ATLANTA- Georgia Tech put up a major fight against #4 Clemson on Monday night in front of a national college football audience. The Jackets fell 41-10 but gave the Tigers a run for their money all night with a revamped offense and defense until a second blocked punt late in the game put the Jackets firmly behind. Tech surrendered two touchdowns after blocked punts and that was the major difference in the game. Head coach Geoff Collins fell for the fourth straight time to the Tigers and starts ACC play at 0-1 for a very important 2022 season where his seat is quite warm.

Penalties ultimately played a major factor in why the Jackets fell 10 for 86 yards compared to just three penalties for the Tigers for 10 yards.

The momentum of the game also swung when starting will linebacker Charlie Thomas was ejected for targeting in the third quarter. At the time, Tech trailed 14-10 and Clemson scored 27 unanswered points following Thomas’ targeting ejection

“We think have are highly of Charlie Thomas in this program, and play-making ability, leadership ability. He was very powerful in the locker room as well. Demetrius Knight came in and played his role. Really good player. But obviously, when you lose a player the caliber of Charlie, that hurts,” Collins said.

Thomas will miss the first half of the next game due to his second-half ejection.

“That was a big blow. Charlie is, like you said, a great player, not only a great player but a leader on the defense, a vocal leader, and an emotional leader. That definitely hurt the defense when he went out, losing a great player,” linebacker Ayinde Eley said. “But next-man-up mentality. D-Knight came in and he held it down, did what he had to do, and gave it his best. We just keep moving forward and we get Charlie back second half next week, and keep going from there.”