Clemson vs. Georgia Tech: Game Grades, Analysis for Tigers and Yellow Jackets

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets moved to 9-2 on the season after a dominating performance in a 28-6 win. The Clemson University Tigers, who lost Deshaun Watson to a left knee injury in the first quarter, never got anything going offensively and only totaled 190 yards on the day.

Clemson’s defense didn’t play terrible, but Georgia Tech scored two touchdowns on interceptions that proved to be the difference. Cole Stoudt, who came in for the injured Watson, had a nightmarish performance, throwing three interceptions and only completing three passes.

You can find the box score for the game here, courtesy of NCAA.com.

Game Grades for the Clemson Tigers

Position Unit	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Passing Offense	F	F
Rushing Offense	C	C-
Pass Defense	B	B
Run Defense	A	C+
Special Teams	B	B
Coaching	C	D

Passing Offense

When your team’s quarterback has as many completions as interceptions, it’s not going to look good in the grade column. The offense just never looked the same without Watson at quarterback, as Stoudt threw for only 19 yards.

Rushing Offense

Wayne Gallman provided another bright spot for the future with an 82-yard performance, but the Tigers didn’t get any production from anybody else. Watson rushed for 40 yards in limited action, but only one other Clemson running back carried the ball.

Pass Defense

The Clemson secondary allowed Justin Thomas to complete eight of his 11 passes, but it only allowed 102 yards through the air. Georgia Tech doesn’t go to the air a ton, but it was efficient when it did.

Rush Defense

Georgia Tech averaged 335.6 yards coming into this game, so Clemson held it under that average today. The Yellow Jackets ran for 251 yards, but it was the long runs that hurt the Tigers the most. Georgia Tech had runs of 46 and 65 yards, and it was very balanced in its rushing attack.

Special Teams

Ammon Lakip has continued to be productive since a slow start, and he was 2-of-2 on his kicks today. Those proved to be the only points for Clemson in a lopsided victory, and Bradley Pinion averaged 41.7 yards per punt.

Coaching

There were a few decisions by the coaching staff that didn’t make sense to me. I didn’t understand why it took so long to insert Nick Schuessler into the game, and the play-calling was terrible with Stoudt in there. It’s obvious that the deep-passing dimension isn’t there with Stoudt at quarterback, but short passes could have helped him get into rhythm.

The Tigers continued to run it up the middle on first down and set up bad passing situations on third down. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables did an excellent job, though, as the Tigers were constantly in the backfield in the first half.

Game Grades for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Position Unit	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Passing Offense	B	B
Rushing Offense	D	B-
Pass Defense	A	A
Run Defense	B	C+
Special Teams	B	B
Coaching	B-	A

Passing Offense

Georgia Tech’s offense doesn’t call for a ton of passes, but the Yellow Jackets were efficient when they had to throw it. Thomas was 8-of-11 passing, and he made smart reads throughout the game.

Rushing Offense

Georgia Tech was held below its season average, but it was still a solid day on the ground. The Yellow Jackets had four players with more than 30 yards rushing and averaged 5.0 yards per carry as a team.

The Tigers were able to get into the backfield consistently, but Georgia Tech was able to get some big plays on the ground. Broderick Snoddy broke off a 46-yard run, and Thomas ran for 65 yards to start the second half.

Pass Defense

The Yellow Jackets kept pressure on the Clemson quarterbacks all day, and they came away with three big interceptions. Stoudt never looked comfortable, and a ton of credit has to be given to defensive coordinator Ted Roof for the job his defense did on Saturday.

Rush Defense

A solid rushing game would have taken pressure off Stoudt, but Georgia Tech didn’t allow the Tigers to get much going on the ground either. The Tigers rushed for only 125 yards as a team and averaged only 3.9 yards per carry.

Special Teams

This unit played well for the Yellow Jackets, with Harrison Butker connecting on three of his four field-goal kicks. Punter Ryan Rodwell was only forced to punt once, but the kicking game was pretty good for this group on Saturday.

Coaching

This was an excellent coaching performance by Paul Johnson and his staff. Johnson called a great game offensively, and Roof had his defense ready to play. The pressure the defense applied kept Stoudt from getting comfortable in the pocket, and it helped lead to three Georgia Tech interceptions.