Clemson’s second-to-last home game of the 2026 season now has a kickoff time, and the Tigers will see Georgia Tech at 12:30 p.m. from Memorial Stadium. The matchup will air on the CW Network, marking the first time Clemson has been selected for that slot all season.
The Nov. 14 game will also serve as Senior Day, which is usually not paired with Clemson’s annual meeting with South Carolina. That rivalry game closes the regular season in alternating home-and-home fashion, leaving Georgia Tech as the Tigers’ senior celebration this year.
Clemson enters the matchup with a chance to answer last season’s loss in Atlanta, when Georgia Tech pulled off a 24-21 win on a walk-off fire drill field goal from Aaron Birr at Bobby Dodd Stadium. That result dropped the Tigers to 1-2 after they opened the year ranked No. 4 in the country.
This year’s Yellow Jackets are a different group, and not in a good way. Georgia Tech is 2-6 overall with just one ACC win, though that victory was a notable one at home against Duke. Since then, the Yellow Jackets have dropped three straight and are sliding toward a lost season in Atlanta.
A lot has changed from the Georgia Tech team Clemson saw a year ago, starting with the departure of longtime quarterback Haynes King. Brent Key brought in Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza, the younger brother of Heisman Trophy winner Fernando, but the results have not matched the family name so far. Mendoza has 10 passing touchdowns and six interceptions this season.
Georgia Tech still leans heavily on the run game, and that has been powered by Michigan and Alabama transfer Justice Haynes. He has 548 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the season. Because the Yellow Jackets have spent so much time trailing, Mendoza has also been forced into more throws, many of them coming in garbage-time situations.
For Clemson, this is the kind of home Power Four game Dabo Swinney needs to cash in on. The Tigers are 2-8 in their last 10 Power Four home games, and the timing of this one gives them a chance to do it on a day built around the senior class. If Clemson keeps stacking ACC wins, this matchup could matter beyond just the afternoon itself and end up helping in the ACC Championship picture too.
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Clemson Faces A Much Tougher ACC Test Than Fans Might Expect
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Syracuse has quietly built some momentum of its own, winning its last two games, and the Orange also have a key piece back in place with starting quarterback Steve Angeli returning from injury. For Clemson, that makes this more than just another November trip north, especially with the kind of setting and timing that can make conference games feel a lot tighter than the records might indicate. [Read more 🡒]