Georgia Tech-Clemson preview

Three storylines

Hold on to the ball. Clemson has run 626 plays this season, the most in the country, and an average of 78.3 per game. The Tigers' fast-paced scheme means more possessions and scoring opportunities. Georgia Tech's best chance is not to let Clemson get much time with the ball and reduce opportunities. A couple of clock-eating, 15-play touchdown drives would improve the Yellow Jackets' odds considerably.

Chasing Sammy Watkins. A number to note is 6.0 — it's the Tech defense's yards-per-pass-attempt average. It's the third lowest in the ACC and means that the Jackets force incompletions and prevent big plays. The Jackets will have to tackle well and prevent Watkins, the freshman sensation who leads the ACC in catches per game, from escaping their clutches.

Keeping special teams special. The subject of the week has been the play of Tech's special teams, which has been inconsistent at best. This is not the game for the Jackets to lose the field-position battle, so the heat will be on Tech's kicking and return units to provide whatever edge they can. A big play — blocked punt, return for a touchdown, forced fumble — could provide a huge shift in momentum shift.

A Georgia Tech win would ...

• Improve the Jackets' ACC record to 4-2 and keep alive any realistic chances they have for winning the ACC Coastal Division.
• Assure the Jackets of a .500 finish or better in ACC play for a league-record 17th consecutive season.

A Clemson win would ...

• Extend the Tigers' national-title aspirations one more week and make them 9-0 for the third time in school history.
• Give coach Paul Johnson his second three-game losing streak in his Tech tenure. His only other losing streak lasting more than two games was a 10-game slide with Navy in 2002.

Keep an eye on:

For Clemson: Brandon Thompson. The nose guard is first-round draft-pick material and has the capacity to capsize the Jackets' running game practically by himself by pushing Tech offensive linemen into the backfield.

For Tech: Stephen Hill. The wide receiver has been quiet (one catch for 9 yards in the past two games) after a sensational start. He'll need the running game to be effective to set up the play-action passes that he thrives on.

The numbers game

12 Number of the past 16 Tech-Clemson games that have been decided by five points or fewer.

375 Asking price, in dollars, for the most expensive remaining ticket to Saturday's game on ticket-resale website Stubhub at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

The history book

Series record: 49-25-2

Last meeting: Clemson earned its first win against Johnson in four tries in a 27-13 victory in Death Valley on Oct. 23, 2010. It was the Jackets' regular-season low for points.