ATLANTA: Georgia Tech placekicker Aidan Birr nailed a career long 55-yard field goal as time expired to give Georgia Tech a 24-21 win over Clemson Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium in downtown Atlanta. The kick came three minutes and twenty-six seconds after Clemson had tied the game on a two-yard run by Adam Randall.
Many in the “White Out’ crowd of 48,000 rushed the field to celebrate the end of a nine game losing streak to the Tigers. As for Clemson, the AP pre-season #4 team in the country dropped to 1-2 and faces the possibility of being unranked on Sunday afternoon.
Once again the Clemson offense had an inconsistent outing. The Tigers first three possessions ended with a lost fumble, a missed field goal and a punt. They trailed 13-0 before a late first half score gave them momentum heading into the second half.
The Tigers eventually took a 14-13 lead on a 73-yard catch and run by Bryant Wesco in the third quarter. Georgia Tech scored early in the fourth and added a two-point conversion for a 21-14 lead.
Randall’s late fourth quarter touchdown capped a 13 play, 75 yard drive that tied the game with 3:26 left. Needing a stop, the Clemson defense couldn’t do it as Tech converted a pair of third downs on their 10 play, 38-yard drive to the game-winning field goal.
At 1-2, Clemson is off to its worst start since the 2014 season. The Tigers return home to host Syracuse next Saturday.
Final Stats
Here’s My View from Bobby Dodd Stadium
Like I said last week, Clemson is a 6-6 SEC team, 10-2 ACC team, although I probably overestimated the ACC wins. Yes, the Golden Age of Dabo is over – and he better get himself a quarterback in the portal next year, or those two sophomore receivers may well be on their way out.