PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB TaQuon Marshall continues to baffle with his inconsistencies. He dialed up a big second half against Pitt (75 of his 103 yards rushing came in the second half) but he continues to struggle to make the right decision to pitch or keep and his passing remains questionable. He is No. 4 in rushing in the ACC with 293 yards on 50 carries.
–FB Jordan Mason, now the full-time starter due to KirVonte Benson’s season-ending injury, rushed for 94 yards on 10 carries. The redshirt sophomore has 34 attempts for 270 yards and one touchdown. Mason has shown the ability to hammer through the line, but doesn’t have the speed to finish the long drive with the same skill as Benson.
–CB Tariq Carpenter bounced back from an early ejection against South Florida to share the team lead with five tackles against Pitt. Carpenter also had a tackle for loss. The redshirt sophomore has adjusted well to the team’s new 3-4 defense, and Carpenter is filling in well at the spot left vacated by the graduation of senior Corey Griffin.
–FS Malik Rivera intercepted his first pass with the Yellow Jackets. He continues to be a consistent, steady force in the young secondary. Rivera is the only upperclassman among the top nine players on the team’s depth chart in the defensive backfield.
SERIES HISTORY: Georgia Tech leads the series 50-30-2, but Clemson has won three straight and five of the last six. Clemson won 24-10 in 2017.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’re not far from being a pretty good football team. We’re just not consistent. We can do a better job coaching and we can do a better job playing.” — Coach Paul Johnson
