Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney knows that Saturday’s ACC opener against Georgia Tech will be a battle.
“Everybody’s got accountability in what they do, and we better be on point this Saturday. This will be a battle,” Swinney said at his weekly Tuesday press conference.
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The Tigers (1-1 overall) are ranked No. 11 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll following their 27-16 win over Troy and are facing a Georgia Tech (2-0) team that beat Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes 27-20 in Week 1 before racking up 680 yards of total offense in a 59-12 win over Gardner-Webb last Saturday.
On Tuesday, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key met with reporters ahead of his team’s matchup with Clemson at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.
“Got a new target this week,” Key said of the Tigers in his opening remarks. “We hit our mark last week. Mission hadn’t changed for this football team. This target’s a big one, biggest one up to this point. Big challenge. We’re in the middle of preparation. We’re busy preparing and working on a plan to be ready to go on Saturday.”
While Georgia Tech leads the all-time series vs. Clemson 50-36-2, the Tigers have won nine straight meetings dating back to 2015 and 11 of the last 12 since 2012. The average margin of victory for Clemson has been 26.8 points in the nine-game win streak.
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Key was asked if there was any extra weight on him or his players to snap the Yellow Jackets’ skid in the series.
“No. Every game’s a challenge, and this is the next challenge and it’s a big one,” Key said flatly.
Has anything about the Tigers caught Key’s eye on film?
“They’re a good football team and we’re excited to play them,” he said.
And Cade Klubnik?
“He can run and throw,” Key said. “He’s got experience. Got a good scheme, good coaches, well-coached. Good football player.”
As for the status of his own starting quarterback, Haynes King, Key said only that the sixth-year senior “looks good, feels good” and that “we’ll make a determination this weekend.”
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Key was asked about his relationship with Swinney. Both men grew up in Alabama where Swinney played for the Crimson Tide out of Pelham High School just south of Birmingham. Key played at Hewitt-Trussville, east of Birmingham, before going on to play at Georgia Tech under George O’Leary.
Both Swinney and Key were named interim coaches before being promoted to full-time head coach. Key is in his third season since taking over for Geoff Collins in September 2023. The two coaches met in November of that year, a 42-21 Clemson victory at Memorial Stadium.
“Kind of know him like most of the other coaches,” Key said of Swinney. “Do have some similarities in our background. He’s a good man, a good football coach. Respect him a lot.”
While Georgia Tech cruised past Gardner-Webb in Week 2, the Yellow Jackets committed 12 penalties for 94 yards.
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“Unacceptable,” Key said. “Unacceptable.”
Clemson-Georgia Tech is scheduled for a noon ET kickoff Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN.
You can watch the full press conference below.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Georgia Tech football coach Brent Key tight-lipped about Clemson game
