Georgia Tech-Clemson: Post-Game Thoughts

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Some knee-jerk thoughts after the game. I'll have a full column up later tonight.

• Paul Johnson talked all week about how good Clemson was, and I wonder if some of his play-calling early—especially the trick play—reflected that: Take any advantage any way you can get it. I think perhaps Johnson was a little more wary of Clemson than the average bear.
  
• Jonathan Dwyer was barely a factor in this game. Yes, his offensive line was pretty nonexistent, but if he wants to be in the Heisman conversation, he's got to make things happen.
  
• The last two Georgia Tech drives were a testament to the triple-option offense. Nothing else was working, so Johnson went to an untested wrinkle, the quarterback keeper, and found the room inside.
  
• Josh Nesbitt's passing stats look pretty bad, yes. But the problem wasn't so much his throwing as his decision-making. He keyed in way too hard on Demaryius Thomas, and he threw far too many deep balls. The short game worked fine, and needs to be relied upon more.
  
• Clemson might have itself a ballclub. As bad as Kyle Parker looked in the first half, the touch on his passes and his decision-making were head-and-shoulders better in the second, and the Tigers definitely have weapons.
• Tech's defense didn't look great, but if I'm buying into the idea that Clemson have some under-the-radar weapons (which I am), the big plays were gonna happen. They still had constant pressure on Parker, picked two passes off, and held C.J. Spiller to 87 yards on 20 carries. It would probably have been a bit less gaudy, too, if they'd had more time on the sidelines in the second half. 
• Don't know why, but Clemson-Georgia Tech games always come down to this, don't they? I mean seriously, one team or the other is always projected as obviously better, but in the end, it's close as nails.

Will be back with a post-game column in just a bit.

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