I need everyone reading this stop for a moment, sit quietly, and concentrate.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a faint buzz right at the bottom of the register.<\/p>\n
That buzz is coming from Atlanta, where a hive of pissed off Yellow Jackets is waiting for the Tigers. They\u2019ve been dormant since Paul \u201cQueen Bee\u201d Johnson had the ACC in absolute hell with Justin Thomas and company in 2014, but they think 2025 is the year they emerge from hibernation. Make no mistake about what awaits the Tigers tomorrow. There will be no on-field circuit training before the game; this is a Tech team with an actual coach and a roster that believes they can swarm the mighty Tigers and bring them to heel for the first time since the aforementioned 2014 season. Clemson is on a nine-game heater, and the Jackets don\u2019t want them to make it a straight decade of domination.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t going to be easy.<\/p>\n
A Question of Toughness at Quarterback.<\/p>\n
Haynes King and Cade Klubnik aren\u2019t strangers or at least they shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n
Haynes played his high school football at 6A-power Longview (on 1-20 between Shreveport and Dallas), and Cade played for fellow powerhouse Westlake (outside of Austin). King was already at Texas A&M when Cade took over the Westlake job in 2020, but they both have Texas 6A State Championships on their resume, and I\u2019m sure they are familiar with each other\u2019s resumes.<\/p>\n
King is the tough guy from a school with two State Championships on their resume (One from 1937 and the other was Hayne\u2019s 2018 title)<\/p>\n
Westlake, on the other hand, has four State Championships, including the two Cade won back-to-back in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n
Westlake is the former high school home of Drew Brees, Sam Ehlinger, and Nick Foles. Longview isn\u2019t without its celebrities, but Matthew McConaughey isn\u2019t getting into the NFL Hall of Fame any time soon. As far as I know, Haynes is the only quarterback of note to come out of the Longview program.<\/p>\n
The narrative, at least in my book, is the gritty, self-made King vs the silver spoon Klubnik. It\u2019s the scrappy up-and-coming Yellow Jackets against the former champs in a state of decay. One team is living off today, and the other team is living off past success. Cade may be the better quarterback in terms of skill set, but in terms of toughness, King is comfortably ahead. I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s even a controversial statement.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get mad at me, Clemson\u2019s coaching staff all but admitted it against Troy when the Tigers supposed \u201cdual threat\u201d quarterback was pulled for his understudy in the middle of a competitive game in order to run quarterback power.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Haynes King had to take last week off after dragging his team to a road victory in Boulder with a 19-carry, 160-yard, 3-touchdown performance running on pure, triple-distilled guts.<\/p>\n
Georgia Tech thinks they\u2019re going to win this game because their quarterback is tougher than Clemson\u2019s. I believe Mr. Klubnik should reflect upon that idea. Maybe Cade doesn\u2019t care that the opposition thinks he\u2019s, as they say in Texas, \u201call hat and no cattle.\u201d Perhaps it doesn\u2019t bother him that the Tigers are on \u201cupset alert\u201d as they battle through Atlanta traffic because the national sports media thinks Haynes King is going to find a way to win or die trying, and Cade, well, he wants to win\u2026but does he need to win (I\u2019m just asking the question)? If that\u2019s the case, this Clemson team is destined to fall short of their goals.<\/p>\n
Deshaun Watson is a lot of things, but you can\u2019t question his toughness. You didn\u2019t see him head off to the sideline when it was time to run QB Power because the coaching staff was scared of him getting a boo-boo.<\/p>\n
Kelly Bryant was toughness personified during his season under center in Death Valley. In fact, that\u2019s what I would say his best skill was for the Tigers. You knew K.B. was going to lay it on the line every time he lined up under center. He may not have had the best arm, but he wouldn\u2019t hesitate to lower his shoulder and take on a linebacker for a first down.<\/p>\n
