Clemson loses to Georgia Tech on walk-off 55-yard FG, falling to 1-2 for first time since 2014

No. 12 Clemson entered the 2025 season with national championship potential. But after two losses in three weeks, coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers are staring down a whole bunch of questions and don’t seem to have many answers.

Clemson’s latest struggle came at Bobby Dodd Field on Saturday afternoon, where Georgia Tech won 24-21 on Aidan Birr’s 55-yard, game-winning field goal as time expired. Georgia Tech fans stormed the field, with the Yellow Jackets improving to 3-0 and looking like a dark-horse College Football Playoff contender.

Swinney grimaced as he headed to shake Georgia Tech coach Brent Key’s hand, his Tigers now 1-2 to start the season for the first time since 2014.

“The only thing worse than 1-2 is 1-3,” Swinney said. “We’ve gotta find a way to win a game. We can’t put our head down and pout.”

Clemson’s biggest problem? For as much talent as they have, the Tigers could never get out of their own way with offensive turnovers and defensive lapses.

The issues started early and often for Clemson.

Quarterback Cade Klubnik, projected to be a Heisman contender and one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, fumbled on the Tigers’ first possession of the game, which Georgia Tech turned into a field goal on the other end to take a 3-0 lead. Clemson kicker Nolan Hauser then missed a 52-yarder with 1:45 to go in the first quarter.

The Yellow Jackets went up 10-0 early in the second quarter thanks to quarterback Haynes King connecting with receiver Eric Rivers on a 42-yard gain at the end of the first to set up running back Jamal Haynes’ 5-yard rushing touchdown. Midway through the second, Georgia Tech extended its lead to 13-0 with another field goal.

Just when it looked like the Tigers had finally found some life with a touchdown before halftime — which, by the way, took three tries inside the 5-yard line — Klubnik threw a costly interception inside Georgia Tech’s 10-yard line on the first drive of the third quarter. Coming away with no points may ultimately have been the difference for a Clemson team whose offense hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm at any point through the first three weeks of the season.

The Tigers bounced back and took a 14-13 lead when Klubnik connected with sophomore receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. for a 73-yard score. They scored again with 3:26 left in the game to tie it at 21.

But King gave Clemson problems all day — finishing the afternoon 20-of-28 passing for 211 yards, while also gashing Clemson’s defense to the tune of 101 yards rushing and a touchdown on 25 carries. The Tigers’ defense could never bottle him up, missing assignments and tackles, and Georgia Tech averaged 6.2 yards per play to Clemson’s 5.1. The Tigers also had three penalties, went 0-for-2 on fourth down, couldn’t get the production they needed up front and averaged 3.5 yards per rush to Georgia Tech’s five.

Where Clemson goes from here is perhaps the most interesting storyline in the ACC. The Tigers’ start — losses to LSU and Georgia Tech and a come-from-behind win over Troy — has dropped their odds of making the Playoff to just 18 percent, according to The Athletic’s Austin Mock, down from 80 percent in the preseason. (Georgia Tech’s odds increased to 23 percent Saturday.) Clemson, just 0-1 in the ACC, could still win the league and punch its ticket into the Playoff. But given how Swinney’s team has looked through the first three weeks, the Tigers don’t seem poised to meet the national championship expectations they had a month ago.

“We’ve got no room for error,” Swinney said. “We’re uphill and the wind’s at our face. That’s for sure. But hey, gotta do it the hard way if we’re gonna do it. But we’re not out. … We’ve still got life and as long as we stay together and as long as we keep competing, anything can happen. We’ve just got to find a way to win a game.”

This story will be updated.

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

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