Yellow Jackets hoping for big crowd for matchup with No. 12 Clemson
The Yellow Jackets wouldn’t comment much on their impending showdown with No. 12 Clemson at noon Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Georgia Tech coach Brent Key, less than an hour after his team wiped out Gardner-Webb 59-12 on Saturday, refused to break down the season’s biggest game at all.
“Excited to have our fans here, our students here and be loud for the game,” was all the third-year coach would offer.
To be fair, win or lose, Key and his players allow themselves 24 hours after a result to process the previous game before moving on to the next one.
Still, Saturday’s matchup with the visiting Tigers, a game to be televised by ESPN, must have been on Tech’s radar well before the final whistle sounded in a blowout victory over Gardner-Webb.
Tech has not beaten Clemson in more than a decade, losing nine straight to the Tigers. Many of those outcomes have been lopsided in favor of coach Dabo Swinney’s powerhouse program that once again is expected to compete for the ACC’s championship and a College Football Playoff bid.
The Jackets, 7½-point underdogs this week, surely understand the challenge ahead of them in preparing for Clemson, a 27-16 winner over Troy on Saturday. That challenge starts with understanding the matchup is on Tech’s home turf.
“We wanna defend the Bobby Dodd. We don’t wanna lose here too often,” Tech linebacker Kyle Efford said. “Big ACC game coming. We just gotta get back in the building, start preparing (Sunday).”
Efford and his teammates played in front of just 37,775 fans Saturday. That number was affected somewhat by inclement weather (kickoff was delayed 35 minutes), major traffic issues on Atlanta’s downtown interstates and a less-than-notable opponent.
Still, it was a disappointing total for a team that came into the season with increased hype and that was coming off a thrilling, 27-20 win at Colorado the week before.
Thursday, Tech football social media accounts posted a letter penned by Key thanking fans for their support but also challenging them to “Arrive early. Stay late. Bring the Energy. Bring the noise.” Tech’s student population certainly heeded that call.
Athletic Director Ryan Alpert and president Ángel Cabrera gave away free pizza to the first 3,000 students before Saturday’s game with GWU as a thank you to students. Tech announced in August it had sold a record number of student tickets for the 2025 season.
“All the students coming out has been a big thing,” Tech quarterback Aaron Philo said. “They really showed up (Saturday). They were loud and there was a bunch of ‘em, and as well as fans. There was a bunch of ‘em, so it was awesome to see Bobby Dodd getting packed like that and we need that again next week.”
Added running back Jamal Haynes: “People always think it’s just the players on the field that’s really just defending the home field. But at the end of the day it’s the fans, it’s the student section, it’s everybody that’s inside the stadium that’s a part of GT that’s defending that home field.
“And rather they put a voice in there, or rather they’re stomping their feet, bringing any type of energy to the players, that’s what gets us motivated, that’s what gets us going. Just really appreciate the fans and student section for really popping out and showing up (Saturday), and we need that for the rest of the season,” he added.
Clemson (1-1) has not played at Bobby Dodd Stadium since 2020, a game the Tigers won 73-7 in front of a recorded attendance of 11,000 (capped because of COVID-19). In 2018, the Tigers won 49-21 in front of 50,595 fans.
Bobby Dodd Stadium’s capacity is currently 51,913 because of construction of the Fanning Center in the northeast corner of the end zone. With Tech off to a 2-0 start, Clemson fans are likely to take up a number of seats. Plus, rapper Flo Rida is scheduled to give a pregame concert, so there’s a more than likely chance there won’t be an empty seat at Tech’s home stadium, where the Jackets have won six games in a row.
“We come to Georgia Tech to play in big games like this,” Tech cornerback Ahmari Harvey said. “Another ACC matchup, it’s gonna be a good one. We need our fans to come pack Bobby Dodd out and be the 12th man on the field and go put on a show for y’all boys.”
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