By Will Vandervort.
So who has the edge as the 16th-ranked Clemson Tigers visit No. 12 Georgia Saturday at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.? The Clemson Insider breaks down all the key matchups if the Tigers hope to leave Athens with its first victory “Between the Hedges” since 1986.
Cole Stoudt vs. the Georgia secondary: Clemson has a new quarterback and Georgia has a new secondary. Can that be a good thing for the Tigers? As Dabo Swinney said, who knows? On paper at least it would seem the Tigers have a big edge here. Georgia’s top two defensive backs from last year, Josh Harvey-Clemons and Tray Matthews, are no longer on the team. But is that really bad? The Bulldogs allowed 41 pass plays of 20 yards or longer in 2013 – the most by a Georgia secondary in 10 years. New defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt is also the secondary coach where he learned from the best in the business—Nick Saban at Alabama—from 2010-’12. Pruitt’s scheme worked masterfully against former Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd last season, when he was the DC at Florida State, and you can bet he will try and confuse Stoudt with his complex zone scheme. But how fast can Georgia’s new players pick up this complicated system? Georgia will play at least four freshmen in the backend with at least three of them seeing significant time. Though Stoudt is a senior and understands Chad Morris’ offense as well as anyone, he will have to guide three freshmen receivers with 93,000 people screaming at them. It should be an interesting matchup. Pruitt won the first matchup with Morris last year when both guys had experienced players running the shows, but Stoudt could be the difference maker here in a matchup that will have young puppies and tiger cubs roaming the field everywhere. Advantage: Clemson
Joe Gore vs. Georgia’s linebackers: Gore had a great summer and even a better camp as he beat out Shaq Anthony for the starting job at right tackle. As good as that is, here comes the bad news. The junior will be making his first collegiate start in one of the toughest and loudest atmospheres in all of college football. To top it off, don’t think Pruitt doesn’t know the Tigers have a first-time starter lining up at right tackle. Look for Georgia to bring a good bit of its blitzes off the right side to try and confuse the junior from Lake Waccamaw, N.C. The Bulldogs have a lot of experience on their defensive line and a lot of talent at linebacker, especially with Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins that can cause havoc for Gore if he is not careful. Look for Clemson to max protect to Gore’s side with tight ends and running backs. This will be a matchup to really watch. Advantage: Georgia
Clemson D-line vs. Georgia O-line: A lot of people want to make this game about Clemson’s veteran defensive line vs. Georgia running back Todd Gurley. That makes me laugh when I hear that. Sure Gurley is a great back, but any running back is only good as his offensive line. The Bulldogs’ O-line has three new starters in right tackle Kolton Houston, right guard Greg Pyke and left guard Brandon Kublanow. Pyke and Kublanow are both making their first starts. The two sophomores have the daunting task of having to shut down the Tigers’ Graddy Jarrett, D.J. Reader, Josh Watson, DeShawn Williams and Carlos Watkins on the interior of the line. Overall, Clemson returns four starters across the front, including three full-time starters with senior defensive end Corey Crawford sitting this game out due to a suspension set by head coach Dabo Swinney in the spring. The Tigers have 12-lettermen back on the defensive line overall, and did I mention one of them is All-American defensive end Vic Beasley, who had two of Clemson’s four sacks last year. Gurley rushed for 154 yards and scored two touchdowns against the Tigers last year, and though he is hard to bring down Clemson had some missed assignments on a couple of his long runs, including on the long 75-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. If the Tigers can clean those mistakes up and play a more consistent game up front, they have a real shot to win this game. Advantage: Clemson
Clemson’s running game vs. Georgia’s defense: Talk about the unknown. Clemson will start D.J. Howard and will use three other backs—C.J. Davidson, Wayne Gallman and Adam Choice—as well in hopes to establish some resemblance of a running game. Last year the Tigers rushed for 197 yards against the Bulldogs, but they did it with a veteran offensive line, especially up the middle. The good news for Clemson is it still has a lot of veteran leadership in the middle of the line, but left guard David Beasley will miss the opener due to a suspension for a violation of team rules in the spring. That means Eric Mac Lain or Reid Webster will get their first start in his spot. Center Ryan Norton is the glue that holds the line together, while Kalon Davis has quietly emerged as a leader. Left tackle Isaiah Battle has experience in big games but he will be making his first start on the left side of the line. Georgia’s run defense was not all that bad in 2013, though it did allow an average of 148 yards per game. Junior defensive end Sterling Bailey (6-3, 282) heads up the three-man front, which also has senior Mike Thornton (6-1, 290) at nose tackle and junior James DeLoach (6-3, 265) at defensive tackle. Outside backers Floyd (6-4, 220) and Jenkins (6-3, 246) also make up the front in Pruitt’s zone scheme. Advantage: Georgia