Familiar Foes Clemson, Georgia Tech Fight for ACC Championship

At least this will be the most preparation time Dabo Swinney has had for Georgia Tech.

Swinney's No. 25 Clemson Tigers play No. 12 Georgia Tech in Saturday's ACC Championship in Tampa, Fla. Talk about kissing cousins. It marks the third game between the schools since Oct. 18, 2008, or more precisely, the third time in 20 games under Swinney.

Last year, Swinney was named interim head coach on a Monday prior to the Tech game, and this season the Tigers played the Jackets five days after the season opener in a Thursday night game. Naturally, Swinney will be looking for a different result as Tech has won the last four in the series. And let's not forget this fun fact:

"The other thing about Clemson-Georgia Tech is these games for whatever reason have been some humdingers," Swinney said.

Swinney's so right.




Eleven of the last 14 games between the pair have been decided by five points or less, including a six-game streak between 1996-01 in which every game was decided by exactly three points.

Also keep in mind this game features the ACC's top two scoring offenses, two of the top three rushing offenses, three of the top five rushers, and three of the top five touchdown scorers.

Both teams are regrouping, too, after coming off disappointing defeats last Saturday to their SEC rivals. Clemson (8-4) was pounded by South Carolina 37-14, while Tech (10-2) fell to Georgia 30-24.

Swinney says his team has moved on from the South Carolina defeat and is focused on trying to win the school's first ACC title since 1991.

"It was a tough loss, but we have to move on," said Swinney, who is looking to join Maryland's Ralph Friedgen to lead his team to the ACC championship in his first full season.

"When they crown the Super Bowl champions, they don't say, 'They won it all, but they lost to the Packers.' This is what you play for. You never want to lose. It's hard to win in college football and winning a championship is even harder. It's a hard thing to get done."

Slowing Tech's triple-option is expected to be just as difficult the second time around.

The Jackets jumped to a 24-0 lead and overcame a furious comeback in their 30-27 win over Clemson at Bobby Dodd Sept. 10. The Tigers scored 27 consecutive points only to have Scott Blair kick the game-winning, 36-yard field goal with 57 seconds left in the game.

Tech outgained the Tigers 418-386, including 301-125 on the ground, and averaged 6.1 yards per carry.

On the flip side, Tech's offense did not score a touchdown over the last 47 minutes of the game. At one point, Clemson forced Tech to punt on seven consecutive possessions.

"I just think we'll be more prepared for it," said Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel, who leads the ACC and is tied for second nationally with eight interceptions.

"It doesn't look like too many things have changed since the first time we played them, and in the second half we played them pretty good. The first half they got a few big plays on us, so we're just looking forward to stopping them this time."

The Jackets' defense stopped the Tigers early but had their problems late.

Kyle Parker was named ACC Rookie-of-the-Week after passing for 261 yards and three touchdowns in his first career road game.

Jacoby Ford added five catches for 109 yards, both game-highs, and C.J. Spiller totaled 234 all-purpose yards, including 87 rushing yards and 69 receiving yards on four receptions.

"You know, we know their personnel well," Clemson guard Thomas Austin said.

"We've gone against those guys the last couple years and this season, but from a schematic standpoint, we know what they do, they know what we do, so I think for us it'll just be a matter of not trying to hide things but just doing what we do a little bit better."

While both teams have improved since September and the respective coaching staff expect to see new wrinkles, Swinney likes the advantages of familiarity and time. For the first time in three meetings, Swinney will have had a full week to prepare for the Jackets.

"This is a little different for them and for us in that I don't think either team really knew what we were getting into back [in the] second game of the season," Swinney said.

"Neither one of us really had a lot to go on from a film standpoint, and there's a lot of new people playing on both sides. You know, our freshman quarterback and we've got some young linemen, and some freshmen playing in the secondary and things like that.

"So you know, now that you've got a lot of film to really study them throughout the season, and they'll have all of ours and we'll have all of theirs, from a scheme standpoint that's a good advantage this time around."