By Hale McGranahan.

Paul Johnson hasn’t enjoyed this level of play from his quarterback, wide receiver and B-back since the trio of Josh Nesbitt, Damaryius Thomas and Jonathan Dwyer led Georgia Tech to 11 wins and an ACC Championship in 2009.

Georgia Tech beat Clemson twice that season, the second of which came in the league’s title game, but was later vacated because of NCAA violations.

Clemson has won three of the four games since, including the last two. During that stretch, Georgia Tech has struggled to find a reliable presence at quarterback, but defensive coordinator Brent Venables thinks the Jackets have discovered something in Justin Thomas, who’s passed for 1,294 yards with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions over 10 games this season.

“The quarterback is an instinctual decision maker with speed, quickness and explosiveness,” Venables said. “It’s a good combination for them.”

Thomas has also rushed for a team-high 781 yards with five touchdowns.

“He’s got good speed and he makes good decisions,” Venables said.

DeAndre Smelter, Thomas’ favorite receiver, has 27 catches for 594 yards and six touchdowns.

“I think he’s another year more mature, understands his role and they’re, obviously, a little more comfortable and confident throwing it to him,” Venables said.

But it’s all about the triple-option in Atlanta. Nationally, Georgia Tech is second with 335.6 yards rushing per game and first with 34 touchdowns.

B-backs Zach Laskey and Synjyn Days have combined for 1,098 yards and eight touchdowns. Tony Zenon, the leading A-back, has has 284 yards and four scores.

“It’s incredibly stressful, mentally (and) physically,” Venables said, when asked about preparing for Johnson’s system. “There’s not a lot of margin for error, really take advantage of the mistakes that you make — fundamentally, alignment, with your eyes, how you’re supporting the run in the secondary, if you’re a little bit late reacting or false step, whatever, they really take advante of you.

“And they’re very methodical in their approach. A lot of teams get bored with doing the basic, fundamental  things over and over and over, and they get a little bit anxious, a little bit nosey, the wheels start falling off, so very uncomfortable preparation.”

Venables believes Saturday’s game will be the biggest challenge the Clemson defense has encountered this season.

“It’s not even close,” he said. “Nobody has stopped these guys. They’re playing with great chemistry and you don’t really see a weakness in their offense, for what they do.”