The top ranked Clemson Tigers put the rest of the nation on notice last Saturday night. While most of the rest of the country has decided not to play defense this season, the Tigers were shutting down what had been one of the most explosive offenses in the country.
Brent Venables unit is looking like it’s starting to round into form and that is bad news for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are much improved in year two under Geoff Collins and do have wins over Florida State and Louisville but they are still a long ways from competing with the best teams in the country.
The last time the Tigers visited Bobby Dodd, Trevor Lawrence locked up the starting gig over Kelly Bryant in a 49-21 win. This week he will attempt to become only the fourth player in school history to win 30 games as a starting quarterback.
Lawrence is playing like a Heisman winner early on but so is running back Travis Etienne. The Yellow Jackets run defense is terrible and this is a game in which the Tigers should be able to run the ball at will.
Overall, Clemson’s track record isn’t very good in Atlanta. The Tigers are just 14-44-2 on the road against the Yellow Jackets and for years that place was a house of horrors for the Tigers.
However, Clemson has now won five straight in the series and is looking for its third straight road win against Georgia Tech. The Tigers are the best team in the country and the Yellow Jackets are in just the second season of a major overhaul of the roster. This one shouldn’t even be competitive.