Georgia Tech has faced a few stout defenses this season, namely Louisville and Miami. But rarely, if at all, have the Yellow Jackets been slowed for a full 60 minutes.
Can that unit pass its stiffest test of the season at noon Saturday? That’s when coordinator Buster Faulkner’s offense goes up against Clemson, undoubtedly the best defense the Jackets will have seen this season.
Clemson has the nation’s sixth-best defense in terms of yards allowed per game (273.8) and ranks eighth nationally in pass defense and 20th against the run.
“Their defense, you talk about a standard, their defense is as good as anybody you’ve seen in the country collectively,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “They got really good players. They’ve got good players that are older, experienced. They’ve got good players that are younger and getting better each week.”
The star power is strong on Clemson’s roster.
Junior linebackers Jeremiah Trotter and Barrett Carter (North Gwinnett High School) lead the Tigers in tackles. Trotter, Carter and freshman defensive end T.J. Parker pace the squad in tackles for loss with 26.5 combined. Parker and Carter have combined for 7.5 sacks.
Tyler Davis, a senior defensive tackle, is the sixth-best graded interior defensive lineman in the nation, according to Pro Football Focus. Freshman Peter Woods is 18th on that list, and junior DeMonte Capehart is 25th.
Among linebackers, Trotter ranks 10th on PFF’s grading chart, and freshman linebacker Kobe McCloud has been graded as the nation’s fourth-best run defender. Davis ranks 25th nationally at stopping the run.
Tech has five current offensive linemen who played against some of those highly touted Clemson defenders in the 2022 season opener in Jakiah Leftwich, Weston Franklin, Joe Fusile, Corey Robinson and Jordan Williams. On Wednesday, Williams wasn’t ready to overhype the Tigers.
“Coach’ll be telling us they’re the best defense because they’re the next defense, so prepare for any other challenge just the same way you do for every other game,” Williams said. “So I guess you can say they’re the best defense we’ve faced.”
Tech’s offense has been cruising right along, really, since season’s outset. The Jackets have yet to be held under 23 points in any one game and only Miami, who kept Tech to 17 points through 59 minutes and shut the Jackets out in the first half, has posed serious problems for Faulkner’s attack.
Faulkner, Key and quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke have put together impressive game plans each time out and created a balanced offense that should keep Clemson on its heels when preparing this week. Tech goes into the weekend with the nation’s 43rd-best passing offense and the 14th-best rushing attack.
The past two weeks Tech has totaled 653 rushing yards, averaged 7.1 yards per carry and scored seven rushing touchdowns. Thus, opposing defenses can’t zero in on one part of the Jackets’ offense.
“Offensively they are scoring a bunch of points, they are creative in what they do and get the ball to their playmakers,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said this week. “They have receivers who jump out at you. Everything starts with their quarterback (Haynes King). He’s averaging 7.2 yards a carry. Their quarterback-run game has been a problem. He has made a bunch of big plays.
“They have made a bunch of plays downfield. I’m impressed with who they are and what they do.”
Despite Clemson’s reputation for having a dominant defense, the Tigers have been susceptible to allowing points. Clemson has surrendered 27.8 points per game in four losses and only 16 points per game in five wins.
Under the direction of coordinator Wes Goodwin, Clemson’s defense ranks 57th nationally in allowing the opponent to score 81.8% of the time inside the red zone. But opponents have had to work to get in that red zone, as Clemson is among the top 10 nationally in not allowing passing plays, running plays or any plays from scrimmage that gain more than 10 yards.
One thing that Key said the Jackets need to do Saturday against Clemson, or against any defense for that matter, is be the aggressor. Nothing gets under the former offensive lineman’s skin more than an offense that waits to see how the story is unfolding.
Key will wants his offense to be, well, on the offensive Saturday in Memorial Stadium.
“In offensive football you wanna dictate. You don’t wanna sit back and say, ‘Well they’re doing this so we have to do this.’ You wanna be able to dictate what you do,” Key said. “I can’t stand the term reactionary. We want to be aggressive. We want to dictate what the other side of the ball is doing. Whether that’s throwing the ball, whether that’s running the ball, it’s having balance. It’s being able to play with tempo, all varying types of tempo.”
During Tech’s eight-game losing streak to Clemson the Jackets are scoring a measly 12.6 points per game and have scored at least 20 points in only two of those contests. That needs to change Saturday if the Ramblin’ Wreck is to leave Death Valley alive.
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