Three Takeaways from Georgia Tech's loss to Clemson
Georgia Tech was hoping to go on the road and defeat Clemson for the first time since 2014 and show the improvements the program has made in year one under Brent Key. Clemson was 5-4 coming into the game, but they are still one of the most talented rosters in the ACC and the country and this was going to be a huge test for this team.
They came up well short in Death Valley on Saturday and it showed that while Georgia is an improved team, they still have a ways to go before they can compete with a roster like Clemson.
So what are the takeaways from yesterday's game?
1. Haynes King played his worst game as a Yellow Jacket
For starters, Haynes King has had a tremendous season and has done a lot of really good things for this program. He is also not the only reason that Georgia Tech lost yesterday. However, he turned in as poor of a performance as you could imagine yesterday.
King finished the day 13-31 for 129 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions. One interception came at the end of the first half when Georgia Tech decided to try and get points at the end of the half and while Clemson did not get points off of that particular interception, it was a poor decision that could have extended the lead for the Tigers. With the team down 28-7, King tried to force another pass and it was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. He was also ineffective on the ground.
King has been one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC, but when he plays like this, Georgia Tech has no chance of winning, especially with this defense. He will have an opportunity to bounce back next week against Syracuse.
2. Georgia Tech struggles against defenses with a lot of speed and athleticism
Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King struggled against Clemson yesterday
Georgia Tech has been one of the ACC's most explosive offenses this year and a huge improvement over the past few seasons. However, when they have faced two really good defenses (Clemson and Miami), they have struggled to move the ball.
Outside of the final drive against Miami that won them the game, Georgia Tech could not move the ball against the Hurricane's defense and they looked overmatched for most of the game. If Miami had not committed so many turnovers, the Yellow Jackets would not have scored.
Yesterday, the story was similar. Aside from a short field thanks to a dumb fake punt call from Dabo Swinney, Georgia Tech could not move the ball on the Tigers and only scored when they had a short field. It just showed that the Yellow Jackets still have to work to remake this roster to be better equipped to face defenses of this caliber. The good news is that Syracuse is nowhere near the same level of defense and Georgia Tech can put up points on them.
3. Next week's game against Syracuse is huge
Georgia Tech is one win away from a bowl game and while anything can happen in college football, the Yellow Jackets are going to be four-touchdown underdogs when they face Georgia in the final game. It is highly unlikely they win that game, which makes the Syracuse game that much more important. The Orange are also at five wins and need one more to get to a bowl game as well. The Yellow Jackets' biggest game of the year will be next Saturday under the lights against Syracuse.
Georgia Tech vs Syracuse will kick off at 8:00 p.m. next Saturday in Atlanta.
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