Five quick hits following Georgia Tech’s 49-21 loss to Clemson
There’s a lot to take away from Georgia Tech’s 49-21 loss to the third-ranked Clemson Tigers on Saturday, but here are the five takeaways from Saturday’s game that is worth noting.
We could’ve had 10 or 20 “quick hits” after Saturday’s loss to Clemson but we limited the selection down to five as the Yellow Jackets were stifled by the Tigers on Saturday in their
Trevor Lawrence changed the complexion of the game:
Clemson’s first two offensive drives did not go as the Tigers planned with the Yellow Jackets defense forcing back-to-back three and outs. Freshman sensation Trevor Lawrence came into the game for Clemson’s third drive and the game completely changed.
Before the first half was even over, Lawrence put up three touchdown passes and lead the Tigers to four touchdowns on five possessions. The only possession that didn’t end up as a touchdown in the first half under Lawrence ended in a Yellow Jackets interception. The Jackets seemed to be prepared for Clemson early on, but the talent and athleticism gap between the two programs really shined as the game went on.
Fundamentals and discipline:
When it comes to fundamentals such as holding onto the football, the Yellow Jackets are among the worst in power five football. The Yellow Jackets had put the ball on the ground Saturday a total of eight times but somehow only lost one. That one fumble, however, lead to Clemson’s first score of the day, a fumble recovery by the Tigers in the endzone. The offensive line started off well in the run protection but was completely overmatched on most pass protections leaving Marshall with little to no time, resulting in three sacks allowed.
The Jackets may need to start putting stickum on their hands so they can hold onto the ball.
Discipline was it was one of the Yellow Jackets better days so far this season, only picking up four flags for 30-yards. That being said, a lot of those flags came at the worst of times for the Yellow Jackets and helped keep points off the board.
Brent Venables still is the master at defending the triple option:
The Yellow Jackets first drive against the Tigers vaunted defense went pretty well all things considered. The Jackets were able to move the ball down the field pretty easily before penalties and a few offensive miscues drove the Jackets out of field goal range. The total yardage on the drive ended up being 39-yards. The Jackets, however, would pick up less than 40 yards the rest of the way in the first half. The Jackets had some success in the second half but still ended finishing with just 203 yards of total offense and 146 rushing yards. It’s the third time in four seasons that the Tigers have kept the Jackets to under 150 rushing yards.
Never quit:
If there is anything you could never say about Paul Johnson’s teams at Georgia Tech is that they quit. The Yellow Jackets never laid down on Saturday afternoon even when being down 42-7, the Jackets kept pounding the ball and hoping to get on the board. It paid off late in the third quarter as the Jackets were able to move the ball 75-yards on a single possession after having just 78-yards of total offense coming into the drive. That being said, the effort overall on Saturday wasn’t good enough, nowhere close and the scoreboard and boxscore prove so. The Jackets would put up another touchdown following that score on a nice drive put together by redshirt freshman Tobias Oliver.
Pressley Harvin III is back to normal:
One of the few players to have a good game for the Yellow Jackets on Saturday, Pressley Harvin III looked like his old self against the Tigers. The sophomore punter had six punts against the Tigers and averaged a tremendous 48.5 yards per punt. He had three punts of over 50-yards.