Clemson, SC (WBTW) – Kelly Bryant threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns and No. 7 Clemson bounced back from its first loss of the season with a dominating 24-10 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday night.
Bryant showed few negative effects from injuries that knocked him out early of the Tigers’ past two games — a sprained left ankle in the third quarter of a win over Wake Forest on Oct. 7 and a concussion in the second quarter of a loss at Syracuse on Oct. 13. It was an unsettling two weeks — Clemson was off last Saturday — with plenty of questions, introspection and worries about Bryant’s health.
The Clemson junior put all the worrying to rest early on. He connected on a 38-yard TD pass to Deon Cain less than three minutes into the game. Bryant zipped a 20-yard pass to tight end Milan Richard to put the Tigers (7-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead 14-3 and cruise to their third straight win over Georgia Tech.
The Tigers’ defense made sure that was more than enough to hold off the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 3-2). Clemson had 11 tackles for loss and held Georgia Tech’s league-leading — and often confounding — triple-option run game to 198 yards, 175 fewer than their average. TaQuon Marshall, the ACC’s leading rusher with 117 yard average, managed just 23 yards that included his 22-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
KirVonte Benson led Georgia Tech with 129 yards rushing.
Bryant was Clemson’s top runner with 67 yards on 12 carries, showing little hesitation or discomfort on his runs.
Freshman Travis Etienne added his seventh touchdown of the season, tying Bryant for the team lead, with a 2-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
Courtesy: Associated Press