Trevor Lawrence, despite his \u201cpretty boy\u201d image, was a nasty competitor who got better the more you hit him. I thought Chase Young killed him in the National Semi-Final, but it only made Trevor mad. In fact, I believe Chase Young\u2019s attempt to remove Trevor\u2019s head from the rest of his body was the catalyst for the comeback in that game. If you\u2019re looking for the best college version of Trevor, you\u2019ll find it in the second half of that game. Ohio State questioned his toughness, and Trevor responded.<\/p>\n
Taking off my orange-colored glasses for a moment\u2026I think Haynes King is the tougher quarterback, and the only reason why I think Georgia Tech has a shot at winning this game is that I trust their quarterback more than I trust ours.<\/p>\n
I know when the going gets tough, King is going to bite down on his mouth guard and plow forward. Cade, on the other hand, is going to line up at wide receiver and let Chris Vizzina see what he can do in the quarterback run game. If this game comes down to a question of whose quarterback is tougher, it\u2019s not going to end well for the Tigers.<\/p>\n
Now would be the perfect time for Cade to shut me up.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d love to come back next week and eat crow. I\u2019d gladly supplicate myself at Cade\u2019s feet and beg forgiveness for ever daring to question his testicular fortitude, but I don\u2019t think it will come to that.<\/p>\n
I think he\u2019s a typical silver spoon kid from West Lake who doesn\u2019t know how to handle adversity because he\u2019s had the best of everything from the moment he stepped onto a perfectly manicured practice field.<\/p>\n
Cade, please prove me wrong.<\/p>\n
Defensive Line – Preseason All-Americans!<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not going to lie. I bought the hype.<\/p>\n
I knew I shouldn\u2019t, but I couldn\u2019t help myself. I thought this was going to be the year the defensive line returned to its previous glory. I thought the Power Rangers were back.<\/p>\n
I thought Justin Parker and TJ Parker were going to pick up where Wilkins and Cle left off, and now, I regret my purchase.<\/p>\n
Peter Woods is supposed to be an All-American? He looked allergic to tackling against LSU. PFF rated his tackling at 42.9 (on a 0-100) scale, and I think they were being generous. It looked like he expected Caden Durham to fall on first contact because he was being tackled by PETER WOODS, TOP 5 PROJECTED NFL DRAFT PICK. As we saw, Mr. Durham wasn\u2019t impressed and shrugged off Woods like an uncle would shrug off his nephew during the annual family Thanksgiving football game. When LSU needed a tough first down, they put the ball in Durham\u2019s hands because they knew he was tougher than Clemson\u2019s defensive line, and Woods is the supposed leader of that line.<\/p>\n
LSU knew that even if the Tigers got into the backfield, Durham was going to find a way because his desire to go forward was greater than the Clemson defenders\u2019 desire to move him in the opposite direction. Woods is supposed to be the muscle up front; the next star in Clemson\u2019s long line of dominant defensive tackles, and LSU punked him. They ran right at the heart of the Clemson defense, and he couldn\u2019t get Durham on the ground.<\/p>\n
I know the offense did the defense no favors, but when it came time to make a play and get off the field, Clemson wasn\u2019t tough enough. I put that squarely on the shoulders of Woods and Clemson\u2019s other supposed top 5 NFL draft pick, TJ Parker.<\/p>\n
Clemson needed a momentum-changing play in the opener. LSU\u2019s run game had Clemson\u2019s defense in a chokehold, and TJ Parker couldn\u2019t do anything about it. He finished the game getting credit for a single QB hurry.<\/p>\n
All that off-season hype and he got close to Nussmeier once. His biggest hit on the quarterback was a cheap shot well after the ball had been released because LSU had him deep in his feelings. If you\u2019re not going to be good, you should at least be smart, and Parker was neither against LSU. That game introduced Parker to the college football world at large, and not in a good way.<\/p>\n
The Troy game wasn\u2019t much different. Woods couldn\u2019t get any penetration, and while Parker did manage to get to the quarterback, he had a 20% miss rate when it comes to tackling. That\u2019s not an All-American performance in my book, much less the performance of a top 5 NFL draft pick. I can find 100 guys capable of getting blocked and missing tackles.<\/p>\n
