The last time Clemson’s defense was on the field in the Sugar Bowl, Justin Fields and Ohio State ’bout hung half-a-hundred on ’em.
Fields threw for 385 yards and 6 – SIX! – touchdown passes. Two of those touchdown throws were for 40-plus yards, and five Ohio State receivers had receptions of 20 yards or longer.
Clemson returns the entire secondary that was boat-raced by Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, minus Derion Kendrick, who will be suiting up for Georgia on Saturday night.
Georgia must take advantage of Clemson’s vertical vulnerability, much like they did in the last four games of the season.
Weapons abound for Todd Monken to dial up some deep shots, with Jermaine Burton, Kearis Jackson, and Arian Smith all flashing their deep-play capabilities in 2020. Additionally, G-Day standout Adonai Mitchell showed his own propensity to make plays down the field during Georgia’s spring game.
Hitting a few chunk plays will act as field flippers for Georgia and get the offense going downhill. Additionally, if Clemson’s secondary gets beat a couple times, it will force them to respect the deep ball and prevent Brent Venables from bringing guys down in to the box for support against the run game and short passing game.