CLEMSON – A hush fell over a blue-sky-backed crowd at Memorial Stadium after Clemson freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds executed a perfect, headfirst baseball slide for a seven-yard gain.

Or, rather, the crowd’s sudden silence did not come during the slide, but instead followed a few seconds later as Reynolds tried to pop up, but immediately grabbed his left leg and winced in pain.

Suddenly, three plays into a game Clemson was favored to win by over two touchdowns, the Tigers’ young leader was headed to the sideline and, eventually, into the locker room. 

This was not on the bingo card for any Clemson fan that had watched the 6-foot-2 west-coaster play football this season.

Through his seven previous starts, Reynolds had become known for a few key positive traits, namely his running ability, physicality and toughness. 

He battled through an irritated shoulder in a one-score win over Syracuse. He fought off defenders Heisman-pose style while running in for a 79-yard touchdown run against Florida State to save a win. He churned his legs for an average of over 10 carries per game.

So when Clemson fans saw that the son of a linebacker was done for the day– braced and without a helmet– all juice was sucked out of sunny Memorial Stadium before the contest against Georgia Tech even had an opportunity to unfold.

It did not help that Clemson’s original starting quarterback, Christopher Vizzina, was battling a lower body injury, or that third-stringer Trent Pearman struggled to complete any passes in his opportunity.

Quickly, the Clemson faithful learned that if Tait Reynolds was hurt, and if the offensive line around him continued to make mistakes, this would be defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s game to win. After all, it has worked for the Tigers so far this season.

Clemson’s defense shut down a North Carolina drive after a two-plus hour lightning delay to give its offense an opportunity for a late drive and 28-20 victory back in September. The unit shut out Charleston Southern one week later, allowing negligible offensive movement from the Buccaneers.

The list goes on.

The Tigers held a potent Virginia Tech offense to 20 points, California to 10, and Florida State and Syracuse both well below their averages in the passing and run games, respectively. Even in allowing then-third-ranked Miami 41 points, Clemson’s defense gave its offense a chance to give Heisman trophy favorite Darien Mensah a game. The offense just could not stay on the field.

Unlike Miami, entering Saturday, Georgia Tech’s rushing offense ranked 14th in the ACC, as the Yellow Jackets averaged just 118 yards per game on the ground. On the other side, Clemson’s run defense was ranked among the top in the conference going into the game, giving up just nine rushing touchdowns all season. 

Even more appealing to Clemson fans was the matchup between the Tigers’ passing defense– all in all the ACC’s best– versus Georgia Tech’s dual quarterback situation that has seen little success all season.

The stage was set. 

If Reynolds could not play, Pearman could not connect and Vizzina was not healthy, then Clemson’s defense would have to win the game for the Tigers, and for their starting quarterback watching from the sideline.

However, Clemson’s defense, especially in the first half, did not look like what Tiger fans have come to expect this season from Allen’s side of the ball. The Tigers surrendered a touchdown on an 80-yard drive in addition to two more Yellow Jacket trips into Clemson territory in the first 17 minutes of play.

Though safety Corey Myrick grabbed his first interception in the second quarter, that was the only first half possession that Georgia Tech did not have a chance to score, whether by field goal attempt or touchdown.

At the half, the Yellow Jackets had racked up 228 yards, averaging 4.3 yards per carry and 6.7 average yards per play. Quarterback Alberto Mendoza burned Clemson for respective passes of 24, 37 and 50 yards.

In the run game, the Tigers allowed four rushes of more than 15 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown. Off those plays alone, the Yellow Jackets nearly matched their weekly average for rush yards and surpassed what Clemson has allowed in its recent opportunities.

In the third quarter, Clemson’s defense limited Georgia Tech to one touchdown and forced three punts, but it was still not enough to fully carry an already-middling offense with a backup quarterback recovering from an injury.

Similarly to losses against Virginia Tech, LSU and Miami, the Tigers’ defense got tired by the fourth quarter, missing tackles and some assignments. 

Try as they might have, the Tigers’ defense just could not do enough to play hero again.