← The College Football Belt
Reign #275 · Game 1,440 of 1,634
October 29, 2011 Week 9 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

Georgia Tech takes the belt, 31–17, at home over Clemson.

Home · New Holder
Georgia Tech 31
AT
Away · Defending Holder
Clemson 17
AI-Written

Recap

Georgia Tech dominated this belt-deciding matchup from start to finish, establishing control with a methodical ground attack that accumulated 383 rushing yards. After Clemson's opening field goal, the Yellow Jackets responded with four unanswered touchdowns, including a pair of short-yardage scores from Orwin Smith (1 yard and 3 yards) and another from David Sims (11 yards) in the third quarter. Clemson's offense, led by Tajh Boyd and star receiver Sammy Watkins, managed only spurts of production and couldn't overcome the turnover battle, surrendering four total turnovers to Georgia Tech's two. Tech's Time of Possession advantage (23:21 to 12:19) reflected their control of the game, keeping Clemson's high-powered passing attack off the field for much of the afternoon.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 Georgia TechClemson
Total yards443399
Rushing yards38395
Passing yards61323
First downs2218
3rd down conv.7/145/13
Turnovers24
Penalties–yards4–235–30
Time of possession23:2112:19

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 8:45Clemson+34 ydChandler Catanzaro 34 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 8:45Clemson+24 ydChandler Catanzaro kickoff for 65 yards returned by Orwin Smith for 24 yards to the GTech 29.
Q1 2:59Georgia Tech+1 ydOrwin Smith rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 2:59Georgia Tech+0 ydJustin Moore extra point GOOD.
Q2 14:49Georgia Tech+46 ydTevin Washington rush for 46 yards to the Clem 25 for a 1ST down.
Q2 12:01Georgia Tech+23 ydJustin Moore 23 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 5:44Georgia Tech+3 ydOrwin Smith rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 8:47Georgia Tech+21 ydRoddy Jones rush for 21 yards to the Clem 34 for a 1ST down.
Q2 5:44Georgia Tech+38 ydJustin Moore kickoff for 58 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 38 yards to the 50 yard line.
Q2 5:44Georgia Tech+0 ydJustin Moore extra point GOOD.
Q2 4:22Clemson+40 ydChandler Catanzaro 40 yard field goal MISSED.
Q2 1:32Georgia Tech+44 ydTevin Washington pass complete to Stephen Hill for 44 yards to the Clem 10 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:37Georgia Tech+3 ydTevin Washington rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 0:37Georgia Tech+0 ydJustin Moore extra point GOOD.
Q3 15:00Georgia Tech+21 ydJustin Moore kickoff for 61 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 21 yards to the Clem 30.
Q3 13:34Clemson+48 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 48 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 13:34Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 12:32Georgia Tech+56 ydTevin Washington rush for 56 yards to the Clem 17 for a 1ST down.
Q3 11:30Georgia Tech+0 ydJustin Moore extra point GOOD.
Q3 11:30Georgia Tech+11 ydDavid Sims rush for 11 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 2:15Clemson+28 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 28 yards to the GTech 44 for a 1ST down.
Q3 1:00Clemson+26 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 26 yards to the GTech 2 for a 1ST down.
Q4 14:47Clemson+0 ydTajh Boyd rush for no gain, fumbled, recovered by Clem Brandon Thomas in the endzone for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 14:47Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:47Clemson+21 ydChandler Catanzaro kickoff for 66 yards returned by Orwin Smith for 21 yards to the GTech 25.
Q4 10:39Georgia Tech+26 ydTevin Washington pass intercepted by Rashard Hall at the GTech 35, returned for 26 yards to the GTech 9.
Q4 10:33Clemson+0 ydTajh Boyd pass intercepted by Jemea Thomas at the GTech 0, returned for no gain for a touchback.
Q4 1:06Clemson+0 ydTajh Boyd pass intercepted by Jemea Thomas at the GTech 49, returned for no gain to the GTech 49.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Tevin WashingtonGeorgia Tech4/9606.70152.7
Tajh BoydClemson23/402957.41218.8
Sammy WatkinsClemson1/199.00098.9

Rushing

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Tevin WashingtonGeorgia Tech271766.5156
David SimsGeorgia Tech15684.5111
Roddy JonesGeorgia Tech45213.0021
Preston LyonsGeorgia Tech9424.7010
Orwin SmithGeorgia Tech7375.3212
Embry PeeplesGeorgia Tech2168.0013
Stephen HillGeorgia Tech1-2-2.000
Mike BellamyClemson8678.4018
D.J. HowardClemson7223.107
Sammy WatkinsClemson177.007
Brandon ThomasClemson000.010
Tajh BoydClemson8-1-0.106

Receiving

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Stephen HillGeorgia Tech24723.5044
Tyler MeltonGeorgia Tech2136.508
Sammy WatkinsClemson915317.0148
DeAndre HopkinsClemson78311.9018
Dwayne AllenClemson5387.6017
Jaron BrownClemson22613.0015
D.J. HowardClemson144.004
Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

PlayerINTYDSTD
Jemea ThomasGeorgia Tech220
Rashard HallClemson1260

Kick Returns

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Orwin SmithGeorgia Tech24522.5240
Roddy JonesGeorgia Tech11717.0170
Sammy WatkinsClemson612420.7380

Kicking

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Justin MooreGeorgia Tech1/1100.0234/47
Chandler CatanzaroClemson1/250.0342/25

Punt Returns

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Jemea ThomasGeorgia Tech372.370
Bashaud BreelandClemson100.000
DeAndre HopkinsClemson100.000

Punting

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Sean PooleGeorgia Tech313244.00046
Dawson ZimmermanClemson311538.30054

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.