And then there were none… Clemson loses to Georgia Tech
They say that college football is great because every week is a playoff game. The Confidential tends to agree. With a few exceptional situations or seasons, only undefeated teams have a chance of being one of the top two teams and, therefore, eligible to play for the national championship. The season starts with all undefeated teams and gradually whittles its way down to just a few. Going into Week #9, the ACC was fortunate enough to still have an undefeated team: Clemson. After Week 9, however, the ACC has been eliminated from the national title picture because Clemson lost to Georgia Tech, 31-17.
At 7-2, the Georgia Tech win over now 8-1 Clemson should not be seen as a total surprise. And the story should be about Georgia Tech. Unfortunately, college football is a sport of tiers, with Clemson vying to join the top tier for 2011. So, with all due respect to Georgia Tech, the lead on this story is Clemson losing, rather than Georgia Tech winning.
But The Confidential will give Georgia Tech its due praise. After losing at Virginia and Miami, it looked as if the Yellow Jackets 6-0 start was a bit of a mirage. Neither Virginia nor Miami is in the conference title picture. With Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Georgia remaining on the schedule, there was certainly a chance of finishing with a very mediocre season result. In defeating Clemson, Georgia Tech took the first step towards avoiding a second-half collapse.
Amazingly, Georgia Tech was able to beat Clemson with virtually no passing game. Although Georgia Tech does not put up significant passing numbers in most games, averaging about 120 yards per game, they only passed for 60 yards against Clemson. That’s not a misprint. 60 yards. Instead, this win was a product of 300 rushing yards, with more than half coming from quarterback Tevin Washington. Although he has averaged about 60 yards per game rushing, Washington ran for 174 yards against Clemson.
Another story was turnovers. As it often the case with a football game at any level, Clemson’s four turnovers told much of the story. In the first quarter, Clemson recovered a punt at its own 36 yard line. On the second play, it fumbled, allowing Georgia Tech to start a drive at the 19 yard line. This led to a touchdown. After intercepting a Georgia Tech pass in the fourth quarter in a two-possession game, Clemson had the ball at the Georgia Tech 9-yard line. On the very next play, Clemson threw an interception. Give Georgia Tech credit though. After getting that 4th quarter interception, they marched the ball down the field in a drive consuming nearly 9 minutes of fourth-quarter time. Even though that drive did not result in a score, it gave Clemson too little time to mount a comeback.
And just like that, the ACC’s hopes of having a team in the national title game evaporated. Clemson remains in the hunt for a BCS bowl appearance. The November 10 matchup between Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech will go a long way towards determining who plays in the ACC championship game.
The Confidential 