CLEMSON – The Clemson Tigers opened the game with a bad mistake that led to a 7-0 deficit. From then on, it was a one-sided walloping that Clemson delivered to the tune of a 42-21 victory over Georgia Tech.

Stealing the show was an abundance of Tigers freshmen on both sides of the ball in Death Valley. This turned out to be a all-around domination and here’s the 411 on Clemson moving to 6-4.

-Freshmen highlights with a side of freshmen highlights, please. Wide receiver Tyler Brown made an acrobatic, one-handed touchdown catch. Cornerback Avieon Terrell heard the call, and matched it with a one-handed interception. Defensive back Khalil Barnes added an interception himself. That wasn’t enough, and redshirt freshman safety Kylon Griffin made an interception of his own in the third quarter. Cornerback Shelton Lewis decided the work wasn’t done, and made a 46-yard pick six. This is a laughably good freshman class.

-This was a tough day for Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King, who came in averaging 319.4 total yards per game. He finished with 126 net yards, and was bullied by the Tigers defense. Four interceptions was insult to injury, and this is what the Wes Goodwin’s unit can do with a lead.

-Quarterback Cade Klubnik tied his career-high with four touchdown passes. He finished the game with 23-34 passing for 205 yards. The lone blemish was an interception in the third quarter, but Clemson answered back with a takeaway of their own to neutralize it.

TURNING POINT

From the second quarter on, this game was all Tigers. Early in the second quarter, Clemson was down 7-0 with a 4th-and-1 coming up. Running back Phil Mafah was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, but carried defenders for the conversion.

Three plays later, the Tigers scored on a touchdown pass to wide receiver Beaux Collins. That was the tipping point, and activated what would become 42 unanswered.

TELLING STAT: 4 INTs

Clemson’s defense hasn’t got to play with a lead often in 2023, but the performance against Georgia Tech is all you could ask for. The Tigers secondary delivered a masterclass and the takeaways came in abundance.

13 of Clemson’s 42 points came off turnovers, while one saved a likely scoring drive for the Yellow Jackets. One of the most prolific offenses in the ACC was stung in Death Valley.