Georgia Tech football responds to difficult week with upset victory at Clemson
CLEMSON, S.C. — Georgia Tech’s miserable season gave way on Saturday to something worth celebrating.
A week after a blowout loss to Louisville prompted Brent Key to fire four staff members, the Yellow Jackets responded with a 20-6 victory against Clemson at Memorial Stadium.
The win snapped Tech’s four-game losing streak and gave the program a much-needed result amid one of the most difficult stretches of Key’s tenure.
The response came with a reshaped Tech (3-7, 2-5) coaching staff and a defense under new direction. Defensive backs coach Vinnie Sunseri took over play-calling duties following the dismissal of coordinator Jason Semore, while Key said during the week the staff had simplified the scheme and emphasized communication.
Against Clemson (6-4, 4-3), the Jackets’ defense looked like a different unit.
Tigers’ quarterback Tait Reynolds was injured on the third play of the game and did not return. Tech held Clemson to just 117 yards in the first half, including 26 on the ground. In the six previous games, Tech had allowed an average of 249.3 first-half yards.
The Jackets’ defense totaled four sacks, Clemson reached the red zone just once and fumbled seven times (the Tigers recovered them all). Safety Kealan Jones had an interception.
Tech’s offense provided enough support to make the defensive performance stand up.
Alberto Mendoza and Grady Adamson rotated at quarterback, with Adamson giving Tech an early 7-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run.
Aidan Birr added two short field goals to give the Jackets a 13-3 halftime lead as some Clemson fans booed as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
Justice Haynes scored a 53-yard rushing touchdown, his longest carry of the season, early in the third quarter to extend the lead. Clemson’s struggling offense was unable to mount a serious comeback bid.
The victory came at a pivotal moment for Key, who made sweeping staff changes after acknowledging that Tech had reached a breaking point in a season that had gone badly off course.
The Jackets entered Saturday having lost six times by double digits, and were 13.5-point underdogs against Clemson.
In addition to Semore, Key on Monday fired offensive line coach Allen Mogridge, defensive ends coach Kyle Pope and wide receivers coach Jafar Williams as he began reshaping the program for the future.
Tech has No. 13 Wake Forest and a trip to No. 1 Georgia left in the regular season.
After a week of significant changes and difficult questions, Tech left Clemson with a reminder of what it can look like when things go right.