Clemson vs Georgia Tech

Clemson vs. Georgia Tech

Tonight we have three different games on television, and I am not sure which one I will be watching. I want to watch all three, but may end up bouncing back and forth through the night. There the NFL game of the Titans/Steelers, which promises to be good, but there are two college games that are on tonight.

Florida A&M plays Winston-Salem State on ESPNU, so I want to look at that game but Clemson plays Georgia Tech, which is a big key game to watch, especially for the ACC.

Let’s look at this matchup and see who may have the edge.

One could almost give the game to Georgia Tech, since they are home tonight and are currently ranked #15. Everything seems to be in their favor, right? Hmm, one might have said similar things about the Miami/Florida State game too. We know how that turned out.

So let’s look at these teams and see where they are coming from, and where they may be headed.

Clemson comes off a very disappointing season, one that had them in the top 10 and a shot for a National Championship. A loss to Alabama in the first game 34-10 quickly dispelled any hopes for such a championship, but many felt that Clemson was the favorite to win the ACC crown. Beating Citadel and South Carolina State didn’t prove anything, but winning their first ACC game of the year over NC State kept hope alive.

The Tigers took their 3-1 record and quick as you please, lost the next three conference games. Losing to Maryland at home, to Wake Forest away and to Georgia Tech at home was crushing, and Clemson went from a possible contender to just trying to stay afloat in the conference.

Clemson would however snatch an impressive win over Boston College, but would lose big to Florida State. At 4-5, there wasn’t much hope for celebration, and the embarrassment of it all had rumors of the coach’s job on the line. I remember that because it seemed that the team tried it’s best to rally behind him, trying to at least qualify for a bowl and salvage the season. Wins over Duke, Virginia and South Carolina did bring their record to 7-5, but they lost to Nebraska in the post season bowl. It wasn’t enough to save the coach’s job.

So this year, a new coach, but their starter QB is gone and a few other offensive weapons. This might be one of those “rebuilding years” and Clemson’s schedule is pretty tough by ACC standards. And without Duke on the schedule…it might be hard to see 7 wins.

Georgia Tech fared much better, yet still leaving much to be desired. The entire conference took a shot in the face by the nation, even though the ACC put a ton of teams in post season play. Georgia Tech’s 9-4 record leaves some question marks. To be sure, 9 wins for any FBS school is admirable, but some wonder if the Yellow Jackets are as tough as they seem.

GA Tech started out easy, beating Jacksonville State, before taking their first ACC win over Boston College. But any hopes of dominating the year were ended quickly by Virginia Tech. They would recover by beating SEC foe Mississippi State 38-7 before marching over Duke, Gardner-Webb, and Clemson. But a loss to crumbling Virginia team had people wondering if Georgia Tech was really that good, or just easing through a soft schedule and conference.

A win over Florida State, and a loss to UNC left a lot of eyebrows raised, people not really knowing what kind of team they were looking at, but a win vs. Miami and an impressive win against Georgia seemed to make the point that this was one of the best teams in the ACC. The season would however, end in a loss to LSU in the post season bowl.

What was questionable for Georgia Tech was that they seemed to struggle on the road. Yes they beat BC but by 3. They lost to Virginia Tech by the same margin. They beat Clemson only by 4 points and lost to UNC by 21. They did beat Georgia but only by 3 points. Is there some problem with the Y Js on the road? With a schedule that includes Miami, Mississippi State, Florida State, Virginia and Vanderbilt, ALL on the road, somebody better get these guys prepared for life outside of Atlanta.

So who is favored? To me, one of the first things I look for is stability in the quarterback position. We have already seen how quickly the fates of a season change with a quarterback. Georgia Tech has the same quarterback from last year (Nessbitt), while Clemson has a new one. Georgia Tech is home. Georgia Tech is nationally ranked. Georgia Tech beat Clemson last year in their own house. Everything seems to point to the Yellow Jackets. If there is a question, it would be that Nessbitt is now the leading scorer in rushing…and for a quarterback that could spell trouble. If Clemson neutralizes that, then the game is in the air….

In the air…a strange thing to say for Georgia Tech, since they don’t like throwing, and Nessbitt has ONLY 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions…ugh!

If Clemson figures that out, they have every chance to win, but with a brand new coach, I am not sure if he can set it in motion. The way I described this, I would originally think Georgia Tech wins by 14 points…but looking deeper, this could be much closer. I’ll put it this way, if Clemson can’t stop Nessbitt, I expect the Yellow Jackets to win by 10. If they CAN contain him…Clemson just might steal an early victory…we shall see…