It was back to normal for Jayron Kearse on Monday. No trash talk, no snark, no shade toward the opposition.

Instead, it was all business from Clemson’s defensive back. In fact, it has been all business from everybody this week as the Tigers prepare to face Georgia Tech on Saturday.

The talkative bunch that chirped about disrespect from the opposition and discussed last week’s game with Notre Dame with brashness and bravado has given way to a more typical Clemson team this week.

Kearse says that is all part of the plan, and it worked.

“I knew what we could do,” he said. “It was all a matter of time before we got on the field and showed everybody else what we could do.

“When I said (those things), I ultimately knew we were going to get the last word because of the way we prepared through the week. We had an extra week to prepare. It just paid off for us.”

The junior safety had plenty to say before the game and could not resist throwing one more parting shot at the Fighting Irish before turning his attentions to Georgia Tech.

“I mean, it wasn’t too chippy from them,” he said with a grin. “I don’t know what it was. I don’t know if the scoreboard got to them or they were just scared, but there wasn’t too much coming from those players.”

It seems reasonable to expect Kearse and his teammates to be giddy after such an emotional win. The fan base is certainly still riding the wave, but Dabo Swinney’s program does not operate that way. As much as the Tigers may want to bask in another program-defining win, the standard is to be immersed in the next opponent on the schedule.

That opponent is Georgia Tech, a 2-3 team with a funky scheme of attack whose recent string of futility has not phased the Tigers one bit.

“I honestly don’t know why they’re struggling,” Kearse said. “Georgia Tech’s a good football team. They have some good athletes. Coach Paul Johnson is a great coach.”

Clemson’s defense made things more difficult for itself in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame. Both Swinney and Brent Venables have said the issues were correctible, and this is the time to fix them.

Georgia Tech’s offense has sputtered at times, but the Yellow Jackets have still averaged 410.3 yards per game against FBS opposition. Justin Thomas gives opposing teams issues with his legs and his arm, so the Tigers will need to learn from their mistakes quickly to avoid a letdown—something veteran leaders like Kearse know all too well.

“We’re going to attack those things this week,” Kearse said. “We’re going to go out there and correct them against Georgia Tech.”

The motivation for the Yellow Jackets to avoid a fourth consecutive loss is not lost on the Tigers. The idea of a so-called “trap game” is foreign to the Clemson program, and knowing an opponent understands the opportunity to alter the course of its season against them puts the players on high alert.

“Playing against Clemson can be a good turning point for the season,” Kearse said. “If they go out there and beat us, that gets everybody motivated for the rest of the season.”