Our columnist Mark Bradley gives his take on the game.
1. Georgia Tech's defensive backs couldn't cover Clemson's receivers. The Tigers, who can do some odd things, opened the game as if trying not to throw the ball to Sammy Watkins. He wasn't targeted in the first quarter. When finally Tajh Boyd threw the ball Watkins' way, he caught it — albeit with a deft shove of D.J. White — for a touchdown. Clemson would finish with two 100-yard receivers: Watkins caught five passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns, Martavis Bryant five passes for 176 yards and a touchdown.
2. Robert Godhigh had a game to remember on a night Tech will be happy to forget. The A-back rushed for 126 yards to go over 1,000 on the season and caught five passes for 103 yards. He scored two touchdowns, the first on a pitchout he turned into a lovely 65-yard bit of bobbing and weaving. He was the best thing Tech had going for it, but he was one of the very few Yellow Jackets who seemed capable of playing on the same level as the sleek and gifted Tigers. For Tech, that remains the salient issue — just not enough top-shelf players.
3. The stats didn't make this seem a rout, though clearly it was. Tech was outgained by 111 yards and had only four fewer first downs than Clemson, but the Jackets fell behind 20-0 and 27-7 and had to chase the game thereafter. To their credit, they pulled within 27-17 three minutes into the second half, but the defense, which had risen to No. 13 nationally in total yardage against, collapsed. Clemson would score four touchdowns over a 15 1/2-minute span. Something similar had happened to the Tech D against Miami, which beat the Jackets 45-30. For all its gains under new coordinator Ted Roof, Tech's D isn't yet stout enough to stand up against an offense of the first rank.
