Georgia Tech’s offense isn’t traditional option football — but it isn’t far off either. Swinney described the Yellow Jackets’ playbook as a constant puzzle for defenses.
“These guys, I mean, pretty much every snap there’s a shift, a motion, some type of jet,” he explained. “It’s quarterback power, quarterback counter, RPOs built into it.”
Quarterback-Centric Football
The heart of the offense, Swinney said, is the quarterback’s ability to make split-second decisions.
“It’s all about the quarterback. I mean, he makes it go because he’s the decision-making,” Swinney said. “It’s hard to make him wrong as long as he’s equipped to make them right.”
The Defensive Challenge
For Clemson, this week will test fundamentals. Tackling in space and discipline on the perimeter will decide the outcome.
“You gotta win matchups, you gotta tackle in space,” Swinney emphasized. “High discipline is critical, certainly with the physical matchup, but we also gotta do a great job in space. They’re going to challenge you on the perimeter. That’s what they do best.”
If Clemson’s defense doesn’t clean up its alignment mistakes from the first two games, Georgia Tech has the kind of scheme that can turn small cracks into gaping holes.