CLOSE, BUT NO SHOCKER

Jackets scare No. 6 Clemson but come up a yard short in end in 14-8 loss.

CLEMSON, S.C. — Because it’s the only goal worth having, winning was Georgia Tech’s aim here Saturday.

Yeah, and I want to be People magazine’s 2021 Sexiest Man Alive.

And then have a footbridge named after me at Augusta National.

Let’s be frank. All the usual bottom-lining was not so much in play for the Yellow Jackets this day against this opponent. Their participation at Clemson would be measured by factors more subtle and ambiguous than that. And in the end, if they could step over the very low bar of avoiding embarrassment, then you’d just have to say this Saturday was pretty darn well spent.

More than just get over that faint accomplishment, the Yellow Jackets cleared it by a half mile. More than just hang with the Tigers — which would have been sufficient for most — Tech threw a mighty fright into the orange lords of the ACC.

No such thing as a moral victory,

you say. Well, then, how about this for a morale victory: Clemson just 14, Tech 8. The argument could be made that, in terms of raw encouragement, hanging so doggedly with Clemson, favored by 27½ by the wise guys, ranks ahead of any of the seven victories Geoff Collins has masterminded in two-plus seasons.

No, People still will not come calling for me, but Tech finished a yard away from a touchdown that would have made a wild night way more interesting. Jordan Yates’ fourthdown shovel pass to Dylan Deveney was stuffed at the doorstep of the end zone, preserving the Tigers’ narrowest of victories.

Even then, Tech wasn’t done, Clemson fumbling into the end zone with 7 seconds left, recovering, giving the Yellow Jackets two more points off the resulting safety.

A year ago, Tech found itself trailing 52-7 at the half against these Tigers. Saturday, Tech was playing Clemson so tightly that the heavens grew dark and grumbled in disbelief, the game halted just before the end of the half for 1 hour and 52 minutes because of reports of nearby lightning. Down by four by the time the half played out, Tech was making a legitimate nuisance of itself. And it had just knocked 41 points off last year’s first-half deficit. You usually only see that kind of year-over-year gain with the national debt.

Some may not want to hear of symbolic victories in absence of the real thing. The hard-core — if they are highly literate or Google savvy — may quote H.L. Mencken: “In human history a moral victory is always a disaster, for it debauches and degrades both the victory and the vanquished.” But Mencken never had to avoid getting planted by

300 pounds of Bryan Bresee. There was satisfaction to take in remaining unrattled by the Clemson rush.

In some ways, playing the monster of the ACC and a team that has beaten Tech by a combined score of 125-21 the last two meetings is easier than any engagement with Northern Illinois. The Yellow Jackets could perform free of expectation, unleashed from any pressure that comes with the need of victory. Just persevere and try to show a little bit more on the road than in last season’s 73-7 loss at Bobby Dodd. Not so much to ask, really. All those minor demands were wildly surpassed.

Save for getting the

win, Tech satisfactorily answered many other questions.

Could Tech hold its water and hold onto the ball?

Playing before their largest audience since their last time here in 2019, the Yellow Jackets were quite composed all things considered. There were a few ugly penalties: Kyric McGowan stepping out of bounds and illegally coming back into play before pulling in what would have been a first-down reception; a hold nullifying a 19-yard completion to Jahmyr Gibbs deep in Clemson territory just before the lightning delay. An unnecessary roughness penalty second half

kickoff return. But nothing that betrayed a raging case of nerves.

In fact, it was Clemson that committed the only turnover of the game — a costly third-quarter fumble with it seemingly driving for a score — and the recovered fumble for a safety that gave fleeting hope a chance with just seconds left.

With the long weather delay, Tech also caught a break, with maybe 60% of those who evacuated not returning to their seats when play resumed. Clemson, with the fair-weathers weeded out, lost much of its home field boost. The Tigers had to supply their own juice.

With Yates running the

offense, could the Yellow Jackets manage anything positive against a Clemson defense that in two games had yet to give up a touchdown?

The Tigers still haven’t yielded that first TD. But Tech kept knocking on that door. And while not getting into the end zone, Yates may only have solidified his grasp on Tech’s starting quarterback job.

As much as any other trait that recommended Yates over incumbent quarterback Jeff Sims, it was the care he takes with the ball. Turning the ball over to Clemson is just the kind of catnip you can’t feed these Tigers. And on that account, Yates ran the show while muffing

none of his lines. Saturday he was a caretaker. In the future, against a less worldly defense, he will be a play-maker.

And having been overwhelmed by all those points and 671 yards a year ago, how would Tech’s defense respond?

Just look at the score. ’Nuff said.

You can’t spell redemption without the D, and Tech’s stepped up.

Clemson, its offense a shadow of what it was with Trevor Lawrence, clearly is not what it was a year ago.

And the good news for the Yellow Jackets, as demonstrated by a glossy, high-quality loss Saturday, neither is Tech.

JOHN BAZEMORE/ASSOCIATED PRESS Tech running back Dontae Smith tries to evade Clemson linebacker Trenton Simpson in Saturday’s first half in Clemson, South Carolina. The game was halted just before the end of the half for 1 hour and 52 minutes after reports of nearby lightning.

Steve Hummer Only in the AJC

JOHN BAZEMORE/ASSOCIATED PRESS Fans are warned about lightning in the area near the end of Saturday’s first half between Clemson and Georgia Tech in Clemson, South Carolina. The field was cleared, and both teams were sent to their locker rooms for a nearly two-hour delay.