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No. 6 Clemson Escapes Georgia Tech, 14-8

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CLEMSON, S.C. — Georgia Tech football pushed No. 6 Clemson to the brink on Saturday afternoon, enduring a 1-hour, 52-minute lightning delay and amassing 309 yards of offense before dropping a tough-luck 14-8 loss at Memorial Stadium.

Trailing 14-3 midway through the fourth quarter, Georgia Tech (1-2, 0-1 ACC) came up just inches short of potentially pulling even in the waning seconds of the thriller and sending shockwaves through the Atlantic Coast Conference and the college football world.

The wild game-ending sequence began in earnest when Tech drove 70 yards in 16 plays to the Clemson 5 yard line and pulled within eight points on Brent Cimaglia’s second 22-yard field goal of the game with 1:19 to go.

Jude Kelley then executed a picture-perfect onside kick that the Yellow Jackets recovered to take over at midfield with 1:19 to go. Tech moved the ball 51 yards to set up fourth-and-goal at the 1 yard line. Unfortunately, a shovel pass to tight end Dylan Deveney came up just inches short of the goal line, leaving the Yellow Jackets down 14-6 with 15 seconds left on the clock.

However, the Jackets stayed alive one play later when Juanyeh Thomas forced Clemson to fumble into its own end zone. The Tigers fell on the loose ball, but the result was a safety, which cut Georgia Tech’s’ deficit to 14-8 with seven seconds left on the clock.

Tech got the ball back at its own 25 after the ensuing free kick, but its desperation final play wasn’t successful and Clemson escaped with the victory despite the Yellow Jackets’ valiant effort.

The wild final quarter began with the Yellow Jackets trailing just 7-3 and Clemson driving to take a two-score lead. However, Georgia Tech linebacker Quez Jackson forced a huge fumble on the Georgia Tech 20, which was recovered by Myles Sims, giving the Jackets to score to take the lead. Unfortunately, Tech went three-and-out following the takeaway and, on their ensuing possession, the Tigers drove 66 yards in 12 plays to take the seemingly commanding 14-3 lead that Tech nearly erased in the final eight minutes of the game.

The Yellow Jackets hung tough throughout the first half and were driving to potentially knot the score at 7-7 when lightning in the area halted the game with 32 seconds left before halftime and the Jackets at the Clemson 25 yard line. Following the one-hour-and-52-minute delay, Cimaglia split the uprights with his first field goal of the night to cut the Tech deficit to 7-3 as time expired in the first half.

Georgia Tech’s 309-yard offensive effort was led by 203 yards through the air from quarterback Jordan Yates, who completed 20-of-33 passes on the night.

Tech’s defense was also stout, limiting the sixth-ranked Tigers to 284 total yards. Clemson (2-1, 1-0 ACC) scored less than 20 points and amassed less than 300 yards for the first time in an Atlantic Coast Conference game since a 28-6 loss to the Yellow Jackets in 2014.

The D was led by career nights from Tariq Carpenter (13 tackles, 9 solo) and Charlie Thomas (12 tackles, 4 solo, 1 tackle for loss).

Clemson’s quarterback DJ Uiagaleiei went 18-for-25 on the night with tailback Will Shipley taking 21 carries for 88 yards. Defensively linebacker LaVonta Bentley was the lone Tiger with double-digit tackles with 13 .

Georgia Tech returns home to face nationally ranked North Carolina in the Jackets’ first highly anticipated “Mayhem at Mercedes-Benz Stadium” game on Saturday, Sept. 25. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The ACC Coastal Division battle will be broadcast live on ACC Network.

Linebacker Charlie Thomas (25) was a force on defense, finishing with a career-high 12 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss (Photo: Danny Karnik).

 

Postgame Notes

Team

  • Clemson’s 14 points were its fewest in an ACC game since Georgia Tech held it to six in a 28-6 victory on Nov. 15, 2014. Since the Yellow Jackets’ 28-6 win in 2014, Clemson had not scored fewer than 20 points in any ACC game.
  • Clemson’s 285 yards of total offense were also its fewest in an ACC game since it gained 190 in Georgia Tech’s 28-6 win in 2014. Since that game, Clemson had not gained less than 300 yards in any ACC game.
  • Georgia Tech outgained Clemson, 309-285, marking the first time since the 28-6 win in 2014 that Tech outgained the Tigers. In the past six meetings (2015-20), Clemson outgained Georgia Tech by an average of 532-214.
  • Georgia Tech outgained its opponent for the third-straight game to open the season.
  • Georgia Tech’s safety with seven seconds to go in the fourth quarter was its first safety since Sept. 29, 2019 at Temple.
  • There was a one-hour-and-52-minute lightning delay with 32 seconds remaining in the second quarter and Clemson leading, 7-0. After play resumed, Georgia Tech kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to cut the deficit to 7-3. The game immediately resumed with the beginning of the second half.

Individual Notes

  • Georgia Tech Sr. DB Tariq Carpenter had a career-high 13 tackles (prev.: 10 vs. Virginia, Nov. 17, 2018).
  • Georgia Tech Jr. LB Charlie Thomas had a career-high 12 tackles (prev.: 9 – 2X, last vs. USF, Sept. 7, 2019), including eight in the first half.
  • Georgia Tech r-So. DB Myles Sims’ fumble recovery in the fourth quarter was the first of his career.
  • Georgia Tech Jr. LB Quez Jackson forced the fumble that Sims recovered. It was the second forced fumble of Jackson’s career and his first since Nov. 30, 2019 vs. Georgia.
  • Playing in his first game of the season, Georgia Tech So. TE Dylan Deveney set a career high with four receptions (prev. 2 – 3X, last vs. Pitt, Dec. 10, 2020).
Wideout Kyric McGowan (2) led Georgia Tech with four catches for 82 yards, including a 35-yarder (Photo: Danny Karnik).

 

Multimedia

Coach Collins Postgame Press Conference (Video)

Coach Collins Postgame Press Conference (Audio)

ACC Digital Network Highlights

Georgia Tech vs. Clemson Condensed Game (ACC Digital Network)

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