Clemson football sets focus on Georgia Tech, another ACC championship

Clemson football split its first two games, a close loss to a heavyweight and an easy knockout victory against a lighter weight.

Now comes the real season.

And because of the opening-game defeat, 10-3 against now No. 2 Georgia, the sixth-ranked Tigers’ margin for error is slim to none as they begin ACC play at home Saturday (3:30 p.m.) against Georgia Tech.

“The moment gets bigger and bigger,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said after a 49-3 victory against FCS opponent South Carolina State in Memorial Stadium. “Every time you tee it up against an ACC team, it’s critical.”

Commentary:5 takeaways from Clemson's 49-3 win against S.C. State

The Tigers have won six straight ACC championships with those as many berths in the four-team college football playoffs, resulting in two national titles.

“It’s all about ACC play for us,” Swinney said. “The next goal for us is to win the (Atlantic) division. That starts this week. We’ve been in a lot of big-time postseason games around here for a long time now. That’s happened because we’ve been able to win this league. Everything for us is inside-out. It’s about winning this league. And to win the league, you’ve got to win the division.”

The Tigers’ half of the ACC includes N.C. State, Boston College, Wake Forest, Louisville, Florida State and Syracuse. In a preseason poll by USA Today, Clemson was picked to win it again. Georgia Tech was tabbed as the 11th-best of 14 ACC teams, ahead of only Florida State, Duke and Syracuse.

Georgia Tech on Saturday beat in-state FCS team Kennesaw State after losing the opener to Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference.

The Yellow Jackets were without starting quarterback Jeff Sims last week, but backup Jordan Yates set a program record by throwing for four touchdowns in his first career start. It was the most overall since Joe Hamilton tied a school mark with five TD passes against Clemson in 1999. Eddie McAshan had five against Rice in 1972. 

Yates completed 17 of 23 passes for 254 yards. He and Sims are expected to be available against Clemson on Saturday.

Following that game, the Tigers play at N.C. State and are back home against Boston College, two teams that are expected to take a higher step in challenging for the ACC title. Clemson then has an open date, followed by road games at Syracuse and Pitt. The Tigers play host to Florida State on Oct. 30 before going to Louisville for the third away game in four weeks.