Georgia Tech A-back Robert Godhigh wanted to get the offense going. He ended up with one of the top individual performances in school history.
Godhigh finished with 126 rushing yards and 103 receiving yards, becoming the second Tech player since at least 1960 to have twin 100-yard rushing and receiving games in the same game. Former A-back Orwin Smith was the first, against Kansas in 2011 in Tech’s 66-24 win.
“We were kind of struggling to get in a groove on offense,” Godhigh said. “I was just trying to make a spark for the offense, get everybody going and get the offense going and get some momentum.”
Godhigh was an engine on Tech’s first scoring drive, catching a 38-yard pass and then going 32 yards on an option pitch to the goal line. B-back David Sims scored on the next play, bringing Tech to within 20-7.
He had a 32-yard reception on Tech’s final drive of the half and just missed hauling in a pass into the end zone that with an extra point would have made the score 27-14 going into halftime.
“It was, like, right there on my fingertips,” Godhigh said. “I should have caught it.”
He took an option pitch 65 yards for a score on the first play of Tech’s second drive after halftime, drawing Tech to within 27-17. He needed just 17 touches for his 229 yards of offense, a 13.5 yards-per-play average.
“He played well,” coach Paul Johnson said. “He made a lot of big plays. He fought and played hard.”
Bad start: Johnson and players rued the offense's slow start, when the Jackets went three-and-out on the first three series and four-and-out on the fourth, which allowed the Tigers to take a 20-0 lead.
Offensive lineman Will Jackson attributed some of Tech’s early struggles to Clemson’s pre-snap movement combined with the volume of the Death Valley crowd as the Jackets tried to escape treacherous field position.
“We were kind of shooting ourselves in the foot,” Godhigh said. “They were playing exactly how we practiced, no difference, no surprises. We just didn’t really execute.”
Run game clamped: Tech ran for 248 yards, its third-lowest total of the season, behind the games against Virginia Tech (129) and BYU (237). B-back David Sims said Clemson's front seven probably played the best he had seen in four games against the Tigers. He was tackled for a loss for the first time this season on his 119th carry.
“They’re physical; they’re fast; they made really impressive fast reads,” Jackson said of the linebackers. “We’d run some of our counter stuff, it was like they knew it was coming.”
Johnson said the option plays were disrupted by the Clemson defensive line.
“Truthfully, with the option play, we seldom got it out there because we couldn’t block ’em inside, if you want to know the truth,” he said.
Boyd sets record: With the third of his four touchdown passes, Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd set the ACC record for career touchdown passes. He broke Philip Rivers' record of 95 and finished the night at 97. He was 20-for-26 for 340 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.
“No matter the coverage, he was just excellent,” safety Jemea Thomas said. “He was just on point with everything. Tight coverage, he just put it where only his receivers could catch it.”
Boyd left the game with a collarbone injury in the second half and did not return. Boyd said he had an X-ray and “everything is all good.”
More sacks: Tech defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu recorded two sacks for the third consecutive game and contributed additional quarterback pressures.
Attaochu now has eight sacks for the season and 27 for his career. He is four shy of the Tech career record of 31 held by Greg Gathers. Tech sacked quarterbacks Tajh Boyd and Cole Stoudt four times, with Thomas and nose tackle Adam Gotsis getting the other two. Thomas was sent on blitzes several times.
Attaochu said that part of the game plan was to “at least touch (Boyd) every play they pass the ball, try to affect him because he’s a pretty accurate guy, especially going deep downfield.”
Etc.: The game was attended by scouts from the Chick-fil-A, Belk and Russell Athletic bowls, as well as several NFL scouts. ACC commissioner John Swofford was also in attendance. … Johnson did not have more information about offensive tackle Chase Roberts, who was shaken up on a play in the second half and did not return. … Tech's woes on weeknight ESPN games continue. Since beating Clemson at Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2009 on a Thursday night, the Jackets have lost six in a row, to Miami (2009), Virginia Tech (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) and Clemson.
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