Clemson Game Day Blog: Clemson 43, Ga. Tech 24
By: will-vandervort October 10, 2015

Clemson beats Georgia Tech 43-24. Check out the game story here.

 

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Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas got his second touchdown pass of the game, a 46-yard pass to Rickey Jeune with 8:52 to play in the game. The Tech drive was six plays, 74 yards and took 3:11 off the clock. Tech had just 158 yards of total offense before that scoring drive.

 

Clemson kicker Ammon Lakip made a 42-yard field with 12:07 to play to in the game to give the Tigers a 43-17 lead. The field goal capped a 9-play, 50-yard drive that took 4:01 off the clock.

 

Freshman center Justin Falcinelli snapped the ball over Deshaun Watson’s head and Georgia Tech’s Adam’s Gotsis recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown to cut the Tigers lead to 40-17 with 1:16 left in the third quarter.

 

Zac Brooks goes 35-yards to give Clemson a 40-10 lead with 5:06 to play in the third quarter. The scoring drive took four plays to cover 70 yards and took just 1:26 off the clock.

The Tigers are averaging seven yards per carry to Tech’s 1.7.

Running back Wayne Gallman has 115 yards on the ground today, the third straight game he has gone over 100 yards, the first Clemson running back to do that since Andre Ellington had three straight from 2011-’12.

 

Clemson’s defense and quarterback Deshaun Watson completely dominated Georgia Tech in the first half. Watson completed 15 of 22 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns, while the Clemson defense held Tech’s triple-option offense to 109 total yards, including just 56 on the ground as the Tigers lead 33-10.

The Yellow Jackets led the ACC and ranked sixth nationally in rushing offense (311.8 ypg) coming in.

Clemson’s offense ran 41 plays and racked up 318 total yards in the opening half. It all got started on the game’s third play from scrimmage when running back Wayne Gallman broke a run off the left side and then got a crushing block from Charone Peake as he sprinted 66 yards for a touchdown.

It was Gallman’s longest touchdown of his career and the Tigers longest of the season. Gallman finished the opening half with 86 yards and two touchdowns. He had a one-yard run later in the first quarter that gave the Tigers a 17-3 lead with 2:52 to play in the opening quarter.

Clemson increased its lead t 26-3 in the second quarter when Watson found Leggett for a 29-yard scoring play. He also had a 32-yard completion on that drive and at one point in the first half he completed 10 consecutive passes.

Following a Georgia Tech touchdown–a 50-yard scoring pass to Clinton Lynch from Justin Thomas–the Tigers closed the half with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Leggett. It was a well thrown ball to the back of the end zone, where Leggett was running free to the field side.

Cordrea Tankersley recorded an interception, Jadar Johnson blocked a punt and Jayron Kearse had three tackles for loss to lead the defense.

 

Deshaun Watson throws a perfectly thrown pass to Jordan Leggett who was running to the back of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown pass with four seconds left in the first to give Clemson a 33-10 lead.

 

Georgia Tech was runs three verticals and Clinton Lynch gets behind the Clemson secondary for a 50-yard touchdown to cut the Tigers’ lead to 26-10 with 5:27 to play in the first half.

The drive was kept alive by a fake punts a few plays before.

 

Clemson increased its lead to 26-3 has Deshaun Watson hits Jordan Leggett for a 29-yard touchdown. The drive took five plays to go 66 yards and took just 1:55 off the clock. The big play came on a 32-yard pass to Germone Hopper.

Watson has completed his last nine passes for 140 yards and one touchdown. He has thrown the ball to seven different receivers.

 

Clemson leads 19-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers held Georgia Tech without a first down in the opening quarter, and to 10 total yards.

The Tigers have 196 total yards.

Also, Jadar Johnson was credited with a blocked punt on the safety.

 

 

Georgia Tech snaps the ball over the punter’s head into the end zone where he picks it up and tries to kick it. The ball hits a Clemson player and then roles out of the end zone for a safety. Clemson takes a 19-3 lead with 0:56 to play in the first quarter.

The play is scored as a blocked punt. Jadar Johnson was credited with the blocked punt.

 

Wayne Gallman gets his second touchdown of the afternoon with a one-yard run. The drive was 10-play, 80 yards and took 3:54 off the clock.

Watson was 5-for-5 passing for 68 yards on that drive. Clemson leads 17-3 with 2:52 to play in the first quarter.

