and ranks third nationally at 329.4 yards per game. Advantage: Georgia Tech
Defensive line: It’s hard to say either one of these lines will have a good day. I thought Clemson’s front four made some progress at Boston College, but what they will see out of Georgia Tech and the way it blocks will hold the growth of this young unit back this week. The Yellow Jackets defensive front, which has three down linemen, does not appear to have the right personnel for the scheme, especially with defensive end Izaan Cross, who at 6-4, 300 pounds is more suited for the defensive tackle position than end. Advantage: Clemson
Linebackers: Tech will get back outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu and that should help bolster a unit that has been struggling to stop really anyone lately. Quatshawn Nealy has 30 tackles from his inside linebacker spot, Brandon Watts has 28. It will be interesting to see how Clemson’s linebacker fight off the cut blocks Georgia Tech’s offensive linemen like to do at the second level. Clemson’s improvement at linebacker is starting to become noticeable, but like on the defensive line, playing option teams like Tech will slow down their progress this week. Also, how much will we see Tony Steward this week? He has really shown good side-to-side movement, which is extremely important in playing an option team like Georgia Tech’s. Advantage: Georgia Tech
Secondary: Garry Peters brought a little something to this unit after replacing Darius Robinson in the second half of last week’s win at Boston College. The redshirt sophomore had an interception, and a pass broken up after coming in. But the most important thing for the Clemson secondary this week is not falling asleep on their assignments or try to peak into the backfield. Tech has a tendency for burning teams deep if they think the safeties and corners are cheating in the run defense. The Jackets do get back cornerback Louis Young and that should help some, but Clemson does such a good job with throwing the football that one guy can’t totally turnaround a unit that has been torched for 1,209 yards and nine touchdowns already this season. Advantage: Clemson
Special teams: Chandler Catanzaro is still a perfect 8-8 on field goals, including three from 40-plus yards. Spencer Benton and Bradley Pinion have been solid on punts, netting 39.4 per punt. However, kick coverage is still an issue and it starts with the fact Clemson’s kickers—which happens to be Benton and Pinion—are having trouble kicking the ball through the end zone. Tech kicker David Scully has attempted two field goals all season, which he made both, but his long is only 34 yards. Advantage: Clemson
Prediction: The key to this game? Can the Clemson offense put pressure on the Yellow Jackets offense to keep up? Georgia Tech will want to play the ultimate game of keep away from the Tigers, but if the Yellow Jackets are slowed down just a little, and Clemson is able to build a lead, this game could get out of hand early. Look for Clemson to try and attack the Yellow Jackets run defense with Ellington, who gives the Tigers an added element Georgia Tech did not have to worry about in last year’s game because the senior had to sit it out with an injury. There was no one injury that hurt the Tigers more in any other game than Ellington missing that one. Ellington rushed for 166 yards and scored two touchdowns on the Jackets in Clemson’s 27-13 win at Death Valley in 2010. Clemson 49, Georgia Tech 28