CLEMSON, S.C. _ Georgia Tech is no longer running the triple-option offense under first-year head coach Geoff Collins, but Thursday night's opener against Clemson was reminiscent of the Tigers' past four matchups against the Yellow Jackets _ a beatdown.
Clemson jumped out to a 35-0 lead behind star running back Travis Etienne and never looked back en route to a 52-14 victory at Death Valley.
Clemson has beaten Georgia Tech by at least 14 points each of the past five years and outscored the Yellow Jackets 194-76 during that time.
Etienne outscored Georgia Tech by himself, kicking off his Heisman Trophy campaign with a career-high 205 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The junior put up the impressive numbers despite playing only the first series of the second half.
Tigers coach Dabo Swinney was unsure what to expect from Georgia Tech's offense under Collins, and what the Tigers faced was a run-oriented attack that struggled to get going. The Yellow Jackets rushed for 157 yards on 45 attempts and completed less than 50% of their passes while using three quarterbacks.
Brent Venables' defense played well with plenty of new faces, led by linebackers Isaiah Simmons, who had 10 tackles.
Trevor Lawrence did more damage with his legs than his arm, rushing for 24 yards and a touchdown. The sophomore passed for 168 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions before leaving the game in the third quarter with the Tigers comfortably ahead.
