Clemson football will have its hands full trying to stop Georgia Tech’s age-old flexbone option attack. Luckily, the Tigers have defensive mastermind, Brent Venables on their side.
Paul Johnson’s quick-hitting option attack has been terrorizing ACC opponents for nearly ten years. The Yellow Jackets averaged 297 rushing yards per game from 2008-2016. During that same span of time, Georgia Tech went a combined 71-48 (43-32 ACC).
In Dabo Swinney’s early years, Clemson football struggled against the Yellow Jackets. Before Brent Venables arrived in 2012, Swinney was 1-3 versus Johnson and Georgia Tech. Since hiring Venables, the tables have turned with the Tigers going 4-1 over the past five seasons.
Georgia Tech’s kryptonite
Clemson has been historically good against Georgia Tech, since Venables took over as defensive coordinator.
From 2012-2014, Paul Johnson took Venables to the woodshed, hanging 339, 248 and 251 rushing yards on the Tigers’ defense. Over the past two seasons, however, it appears Venables has finally cracked the code to Johnson’s complex option attack.
Georgia Tech has been held to less than 100 yards rushing just twice since 2009. Both of those times came at the hands of Venables and Clemson (71 yds in 2015, 95 yds in 2016). No other defensive coordinator in the country has done this to Paul Johnson more than once, let alone in back-to-back seasons.
History may repeat itself for the third time this Saturday. Brent Venables brings in, perhaps, his best defensive unit thus far at Clemson. The Tigers rank 13th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 107 yards per game (2.9 per attempt). Even more impressive, is the two rushing touchdowns Clemson has allowed on the entire season.
You have to put points on the board to win and in Georgia Tech’s case in particular, you have to gain yards on the ground to win. Since Johnson took over in 2008, Georgia Tech is 4-15 in games where they rush for less than 200 yards.
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Given Clemson’s talent along the front seven and Venables’ defensive genius, the Tigers should move to 7-1 on the season against the Yellow Jackets.