No. 15 Georgia Tech survives Clemson with late field goal

ATLANTA -- The opening events of Clemson's 30-27 loss at No. 15 Georgia Tech on Thursday night were a culmination of all fears.

On a "White Out" night at Bobby Dodd Stadium, the Tigers were caught in an avalanche of missed assignments, Yellow Jackets big plays and raucous white-clad fans.

When Dabo Swinney said the Tigers had to be prepared for adversity, he probably wasn't thinking about digging from the depths of a 21-point hole 9 1/2 minutes in, a deficit broadcast coast to coast courtesy of ESPN.

It nearly set up another dramatic moment of overcoming the odds for Swinney, who believes his team has taken on his resilience.

The Tigers, thanks to a freshman quarterback making his second career start, momentarily dug themselves out of a 24-point deficit, before falling in their ACC opener.

"They showed what they got, they didn't quit," Swinney said. "If we can harness that effort, that will to win, we are going to have a special year.

"There was no quit in that locker room (at halftime) ... They laid it on the line. They didn't point any fingers."

Parker led the rally, 27 unanswered points.

Showing uncommon poise, arm strength and accuracy, Parker completed 15 of 31 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions, only one of which was his responsibility.

Parker led four second half-scoring drives, including one that set up a 53-yard Richard Jackson field goal, another young player in the spotlight, to give Clemson a 27-24 lead with 11:33 to play.

"Kyle Parker, a freshman quarterback, are you kidding me?" Swinney said.

"This boy is going to get better and better. He made some mistakes, but this kid is special."

His throw to begin the rally was special -- a laser to Spiller for a 63-yard touchdown cut the Tech lead to 24-7 with 10:13 to play in the second quarter. On a wheel route, Spiller beat safety Cooper Taylor by a step, and Parker hit him in stride 40 yards downfield.

His 77-yard touchdown throw to Jacoby Ford, challenging two defenders, was dynamic in its velocity and depth, cutting Tech's lead to 24-21 with 1:23 to play.

With the score tied, another Parker-to-Ford rope, a 48-yard connection on third-and-long, looked to put the Tigers in game-winning field goal position.

But a critical holding call on Thomas Austin negated the play.

The Tigers were forced to punt, and on third-and-long, Tech's 6-3, 230-pound Demaryius Thomas beat Chris Chancellor for a 39-yard gain that set up Scott Blair's 36-yard game-winning field goal with 1:55 to play.

"It's going to be good for us," Parker said, "to deal with the adversity we faced."

There were other near-heroic efforts for Clemson.

Spiller had a career high in touches (28), rushing for 87 yards on 20 carries and catching four passes for 69 yards.

DeAndre McDaniel picked off two passes. Chris Hairston switched over to right tackle to slow Derrick Morgan, who had three first-half sacks.

The defense adjusted to the triple option, limiting Tech to 3 of 14 third-down conversions and holding Chris Dwyer to 66 yards on 18 carries.

But it was too deep a hole for the Tigers to climb from, too deep from which to gain their sixth road win against a ranked team in 11 years.

In the first quarter, Clemson failed in its execution on offense, defense and special teams.

On Tech's first play from scrimmage, Anthony Allen took a pitch from quarterback Josh Nesbitt 82 yards for a touchdown.

Georgia Tech rushed for 192 yards on 22 carries in the first half.

On the following Clemson drive, the Tigers pooch-kicked out of a field-goal formation. The kick was low, the coverage was late, and Tech's Jerrand Tarrant went 85 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 Tech with 6:55 to play in the first.

On the following drive, the Clemson defense held. But on fourth down and Tech in kicking formation, the Tigers didn't account for an uncovered Thomas, who scored on a 34-yard pass from kicker Scott Blair to make 21-0 with 2:38 to play.

"We will regroup. We will learn from this," Swinney said. "This win wouldn't have made our season. This loss wouldn't have cost us (the season)."

Reach Travis Sawchik at tsawchik@postandcourier.com and check out his Clemson blog at www.postandcourier.com/blogs/tiger_tracks.