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Dealing with a series of losses can leave a bitter taste in a team’s collective mouth.
For Georgia Tech, the particularly sour taste of one of the setbacks from a season ago still lingers.
The 2022 college football season is less than six weeks away, but the Yellow Jackets’ latest loss to Clemson has been a talking point among the team for nearly 365 days. Part of the reason some of their players acknowledged this week is because the teams begin the upcoming season with a conference-opening rematch in the Labor Day slot at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
But Georgia Tech was out to avenge a nail-biter that came down to the final seconds at Memorial Stadium.
“I don’t think a week goes by without that Clemson game being the topic of conversation last year,” Tech running back Donta Smith told Clemson Insider at the ACC football kickoff.
Back to the third Saturday in September of last year: Clemson held the Yellow Jackets to just six offensive points in both teams’ ACC opener, but the Tigers’ offense showed the first signs of the struggles it’s faced all season. Clemson, which found the end zone just twice for the only points of the game, clung to a 14-6 lead late in the fourth quarter with a drive by the Yellow Jackets.
With 35 seconds left on the clock, Tech set up a first-and-goal inside the 5-yard line, but Clemson held on the Yellow Jackets’ next three possessions, setting up a decisive fourth down from the Tigers’ 3. Tech Call shoveled a pass to tight end Dylan Devaney, but James Skalsky intercepted it and Devaney was in the backfield with 15 ticks left as the Tigers missed their seventh straight win.
The goal line position was wide when Will Shipley found his own gain in the end zone for a Tech safety.
“You definitely look back and it hurts a little bit,” Dylan Leonard said. “Down by six, we stopped at the 1-yard line and time expired. It’s one of the closest games, you know?”
“It’s just a burning image in my head,” Smith said. The same goes for my teammates.
Clemson continues its 11th 10-game winning streak. For Tech, it was part of another disappointing year filled with similarly tough luck. The Yellow Jackets have lost four games by eight points or fewer, including three in the ACC tournament. Contributed to a 2-6 conference record and third straight 3-9 season.
“It’s not necessarily three touchdowns better this year,” Leonard said. “Yeah, we want to be better by 21 points every game, but you’re going to be six (points), four points, three points, two points, eight points, you’re flipping that (3-9 record) to 8. 4 And we are having a completely different discussion.
Those narrow results instilled confidence in the Yellow Jackets that they were close to reversing their fortunes in Year 4 of the Geoff Collins era. This time, junior defensive end Zamari Walton said, it’s about finishing.
“I think those single-digit games show that we have to get a little closer and do the little things right,” Walton said.
Leonard said most of the talk about Clemson in the Tech program this season has focused more on the Yellow Jackets’ game plan than last year’s upset, though it depends on who you ask. But there’s no debating how much momentum Tech will have this time around.
“(Last year) was crushing,” Smith said. But we have another chance and we will make the most of it.
Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24th. Now there’s a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out to this meet and greet with the original football players for an autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels, you can get free access to all the treasured Old Clemson events. Buy your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
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