Dabo and company had an epic celebration late Saturday night. It was short lived as the Tigers are now souly lot focused on Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets is the last team to have beat Clemson and you can bet the coaching staff won't let them forget it leading up to Saturday's game.
Clemson's Offense vs Georgia Tech's Defense
Clemson has yet to put together a complete game on offense. They have looked really good at times and not so good at others. This weekend will serve as a good opportunity to change that and develop some consistency. Tech has not been able to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Deshaun Watson should have time to complete passes downfield and put points on the board through the air. The Jackets will need to be opportunistic and create turnovers if they can't get pressure.
It may rain at Death Valley for the 2nd week in a row. If it does look for the Tigers to be conservative and run the ball a lot. Wayne Gallman has been able to carry the load enough for Clemson. The Tigers have yet to find a 2nd back to step up to lighten Gallman's workload. Last week Watson was effective running the ball. If it's raining look for a lot of runs for him again.
Georgia Tech's Offense vs Clemson's Defense
The Tech offense hasn't been able to keep up with the competition the past 3 weeks. Justin Thomas is a talented quarterback but he's hasn't had much help. He's made critical mistakes in failed comebacks for the Jackets. Clemson needs to slow down tech offense on 1st and 2nd down; forcing the Rambling Wreck into obvious passing situations. It's definitely not what they want to do a lot. If Tech is good on 1st and 2nd down their passing game could be deadly.
Injuries have slowed the Tech offense. They will get their top receiver back in Michael Summers. Paul Johnson's offense is very good when he had a good receiver like Summers on the field. Big play running back Broderick Snoddy could return Saturday too. A decision on his availability will likely be a game time decision.
Special Teams
It seams like a broken record every week but the coverage team has to get better. GT hasn't done anything in the return game but could this weekend. After being sloppy the past 2 games you could bet on Dabo cleaning up the issues.
Field goal kicking will be an advantage for the Tigers. Greg Huegel had hit over 70% of his field goals this season. One of his missings was a long attempt against the wind. Tech's Harrison Butler is only hitting 60% of his field goal attempts. Butler hasn't been great and Death Valley will be sure to be loud and remind him why he hasn't been consistent.
X-Factor
If there is a game where turnovers will be extremely costly this game would be it. Last year against Tech turnovers killed the Tigers. The Yellow Jackets are hungry for a win and forcing turnovers could build their confidence.
Prediction
Many have dubbed this as a trap game for the Tigers. These kind of games have managed to be no problem for Dabo and company. With a team like Tech that has had a history of beating Clemson they will not be overlooked. If anything, this will be a game where the Tigers get on a roll offensively and win convincingly. Prediction: Clemson wins 45-26.
Back to the Clemson Tigers Newsfeed