ATLANTA — There will be no apology necessary to Clemson fans this week by Deshaun Watson.
For the first time this season Watson, a former Gainesville High standout, showed why he was third in the 2015 Heisman voting, going 32-of-48 for 304 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 26-7 victory over the Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
Two weeks ago Watson said off-field distractions were derailing the focus he displayed during his first two seasons. But the junior looked plenty focused in the first 30 minutes Thursday night.
He dissected the Tech defense in a scintillating first half, going 24-of-35 for 262 yards and two touchdowns. Even his one blemish turned into points for the Tigers when the Jackets’ Lance Austin picked him off in the end zone, electing to run it out, only to fumble into the end zone. Austin fell on the loose ball for a safety.
The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 ACC) amassed 442 yards for the game and were a impressive 10-of-18 on third down conversions, with nine of those coming in the first half, five times on Watson passes. He also connected with nine different receivers
Watson said he’s feeling much better now.
“There’s always pressure but I just think as a unit we’re doing the little things better and that makes us better,” he said. “We’re getting there offensively. The first half I thought we were what we can be.”
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said the first half was as good as he has seen in a while as well.
“Just dominant on both sides of the ball,” he said. “I love the fight and the preparation the guys had. Deshaun was very good in that first half. As good as I’ve ever seen him. I thought that first drive we really set the tone for the rest of the game.
“The defense, you know, we held them to 22 yards in the first half. That’s dominant also. (Georgia Tech) knows how to run the ball. If they block you, it’s going to be a long night for you. But if they don’t block you, it’s probably going to be a long night for them. I thought our guys did a great job of being disciplined.”
Sophomore defensive end Christian Wilkins said the defense wanted to set the tone. He had two of the Tigers three sacks and the defense had six tackles for loss in the first half alone.
“You don’t play the option that much so you really have to stay disciplined and do your job. I thought we did that,” he said. “It was a good showing for the defense. I thought we set the tone in those first two drives (Georgia Tech) had.”
The Yellow Jackets (3-1, 1-1) went three-and-out in quick fashion on their first two possessions and finished the first quarter with 10 total plays for minus-1 yard.
Watson opened the game doing what he does best, picking apart the defense. He went 5-for-5 for 46 yards on the Tigers opening drive, including a 4-yard fade into the corner of the end zone to Mike Williams for a 7-0 lead just 3:35 into the game.
Then the Clemson defensive line matched Watson’s dominance on the Jackets first two drives. Wilkins and Clelin Ferrell each registered a sack of Tech quarterback Justin Thomas.
The Tigers second drive ended with a missed field goal but on their third drive Watson was 4-of-5 for 65 yards to set up a 9-yard scoring run by Wayne Gallman for a 14-0 lead before Tech produced positive yardage.
The Jackets looked to grab some momentum with Austin’s interception but the crazy play gave Clemson a 16-0 lead, and more importantly, another possession with 2:00 left in the half. Watson didn’t waste it.
He capped a 10-play drive in 1:49 with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Leggett on another fade route with 4 seconds left for a 23-0 halftime lead. He was 5-of-6 for 74 yards on that drive.
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson did not hide his disappointment.
“Very disappointed in our performance, it comes back to me; I’ll take credit for some of it,” he said. “Offensively the first half was embarrassing. They’ve got a good defensive football team but it didn’t seem like we could get in their way. I think just the speed, quickness, size. Those big guys inside can really move.”
The third quarter, and most of the second half, was like watching two teams that had already figured out the game was no longer in doubt. Neither team could mount much in the third quarter and the Jackets finally got on the board early in the fourth when Dedrick Mills capped an 11-play, 89-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 23-7 with 13:21 left.
"The second half was weird," Swinney said. "We had the big lead and maybe we kind of backed off a little and that took us out of our ryhthm. I don't really know what happened."
Tech looked to keep the train rolling after stopping the Tigers on their next drive but a poorly-executed halfback pass by Mills resulted in a Van Smith interception at the Jackets 27.
“I thought maybe we could gain a little momentum and we tried the little halfback pass but (the receiver) went inside and we threw it outside. That’s kind of the way the whole thing went,” Johnson said.
The Jackets defense forced a 47-yard field goal by Greg Heugel with 9:57 left but the offense was not able to mount another drive and Watson and Clemson eventually ran out the clock on any Tech comeback.
NOTES: The Jackets had won five straight over Clemson at Bobby Dodd Stadium until Thursday. Clemson's previous win in Atlanta came in 2003. ... The Tigers now have an 18-game regular season winning streak. Their last loss in the regular was to Georgia Tech in 2014, 28-6. ... The 124 yards for the game for the Yellow Jackets broke the previous low during the Paul Johnson era. The previous low was 155 in a 2010 loss to Iowa in the Orange Bowl.
