Clemson looked like a much better team this past Saturday compared to when it faced off against Georgia to open the season. The Tigers scored 66 points against Appalachian State to pick up their first victory of the season.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Clemson offensive lineman Walker Parks was proud of the way his team performed. And he clearly had some confidence after the result, as he believes the Clemson offense could’ve put further a similar performance against Georgia.
“The thing is, I’ve never had a doubt in this team,” Parks said. “It’s going to sound insane and I don’t mean this in any disrespectful way at all because I have a lot of respect for them, they whooped us. But I feel like we could’ve done that to Georgia as well. I’m not saying hang 66 and do all that. But the plays that we made, the plays were there. The opportunities were there.”
Clemson scored just three points against Georgia and finished the game with 188 yards of total offense. Georgia outscored Clemson 28-3 in the second half of the game to cruise to a 34-3 victory.
After the loss, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was quick to praise Georgia, as Parks did in his sentiment as well.
“I mean, that’s what they can do to you. Again, they can expose you quick,” Swinney said. “You don’t have a lot of room for error with a team like that. You got to play all three phases, you’ve got to put it all together.”
As poor of a showing as Clemson had against Georgia, the performance against App State is a reminder that it’s a long season. And there’s a chance Clemson gets another crack at Georgia down the line, with a 12-team playoff format.
Clemson will still be one of the top teams in the ACC this year and should the Tigers win the league, they would clinch a spot into the College Football Playoff, provided they’re one of the five highest-ranked conference champions.
The Tigers are off this week before facing NC State to start ACC play next week. Georgia picked up a 48-3 win over Tennessee Tech this past weekend and is set to visit Kentucky this Saturday. That game is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC.