For two quarters, Clemson’s defense was stout and went toe to toe with Georgia on Saturday.
However, with continued struggles from the offense, Clemson’s defense ran out of juice and got gashed in the second half of the 14th-ranked Tigers’ eventual 34-3 loss to the top-ranked Bulldogs in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It was a tight game in the first half, with Clemson trailing only 6-0 at halftime after allowing just two field goals across the first two frames. But the Tigers got outscored 28-3 after halftime in what turned out to be a rout.
After the break, things got bad for what had to be a worn-out Tiger defensive unit that was on the field for a big chunk of game time, with Clemson unable to muster much of anything on the offensive side of the ball.
After yielding 160 total yards in the first half, including just 34 rushing yards, the Tigers gave up big play after big play to the Bulldogs in the second half. Georgia racked up 287 over the final two quarters, including 135 on the ground, and scored touchdowns on four of their first five second-half drives to blow the game wide open.
The Bulldogs found the end zone on each of their first two drives coming out of halftime and grabbed full control of the game thanks to a 7-yard touchdown pass that made the score 13-0, followed by a 1-yard touchdown run that extended their lead to 20-3 late in the third quarter. UGA would tack on a couple more touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a 40-yard catch and run, and a 15-yard run.
Clemson’s defense was staunch for the first two quarters but could only hold up for so long as the offense kept sputtering, and in the end, the Tiger D succumbed to a highly explosive UGA offense with plenty of talented playmakers.
The Tigers will try to get back on track, on both sides of the ball, when they host their home opener against App State at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7.