‘Upset and hurt’ Georgia Tech looks to stop slide with Western Carolina in town Saturday

If ever there was an absolute, must-win game against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent the second week of a season, this is it for Georgia Tech when it hosts Western Carolina on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets, who are coming off a 41-10 throttling by then-No. 4 Clemson, can’t afford to see their losing streak stretch to eight straight games if they are going to show any signs of improvement in Geoff Collins’ fourth year as head coach.

“We’re very upset about it and hurt,” Collins said of the Yellow Jackets’ eighth straight loss to Clemson. “There were things to build on. The things that we need to clean up, we’re going to work relentlessly to clean up.”

That’s because Georgia Tech was an unmitigated mess against Clemson.

The Yellow Jackets first six possessions included throwing an interception on the first play, followed by four punts and capped with a missed field goal.

Georgia Tech also had two punts blocked, which led to Clemson touchdowns.

“We were confident all the way through the game,” Georgia Tech linebacker Ayinde Eley said. “We had faith in our plan and we were confident. We just got the short end of the stick tonight. We just have to correct what needs to be corrected.”

After the Yellow Jackets pulled to within 14-10 with 9:47 left in the third quarter, Clemson followed with a field goal and a touchdown to go up 24-10 heading into the fourth quarter. After Georgia Tech’s defense forced Clemson to punt, the Tigers found the end zone on each of their final two drives to turn a close game into a blowout.

“One of the key things I think, even though it’s very disappointing loss and we’re very upset about it, and it hurt, is there were things to build on,” Collins said. “We’ve just got to find that balance of making sure we fix the things that have to be fixed but also build on the things that we do good in the game.”

Two positives to come out of the game were sophomore receiver Nate McCollum making a career-best six receptions for 55 yards and defensive lineman Keion White recording two sacks in his first extensive playing time since transferring from Old Dominion.

“I’ve been through this before, playing on short weeks,” Collins, a former Western Carolina player and assistant coach, said. “We’ve got the plan. We’ve got the schedule. … It’s going to be a challenge, and we’ve just got to rise to that challenge.”

Western Carolina (1-0) could present one, as it has won five of its past six games, including the past four on the road.

The Catamounts are coming off a record-setting performance in 52-38 victory at Charleston Southern to open their season.

Quarterback Carlos Davis found a different receiver on each of his school-record six touchdown passes. He finished 28-for-36 for 433 yards and two interceptions.

Raphael Williams had 10 catches for 112 yards and Censere Lee had one catch for 72 yards, as nine different Catamounts had at least one reception. Desmond Reid ran for 69 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

Kicker Richard McCollum was the Special Teams Player of the Week in the Southern Conference after making a 42-yard field goal along with seven PATs.

“We consistently have to play at a high level,” Western Carolina coach Kerwin Bell said. “We’ve got a lot of room to grow. … I love the way we’re playing hard. If we can continue to do that, then we’ve got a chance to be a very good football team.”

Jim Blackburn