CLEMSON – The Clemson Tigers made their weekly mistake to start the game against Georgia Tech, but rallied the troops to take a halftime lead.

For a gloomy day in Death Valley, it was filled with Clemson highlights in the first half. 21 unanswered points was the story that takes Dabo Swinney’s team into the break on Military Appreciation Day. Here’s the halftime observations as the Tigers, receiving to start the second half, lead 21-7.

-Cornerbacks Avieon Terrell and Shelton Lewis made the start at cornerback. It became a rotation afterwards, but a great sign to see the evolution of the young talent on the defensive backend.

-This was a poised Cade Klubnik in the first half. 16-22 for 135 yards and two touchdowns. He avoided pressure which was prevalent and delivered some key throws to keep drives alive.

-It wasn’t a conventional turnover, but the Tigers attempted a fake punt in the first quarter and punter Aidan Swanson never had a chance for a first down. The mistake set up the Yellow Jackets at the Clemson 25-yard line and quarterback Haynes King cashed on in the Tigers’ blunder with a four-yard touchdown run. Those mistakes refuse to go away for this team.

-King and the Georgia Tech passing game had a rough half against the Clemson defense. He goes into the break with one, yes, one net passing yard. Bravo, Wes Goodwin and the Tigers defense.

–Clemson held King, who is averaging 319 total yards per game coming in to minus-8 yards of total offense. King was 2-7 for 1 yard through the air with one interception. Tech has 89 total yards overall.

-The blocking excellence from the Notre Dame was not present in the first half. Gashing rushers and a lack of push were prevalent. Clemson rolled out with the same offensive line that dominated against the Irish, but it wasn’t the same

-On the first Tigers touchdown drive, Clemson converted on two fourth downs. The first came on a pass to wide receiver Beaux Collins and the later came from running back Phil Mafah. He was stifled before the line-to-gain, but his second surge kept the drive alive. Three plays later, the Tigers scored on another pass to Collins. The junior receiver had three catches for 45 yards on the drive.

-The pair of Mafah and Will Shipley wasn’t dominant on the stat sheet, but delivered in the first half. Shipley had the exclamation point to end the half, breaking loose for a 32-yard touchdown, diving into the end zone.

-Time of possession was entirely decided on that touchdown drive for Clemson. The Tigers chewed up 9:51 of game time over 18 plays. That’s how you keep an elite defense fresh.

-Take a bow, Tyler Brown. The freshman receiver called for the ball on a scramble drill in the red zone, and Klubnik’s pass was out of the reach of the Georgia Tech defenders. Not Brown’s though, and he made an absurd one-handed catch to take the lead for Clemson.

-Cornerback Nate Wiggins put his range on full display late in the first half. After being beat for what looked like a sure touchdown, he drove back into the play and broke up the pass with his fingertips to maintain the Tigers lead.