Tech Wins, Clemson and Sound Officiating Lose

Georgia Tech barely hangs on in a game with teaching moments a plenty for everyone. For the Yellow Jackets, they need to learn to ration out their focus, as a call for additional intensity had the Jackets gassed in the third quarter. Example? After a huge first half with three sacks, DE Derrick Morgan had zero sacks in the second half, a disappearance coinciding nicely with Kyle Morgan leading the Clemson offense to 27 unanswered points. They hacked a win out of an equally gassed Clemson team, but clearly have much to work on before their matchup in Miami with the Hurricanes, another team with a superb defensive line and a promising young qb.

Clemson has little to be ashamed of for a number of reasons. They discovered a spark in Jacoby Ford, who broke his leash and ran unfettered through the Tech secondary for much of the game. They watched qb Kyle Parker persevere in a brutal game, and emerge with an excellent resume on the night despite the loss. They came back on the road, and were it not for a phantom holding call would have a victory in the ledger tonight.

The other loser was officiating. Not only did ACC officials put on their usual pokey performance, they botched two holding calls late, including one that called back the aforementioned long pass to Ford that could have put Clemson into endgame position for the game-winning field goal. Both teams were spent at the end of this game, a fatigue all too apparent in the final quarter. It is a shame the officiating crew negated some of that competitive effort with flubbed calls.