ATLANTA, Ga. — It’s Game Day in Atlanta where No. 2 Clemson battles Georgia Tech as the Tigers’ hope to move to start another run to an ACC Championship and a trip to the College Football Playoff.

Location: Bobby Dodd Stadium

Kickoff:  3:30 p.m.

Television:  ABC

Announcers:  Mark Jones, Molly McGrath, Dusty Dvoracek

2018 Record: Clemson  3-0,  Georgia Tech 1-2

ACC Record: Clemson 0-0  Georgia Tech 0-1

Series History: Georgia Tech leads 30-51-2

Last Meeting:  Clemson won 24-10 in 2017 at Death Valley

CLEMSON IN ACC OPENERS

The 2018 season marks Clemson’s 66th year of membership in the ACC, dating back to the conference’s first year of play in 1953. In its previous 65 seasons of ACC membership, Clemson has posted a 39-25-1 record in conference openers.

Clemson has won its last three ACC openers, including road victories at Louisville in 2015 and 2017 and a road win at Georgia Tech in 2016. The 2018 season will mark the seventh consecutive year that Clemson has had to travel to open ACC play.  Head Coach Dabo Swinney is 5-4 in ACC openers
at Clemson, with all four losses coming to Top 20 opponents, including No. 15 Georgia Tech in 2009, No. 16 Miami (Fla.) in 2010, No. 4 Florida State in 2012 and No. 1 Florida State in 2014. Three of those four
contests were on the road.

DEFENSE KEY IN CURRENT SERIES STREAK

Defending Georgia Tech’s option offense has been the key to victory for the Tigers against the Yellow Jackets the last three years. Clemson has won the games by scores of 43-24 in 2015, 26-7 in 2016 and 24-10 last year. In those game, Georgia Tech has averaged just 13.7 points per game, 121 yards rushing on 41 carries per game, 11 first downs per game and 194 yards of
total offense.

In 2015 when not playing Clemson, Georgia Tech averaged 5.6 yards per rush and 273 rushing yards per game. They averaged 1.7 yards per rush and had 71 yards against Clemson. In 2016, Georgia Tech averaged 5.7 yards per rush and 272 yards a game against other opponents but had 2.3 yards per rush and 95 rushing yards against Clemson.

10-WIN SEASONS

Clemson enters 2018 with a streak of seven consecutive seasons of 10+ wins, tied for the sixthlongest streak in FBS history.

An eighth consecutive 10-win season in 2018 would tie the Tigers with the 1985-92 Miami Hurricanes and the 2004-11 Virginia Tech Hokies for the fourth-longest streak in FBS history.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS

“The explosive play is alive and well in our offense.”  That was the exact quote from Head Coach Dabo Swinney following a Sept. 15 victory against Georgia Southern. Improving the team’s explosiveness and ability to create chunk plays had been a primary focus for the offense leading up to the 2018 season, and that focus has paid off thus far this season.

SATURDAYS ARE FOR THE TIGERS

Clemson enters Saturday’s contest against Georgia Tech having won each of its last 19 Saturday games.  Clemson went 12-2 during the 2017 campaign, with its only losses coming on a Friday at Syracuse and a Monday on New Year’s Day in the Sugar Bowl.

You have to travel back to Nov. 12, 2016, a total of 679 days prior to this week’s contest against Georgia Tech, for Clemson’s most recent loss on a Saturday.

Clemson’s 19-game Saturday winning streak is the longest active streak among Power Five schools.

STINGY STARTS

Clemson has not surrendered a first-half touchdown in 2018 and has held opponents out of the end zone in the first half of seven of their last eight games, dating back to 2017.

#75 MITCH HYATT, OT

While the return of the members of Clemson’s ballyhooed defensive line generated a majority of the team’s offseason headlines, Clemson’s offensive line returned its own first-team All-American in left tackle Mitch Hyatt. In July, Hyatt was the leading vote-getter in the preseason All-ACC selection process, appearing on a conference-high 130 of 148 possible ballots, 28
more votes than ACC Preseason Player of the Year AJ Dillon.

Hyatt, a three-year letterman out of Suwanee, Ga., entered the 2018 campaign with 43 games, 42 starts and 2,885 snaps to his credit, helping Clemson to an ACC title and College Football Playoff berth in each of
his first three seasons.

TCI Predictions 

Robert – Clemson 45, Georgia Tech 24

Gavin – Clemson 31, Georgia Tech 10

Will – Clemson 31, Georgia Tech 10