Three reasons Clemson keeps momentum with a decisive win over Georgia Tech in Week 11

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers’ win over Notre Dame last Saturday was as needed as they come, and Clemson will look to continue that momentum into this Saturday’s Week 11 matchup against Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets won’t be easy to get past, as they’ve delivered on multiple upsets this season against top teams in the ACC. Will Clemson be the next to fall the Georgia Tech, or will they take what they showed against the Fighting Irish and run with it?

There is no better place to do it than Death Valley, and you best believe this team is hungry for more wins. Here are three reasons Clemson will pick up a momentum-keeping win over Georgia Tech.

Clemson's run game is back

The focal point of Clemson’s offense since the departure of legendary quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been their run game, but it didn’t look like it heading into last Saturday’s matchup against Notre Dame. That is until it did against Notre Dame! Junior running back Phil Mafah was electric against the Fighting Irish, running for a career-high 186 yards and two touchdowns. Clemson’s run game looked back with Mafah getting the workhorse role.

Things will be different against the Yellow Jackets, as Will Shipley is healthy and will return. Shipley is excellent, and I think many Clemson fans have forgotten how good he can be with the way this season has gone. Mafah has earned his touches after a performance like that, and a more even workload between these two backs will do wonders for the run game. As Mafah’s role expands, it should open things up for Shipley.

Clemson's defense has done incredible things his season and that won't stop against Georgia Tech

Some things are clouded from their reality when a team is having a season like the Tigers. The reality of this Clemson defense is that they are about as close to elite as you’re going to see for a team with multiple losses, let alone four. Time after time, the Clemson offense has found ways to put the defense in tough situations. Even when we saw arguably the best performance from the offense this season against Notre Dame, they still found multiple ways to put this defense in sticky situations.

When put in these situations, while it is impossible to recover from them all, the Clemson defense has done an excellent job of recovering from most situations. The identity of this defense feels like it’s bend, don’t break, and that is what makes good defenses great. Expect another excellent performance from Wes Goodwin and the Tigers’ defense against the Yellow Jackets.

The Tigers haven't lost hope this season

For all this Clemson team has gone through this season, their mentality has been strong, and they were rewarded for that as they produced a massive win over Notre Dame. In life, not everything is going to go your way. You won’t always live up to expectations, and adversity will rear its head time and time again. I’m sure some will disagree, but not giving up hope and fighting for the program, including their head coach, Dabo Swinney, is a beautiful thing. Things like this matter, and this team wants to win games.

Story originally appeared on Clemson Wire