The difference between Georgia Tech and No. 4 Clemson can be spelled out a number of ways. The Tigers have 51 four- and five-star recruits on their roster compared with the Yellow Jackets’ 17. Last year, Clemson spent almost $48 million on football, according to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, more than twice as much as Tech ($19.9 million).
But, as the teams’ 88th meeting closes in, another key differentiator is this – Clemson is bent on showing that last season’s 10-3 record was an aberration after six consecutive seasons with two losses or fewer. Tech, meanwhile, is trying to get to a bowl game after winning nine games over the past three seasons.
In advance of Monday night’s game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, here are five things to know about the matchup:
1. Enormous challenge ahead
On paper, Tech’s most significant disadvantage may be in its offensive line’s measuring up to Clemson’s defensive line. Defensive end Myles Murphy and defensive tackle Bryan Bresee are considered potential first-round picks in the 2023 NFL draft, although Bresee will be playing in his first game since tearing his ACL last season. There’s plenty of talent after that, too, such as tackle Tyler Davis, a first-team All-ACC selection last season. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney compared it this week with the 2014 Tigers defensive line, which was stocked with future pros.
“I think it’s arguably the best front four in college football, and I don’t know how much of an argument there is on the other side,” coach Geoff Collins said.
Tech’s offense will count on a line that will include at least two players making their first college start − center Weston Franklin and the starter at left tackle, either Corey Robinson or Jakiah Leftwich. Further, for both Robinson and Leftwich, as well as Joe Fusile, who is expected to be part of a guard rotation, Monday will be their first-ever college game. Especially as a season opener, it is the tallest of orders for offensive-line coach Brent Key’s group.
“They’re great players,” Franklin said. “We know that going in. But we’ve got great players, too, and we’re ready for them.”
2. Tough matchup on other side
The other line-of-scrimmage matchup carries a little bit of intrigue. The Tigers returned four starters on the offensive line, but that line a year ago was a relative weak spot. The best of the group probably is left tackle Jordan McFadden, a second-team All-ACC pick a year ago.
“I just like the makeup of the group, and excited about it,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.
There are questions of a different sort with the Tech defensive line. Namely, how are the Jackets going to replace a group that lost both starters at defensive end and three of the four defensive tackles with the most snaps played? The answer starts with end Keion White, from whom much is expected as a threat off the edge. A largely inexperienced rotation at tackle, including Makius Scott and T.K. Chimedza, will be charged with filling gaps and giving linebackers Ayinde Eley and Charlie Thomas the space to make plays against the run.
“For sure, we have that chip on our shoulder every day,” end Kyle Kennard said early in the preseason. “Every day we come in the meetings room, we talk about leading the conference in pass rush, leading the conference in run defense. We preach those goals every day, so we’re working towards it.”
It’s a group with potential but one that will need to show up Monday and the remainder of the season.
3. Does Tech have a chance?
Clemson is an overwhelming favorite (Tech was a 23-point underdog as of Friday morning and given a 5.7% chance of winning by ESPN’s calculations) and justifiably so. The Tigers return 15 of 22 starters on offense and defense from a team that finished 10-3, while the Jackets bring back seven starters from their 2021 team, which was 3-9.
All that being true, the Jackets still nearly upset the Tigers last year in Death Valley, losing 14-8. Taking the field as a 27.5-point underdog, Tech held then-No. 6 Clemson to 284 yards of offense (its lowest total in an ACC game since 2014) and arguably should have won the game. The Jackets had three first-and-goal opportunities but netted only six points off of the possessions.
“The team fought hard against them,” said quarterback Jeff Sims, who sat out of the game with an injury. “The defense did a great job keeping the (Clemson) offense contained, and the offense, they did a good job, too. Just some things happened that were unfortunate for us.”
4. Many new faces, including play-callers
The game will be unusual in that three of the coordinators in the game – Tech offensive coordinator Chip Long and Clemson coordinators Brandon Streeter (offense) and Wes Goodwin (defense) − are in their first years in that position with their respective teams. (Goodwin and Streeter were promoted internally while Long was hired from Tulane.)
That has led both sides to engage in guesswork in developing game plans to face coordinators without a vast body of work to study. Goodwin studied Tech’s spring game, for instance. Eley said that defensive players were shown game video of Clemson’s bowl game, for which Streeter was the offensive coordinator.
“It’s going to be one of those things that you’ve just got to get a feel for in the game as you go, study as much as you can, get the information as you can,” Eley said.
5. Tech using smaller seating configuration
This is the second of six games that Tech has contracted to play annually at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Next year’s game also will be presented as a Chick-fil-A Kickoff game against Louisville on Sept. 2 (the Saturday of Labor Day weekend). The 2024 game will come against Notre Dame on Oct. 19. The opponents in 2025 and 2026 have yet to be determined.
Tech will use the seating configuration that it used for the North Carolina game last year at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with the upper deck closed off. Monday’s game has sold out at 42,500. It will mean a reduced payout for Tech, which was to receive $5 million from Peach Bowl Inc. (which runs the kickoff game) under the original agreement to use the full configuration of 71,000.
While Tech officials had planned to use the full configuration as late as last September, Peach Bowl CEO Gary Stokan said that it was his suggestion to changed to the reduced configuration for Monday’s game. Stokan said that because Tech officials liked the atmosphere for the UNC game, the Peach Bowl made the decision to use the same configuration.
“It’s Georgia Tech’s game, so we want to be cognizant of their fans, because we know that we’re moving a game out of Bobby Dodd (Stadium),” Stokan said.
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