ACC Game Of The Week

The ACC had a less than stellar weekend in week one but the lone saving grace was the play in the Miami at Florida State team that saw both teams look strong. In keeping in the inter-conference thread this week’s Game of the Week is another primetime showdown. Clemson heads down to Atlanta to take on the Ramblin’ Wreck in Bobby Dodd Stadium for the rivals’ first ACC league game.

Last season this game was Dabo Swinney’s debut as the Tigers’ interim head coach and savvy veteran Paul Johnson beat him in a wire to wire struggle. The ACC needs to get another solid performance on television and while Clemson needs to win for their Atlantic title hopes the league would be better served with #15 Georgia Tech continuing to climb the polls.

Most Intriguing Storyline: Problems

Just one major storyline for both teams heading into this week’s game and that’s problems.

While the Tigers’ final score of 37 points seems impressive on the surface the fact that the team was only able to muster two offensive touchdowns against Middle Tennessee State raises a red flag entering today’s game. The bulk of their point production (23) came from special teams; either in the return facet where CJ Spiller and Jacoby Ford both had touchdown returns or from Richard Jackson’s field goals. Although the Tigers’ rushing attack picked up 202 yards on the ground, their best player, Spiller, only contributed 12 yards.

Against Georgia Tech Spiller will have to prove that his hamstring and body are capable of holding up to the “every down back” that he claims he is capable of being in the ACC.

For the Wreck their production problems revolve less around statistics and more around sustaining production. The Yellow Jackets have shown they can run the ball consistently but they laid the ball on the rug five times, losing three fumbles to the Gamecocks. In running Paul Johnson’s flexbone offense the Jackets have to be more conscious of ball security. Clemson is better prepared to take advantage of the Wreck’s mistakes and five fumbles against the Tigers would be lethal.

Match-Ups To Watch:

Morgan Burnett vs Kyle Parker

Morgan Burnett is the Jackets best defensive player and is among the nation’s elite safeties, ranking right behind the likes of Eric Berry and Taylor Mays. Burnett shared the national lead in interceptions with seven just a season ago and is a ball hawking and hard hitting safety. Kyle Parker is a redshirt freshman quarterback who is about to start only the second game of his young career.

Parker’s inexperience is further complicated by Clemson’s absence of a truly capable receiving core. Jacoby Ford, while decent as Aaron Kelly’s sidekick a year ago, hasn’t shown the ability to take the lead or be a go to receiver. Brandon Clear replaces Xavier Dye in the Tigers’ starting lineup as Dabo hopefully gets a boost in his receiving core. Kyle Parker’s going to have to overcome the best safety tandem he’ll face all year if the Tigers are going to be successful in the passing game.

Clemson’s Front 7 vs GT’s Option Attack

The Yellow Jackets’ offensive attack is one of the most unusual on the current college football landscape. Their offensive line is a group of mostly undersized, athletic, quick guys that work well as a unit. Johnson’ scheme utilizes aggressive cut blocks and pulling multiple players to create chaos with his five down linemen. The cut blocking and pulling create great angles directional blocking as well as open up the tremendous holes that Josh Nesbitt, Roddy Jones, Anthony Allen and Jonathan Dwyer take full advantage of each game.

For the Tigers, new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele has worked to mold the team into an aggressive, attacking unit. Now the savvy veteran Steele must un-teach the Tigers. Although Ricky Sapp, Kevin Alexander, Da’Quan Bowers and company are as athletic of a unit as there is in the nation their athleticism is a detriment against the Yellow Jackets. To be successful against the Jackets Steele must have his boys playing pure assignment football, not fast flow to the football.

Key To The Game: Discipline

Georgia Tech’s advantage lies in their ability to precisely execute their dynamic gameplan on a play by play basis. The team is very well trained, very well disciplined in their approach and will rigidly to adhere to Johnson’s system, a system they believe in whole heartedly. The drawback to the Jacket’s system will be in their constant exposure of the football, as was shown in their debut game against Jacksonville State as well as their losses a season ago to North Carolina and LSU.

Clemson must be disciplined in their approach as well. To defeat the Wreck the first order of business on every play must be to tackle the fullback. If the middle linebacker and defensive tackles do not accomplish this first task the Jackets will run roughshod over the Tigers. After tackling the fullback assignments must be followed; if Sapp or Bowers is responsible for the pitch back they must attack only the pitch back. A move towards Nesbitt and they leave Dwyer, Jones or Allen free in space with only a defensive back to beat before its off to the races.

This game is going to be a tight one with the Tigers a more athletic team under their first full season with Dabo Swinney at the helm and Tech a disciplined machine that, if they get rolling, can turn into a juggernaut. The short week will have less of an impact early as the Tigers have devoted practice time to this contest during both the spring and training camp but adjusting the Jackets game speed will still take time.

In this contest the discipline of the two squads will be called into question and Johnson’s unit is a proven commodity while Swinney is still searching for his team’s identity. The Jackets will run waves of running backs at the Tigers front seven and with Clemson and Kyle Parker’s inability to sustain drives the defense will eventually wear down at the hands of the three headed rushing attack.

My Pick: Georgia Tech 34 Clemson 27