No. 7 Clemson, Bryant rebound for 24-10 win
CLEMSON, S.C. — Kelly Bryant spent two weeks wondering about himself and his team after Clemson’s loss at Syracuse. Both he and seventh-ranked Tigers put the doubts to rest against Georgia Tech.
Clemson’s banged- up quarterback passed for t wo t ouchdowns and 207 yards as the Tigers topped the Yellow Jackets 24- 10 on Saturday night, rebounding from the team’s first loss of the season and regaining momentum on the try for a second straight national championship.
“Our players were ready,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney s aid. “They were locked in.”
Especially Bryant, the dynamic junior who had left Clemson’s past two games with injuries.
He sprained his left ankle in the win over Wake Forest on Oct. 7, then suffered a concussion in the second quarter at Syracuse, where the Tigers lost 27-24 two weeks back.
“We needed this,” Bryant said. “Coach challenged us in how we were going to respond and I feel like we responded in a good way.”
Bryant calmed any doubters early on with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Deon Cain less than three minutes into the game. Bryant finished the opening quarter as he zipped a 20-yard scoring pass to tight end Milan Richard that put the Tigers (7-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead 14-3.
Clemson’s defense made that held up, once again stifling Tech’s confounding triple-option attack. The Yellow Jackets (4-3, 3-2) entered leading the ACC in rushing yardage, but left with only 198 yards on the ground — 175 fewer than they’re average. The Tigers had 11 tackles for loss. “Great response from our team,” Swinney said. “All our goals are still in front of us. And now we have the opportunity to achieve them.”
TaQuon Marshall, the ACC’s leading rusher with 117 yard average, managed just 23 yards that included his 22-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
KirVonte Benson led Georgia Tech with 129 yards rushing. Bryant was Clemson’s top runner with 67 yards on 12 carries, showing little hesitation or discomfort on his runs.
“That’s the Kelly Bryant we all know and love,” Clemson linebacker Dorian O’Daniel said.
Freshman Travis Etienne added his seventh touchdown of the season, tying Bryant for the team lead, with a 2-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
Georgia Tech defensive end KeShun Freeman said while his team played strongly in the final quarter, it needs to find that same fire early on. “We want to win these big games and achieve goals,” he said. “We have to start as well as we finish.”
The takeaway
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets may lead the ACC in rushing at 373 per game, but coach Paul Johnson might want to find a few new wrinkles to throw at Clemson, which has limited Tech to 364 yards total on the ground the past three games. ... Georgia Tech had fewest punts in the ACC entering the game at 21 through six games. The Yellow Jackets punted nine times at Clemson.
Clemson: The Tigers are now squarely back in control of their ACC and championship destiny. A win at North Carolina State next week would put Clemson in control of the ACC Atlantic Division and a favorite to win its third straight league crown.