It’s Game Day in Death Valley where No. 7 Clemson battles Georgia Tech in a critical ACC showdown as the Tigers look to keep their championship run alive.

Location: Memorial Stadium (Death Valley)

Kickoff:  8:12 p.m.

Television:  ABC/ESPN2

Announcers:  Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler, Maria Taylor

2017 Record: Clemson  6-1,  Georgia Tech 4-2

ACC/SEC Record: Clemson 4-1,  Georgia Tech 3-1

Series History: Georgia Tech leads 52-29-2

Last Meeting:  Clemson won 26-7 in 2016 at Georgia Tech

Clemson Streaks and stretches

•Clemson has won 37 of its last 40 games dating to 2014.
•The Tigers have won 21 of their last 23 against ACC teams and 12 of 13 away from home against ACC teams.
•Clemson is 13-1 at night over the last two years with seven of the wins coming over top 20 teams. Only three of the 13 night start wins have been at home.
•Clemson has won 26 of the last 27 and 43 of its last 46 at home.
•The Tigers have won 38 in a row when rushing for at least 200 yards.
•Clemson has won 20 of the last 21 against the ACC Atlantic.
•The Tigers have won 49 of their last 51 against unranked teams.

Defending Georgia Tech Option

Dabo Swinney has a 5-5 record against Georgia Tech, but his Tigers have won four of the first five. It has been a fine comeback in the series after Swinney lost four of his first five to Paul Johnson’s team. The first three of those losses were by a touchdown of less, including a 21-17 loss at Death Valley on October 18, 2008 in the first game Swinney served as interim head coach.

The Tigers have won four of five since Brent Venables came on the scene as defensive coordinator in 2012. The first two games were high scoring contests, but the last two years, Venables’s defense has been a big story.
In 2015 in a 43-24 win at Clemson, the Tigers held Georgia Tech’s rushing attack to just 71 yards rushing in 42 attempts, or 1.7 yards per attempt. Last year Tech had 95 yards rushing in 38 attempts (2.5 per try) in a 26-7 Clemson win. So over the last two years, Georgia Tech has just 83 yards on the ground per game against the Tigers and averaged just a little more than two yards per rush. Georgia Tech’s 124 yards of total offense last year against Clemson was its low total in the Paul Johnson era.

In 2015 when not playing Clemson, Georgia Tech averaged 5.6 yards per rush and 273 rushing yards per game. In 2016, Georgia Tech averaged 5.7 yards per rush and 272 yards a game when not playing Clemson.

O’Daniel at His Best vs. Georgia Tech

Dorian O’Daniel has had an All-American season so far, leading the Tigers in tackles with 61 and he already has two interception returns for touchdowns, something no Clemson linebacker had done in history previously.
Georgia Tech believes O’Daniel plays like an All-American all the time. Entering this year, O’Daniel had each of his top three tackle games as a Tiger against Georgia Tech. He had 10 stops including a sack at Tech in 2014, then had eight tackles including three tackles for loss in a Clemson win over Georgia Tech in 2015, and finally eight stops and two tackles for loss against Paul Johnson’s team last year.  O’Daniel has 26 career tackles in 140 career plays with six tackles for loss and two sacks in his three games against the Yellow Jackets.

Heisman Coached at Both Schools

John Heisman coached at both Clemson and Georgia Tech. He coached the Tigers program from 1900-03 and led the Tigers to a 19-3-2 record and two conference championships. Clemson won the SIAA conference title in 1900 and 1902 under Heisman and played in its first “postseason” game ever in 1903.

Clemson played Cumberland in Montgomery, AL on November 26, 1903 in what was called “the championship of the South.” The contest ended in an 11-11 tie. That was his last game as Clemson coach, as he left after the season to become the first full time football coach at Georgia Tech, who paid him $2,250 per year and 30 percent of the net gate receipts for home games.

Later as Georgia Tech coach in 1916, Heisman defeated Cumberland 222-0 in the highest scoring game (by one team) in college football history. His Clemson team of 1901 defeated Guilford College 122-0 and that is the highest scoring game by the Tigers in history. So, Heisman coached the highest scoring game in each school’s history.

Ferrell ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week

Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell was named the ACC Defensive ineman of the Week for his performance against Syracuse on October 13. The Tigers dropped a 27-24 contest to the Orange, but Ferrell had a standout game.

A red-shirt sophomore from Richmond, Va., Ferrell had eight total tackles, including seven first hits. He was credited with 3.5 sacks and 5.5 total tackles for loss. The sack and tackles for loss figures were just a half a sack and TFL off the Clemson single game records in both categories. The 5.5 tackles for loss tied for the most in the nation by an FBS player this year.

TCI Predictions 

Robert – Clemson 28 Georgia Tech 14

Will – Clemson 21 Georgia Tech 10

Gavin – Clemson 27 Georgia Tech 7