Georgia Tech is going to line up and try to prove to the nation that their offensive line, running backs, and quarterbacks want it more than Clemson\u2019s highly coddled, excuse me, touted defensive line. If they pull it off, they have a great shot at winning the game. It\u2019s up to Clemson to try and stop them from doing that, and folks, I\u2019m not optimistic.<\/p>\n
They think that by the time the fourth quarter rolls around, the Tigers supposed \u201csuperstars\u201d will be finishing every play on their backs. They think Dabo is going to have to use a timeout to let them catch their breath because Tech is in the middle of an eight-minute 17-play drive, and they can\u2019t get out of their stance, much less get Clemson off the field.<\/p>\n
I look back at Clemson\u2019s recent losses, and I understand why Georgia Tech feels that way. There might not be a more over-hyped group in the country than the Clemson front seven over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n
Georgia: 169 Rushing Yards – 2 Touchdowns<\/p>\n
Louisville: 210 Rushing Yards – 3 Touchdowns<\/p>\n
South Carolina: 267 Rushing Yards – 2 Touchdowns<\/p>\n
Texas: 292 Rushing Yards – 4 Touchdowns<\/p>\n
LSU: 108 Rushing Yards – 1 Touchdown<\/p>\n
Does that look like a defensive line loaded with NFL draft picks and former 5* talents? It sure doesn\u2019t to me. That looks more like the Purdue rush defense I cover at Hammer and Rails. I\u2019m not sure I could give a more stinging criticism.<\/p>\n
Wes is gone. You can\u2019t blame \u201cthe guy\u201d who followed \u201cthe guy\u201d anymore, and Tom Allen\u2019s defense looked a lot like Wes Goodwin\u2019s defense in the second half of the LSU game and the first half of the Troy game. Perhaps it\u2019s time to stop blaming the coaches and start taking a closer look at the players on the field. Wes Goodwin didn\u2019t get run over by LaNorris Sellers, and Tom Allen didn\u2019t get truck-sticked by Caden Durham.<\/p>\n
For my money, Clemson is losing games they won in the past, not for a lack of talent, but for a lack of toughness. They\u2019ve relied on their talent to overwhelm ACC teams, but that falls apart when they\u2019re faced with any pushback. Louisville embarrassed this team at home last year because Jeff Brohm had them convinced that they could win. If you don\u2019t lose to Clemson before the opening snap, it looks like you\u2019ve got a good chance to beat them after the opening snap.<\/p>\n
Dare I say, they\u2019re \u201cPaper Tigers\u201d?<\/p>\n
When challenged by a team with similar talent, they fall apart. That screams toughness to me. Dabo can huff and puff and scream at the refs all he wants, but the fact of the matter is that any time his team has been asked to step up over the last few seasons, they\u2019ve had their face shoved in the dirt.<\/p>\n
It All Boils Down to This<\/p>\n
Georgia Tech doesn\u2019t have similar talent, but they have belief. Clemson isn\u2019t going to win this game on reputation. Clemson is the more skilled team by far, but the Yellow Jackets don\u2019t just think they have the tougher team; they know they have the tougher team.<\/p>\n
I guarantee the first thing Brent Key did when the ACC schedule was announced was to circle this game. A home win against Clemson would put Georgia Tech on a different level of college football.<\/p>\n
It All Boils Down to This<\/p>\n
How bad does Clemson want it?<\/p>\n
On paper, they\u2019re the better team, but they don\u2019t get to play on paper. They\u2019re going to have to get down in the trenches and figuratively (possibly literally) fist-fight this Georgia Tech team if they have any intentions of leaving Atlanta with a win.<\/p>\n
Has Dabo assembled another top 15ish 9- or 10-win squad, or is this team serious about competing for a national championship? We\u2019re going to find out Saturday afternoon. The boys better have their chin straps tight buckled, because Tech is going to come out swinging.<\/p>\n
King thinks he\u2019s the tougher quarterback, and the Georgia Tech offense thinks they\u2019re tougher than Clemson\u2019s defensive line. It\u2019s incumbent upon the Tigers to disabuse them of this notion early in the game, because if this thing goes down to the wire, I\u2019ll take the tough team over the skilled team every day of the week.<\/p>\n
If I\u2019m being honest, this Clemson team is starting to feel more like a Tommy Bowden, all sizzle-and-no-steak team.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m looking for some steak on Saturday.<\/p>\n