Clemson football will look to make it three-straight wins this Saturday afternoon, hosting Georgia Tech at home with hopes to get some revenge based of last year’s result. 

Head coach Dabo Swinney needs a win to stay in the mix for the ACC Championship, with a victory getting a clearer path to Charlotte in what will be the last conference championship as we know it. However, he’s doing it against a Georgia Tech team that the Tigers tripped up against last season. 

Like every week, here are three storylines we are keeping a close eye on throughout the contest.

Does Hauser Make History?

Clemson’s story of the season has featured offenses sputtering out and one of the best special teams units in the game. That phase of the Tigers’ program could go into history if more field goals occur on Saturday. 

Junior kicker Nolan Hauser has kicked enough field goals to record 1,076 yards this season, which is third in history of Stats Perform’s available dataset dating to 1996. He only needs 70 more yards to pass the all-time leader, Lucas Carniero of Ole Miss, which was actually set last season. 

Hauser has attempted at least two field goals in all but one game, in Clemson’s season-opening loss to LSU. Georgia Tech give up plenty of points, and if the Tigers can’t get in the end zone often, there could be some history made for the Tigers’ specialist from between the posts.

2. Revenge At Home

The major storyline of this game is on Clemson’s end, which lost to Georgia Tech on a fire drill field goal attempt to fall to 1-2 last season. This was the same Tiger team that began the season as the No. 4 team in the entire country, and many of those players are on this year’s team. 

“I’m just taking this one personal, and then we owe it to our fans,” wideout Bryant Wesco Jr. said. “We owe it to Death Valley to come out there and win these home games, these type of games that we got to play in the conference.”

Now, Clemson is on the path of trying to make the ACC Championship, and the Yellow Jackets will try to prevent that from happening on Saturday. After losing eight of its last 10 games at home, the Tigers will look to change things at home before their final home game, South Carolina, having more juice than last season. 

3. Running Back Touches

Georgia Tech is last in the conference in rushing yards allowed per game, averaging 222.8 yards throughout the season. That goes right into Clemson’s game script, looking to run the ball to display its identity throughout 2026. 

But, who will be the dominant rusher?

Sophomore tailback Gideon Davidson is questionable to play, and senior Jarvis Green broke out a 53-yard flash on the opening play from scrimmage in the win over Syracuse. SMU transfer Chris Johnson Jr. also has a few touchdowns to his name this season, while quarterback Tait Reynolds is finding his stride on the ground. 

Clemson’s going to need at least one of them to shine at home, and if the game somehow gets out of hand, perhaps multiple will shine on Saturday. It’s only a matter of who against this Yellow Jacket defense. 

Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. from Memorial Stadium and the game will be broadcast on the CW Network.