 

Tech gets a 39-yard field goal by Harrison Butker. The drive was three plays, -2 yards. The Clemson defense has now produced two three-and-outs and an interception to the start the game.

 

Ray Ray McCloud fumbles the ball at the Clemson 20-yard line to set Georgia Tech up in good field position.

 

 

Greg Huegel connects on a 21-yard field goal after Charone Peake dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone. Clemson leads 10-0 with 11:19 to play in the first quarter.

The drive was six-plays, 32 yards and took 1:30 off the clock.

 

Cordrea Tankersley picks off Justin Thomas’ third-down pass and Clemson is in business again at the Tech 36.

 

That did not take long.

Clemson did not take long to get on the board. Wayne Gallman went 66 yards for a touchdown on third down and one, coming off the left side of the line. Wide receiver Charone Peake blew the corner back up on the edge to spring Gallman. Clemson leads 7-0 with 13:55 to play in the first quarter.

The 66 yards was his longest of his career and the longest play of the year for the Tigers. Previously, Gallman’s longest run was 35 yards.

Georgia Tech has won the toss and has deferred to the second half.

See the motivational video the team watched last night to prepare for today’s game against Georgia Tech, and more in our Game Day Blog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the atmosphere at today’s game. It’s not exactly like it was prior to the Notre Dame game.

 

 

Here we are at another rain soaked Death Valley. The rain is coming down but the players are on the field warming up as No. 6 Clemson hosts Georgia Tech at 3:30 p.m.

Clemson comes into this game with a 4-0 mark, including a 1-0 record in the ACC, while Georgia Tech is 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the ACC.

The Tigers are coming off a 24-22 victory over then No. 6 Notre Dame, and have won seven straight games dating back to last year’s loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets have lost three straight games coming in, including last week’s 38-31 loss to North Carolina. Georgia Tech scored the game’s first 20 points and still lost.

Georgia Tech holds a 51-27-2 lead in the series against Clemson. Georgia Tech has beaten Clemson more than any other school. Forty-four of the wins have taken place in Atlanta where the Yellow Jackets hold a 44- 13-2 lead in the series. Clemson has a winningrecord over Georgia Tech in games at Clemson, 12-6. Tech never came to Clemson to face the Tigers until 1974. Since Georgia Tech joined the ACC for the 1983 football season, Tech has a 17-16 advantage. The teams have played every year since, including twice in 2009 when they also met in the ACC Championship game.

This has been a home stadium advantage in recent years. The home team has won each of the last six regular season games in the series, and eight of the last nine.

Injuries: Clemson – Out: Korrin Wiggins, LB, knee; Mike Williams, WR, Neck; Chris Register, LB, Shoulder; Ryan Norton, C, Knee; Austin Bryant, DE, Knee. Georgia Tech – Out: Broderick Snoddy, A-Back, hand. Questionable: Michael Summers, WR, shoulder. Probable: Patrick Gamble, DT, head.

Stat worth noting: Tech is tied for fifth nationally in red zone touchdown percentage at 83.3 percent. The Yellow Jackets 20 red zone touchdowns are the fourth most in college football.

Second stat worth noting: Since 1983, when Clemson and Georgia Tech became conference foes, the Yellow Jackets have won 17 games, while the Tigers have won 16. It is without a doubt the most competitive series in the ACC over the last 33 years.

Third stat worth noting: Since he became head coach in 2008 at Georgia Tech, Paul Johnson has a career record of 15-4 against ACC teams from the Atlantic Division that includes a 5-3 record against Clemson.

Fourth stat worth noting: Clemson has won 12 straight games in Death Valley. A win on Saturday would tie the school record for consecutive home wins.

Memorable game: Woodrow Dantzler had one of the best all-around games of his career in 2001 as he led the Tigers to a 47-44 overtime win in Atlanta. Georgia Tech had no answer for Clemson’s record-setting quarterback as he threw for two scores and ran for two more, while racking up 164 rushing yards and 254 passing yards. His 38-yard “Hail Mary Run” to conclude the first half, is still considered one of the more exciting plays in Clemson history. With 1:58 to play in the game, he threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to J.J. McKelvey on fourth down to put the Tigers in front by three. In overtime, Dantlzer ran the ball in from 11 yards out to win the game for the Tigers.