One of the markers of a major beatdown in college football is when the winning team pulls its starters and lets the second- and third-stringers have a chance. That’s fairly typical. But the Clemson Tigers subjected the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to a whole new level of shame and embarrassment at the end of Saturday’s game.
Clemson raced out to a 52-7 halftime lead, and Trevor Lawrence played just one series of the second half. After that, coach Dabo Swinney dug deep and went right down his quarterback depth chart. Third-string QB Taisun Phommachanh made an appearance, and fourth-stringer Hunter Helms threw two touchdown passes.
The ultimate insult came on the team’s final offensive drive, however, when punter Will Spiers was inserted at quarterback to close out the game with Clemson up 73-7. It wasn’t completely out of the blue, as Spiers played quarterback in high school and has been designated as an emergency option by Swinney. Still, it had to feel like adding insult to injury from Georgia Tech’s perspective.
To make matters worse for the Yellow Jackets, Spiers looked rather capable. He went 2/3 for 13 yards, and completed a first down pass to Drew Swinney. Spiers actually threw for more yardage than the Georgia Tech offense did in the second half.
It had to be a blast for Spiers to get in a game at quarterback. It sure beats sitting around doing nothing, like his coach has accused him of in the past.
