CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza knew his team was good enough to accomplish what few Yellow Jackets squads had done in recent years and win at Death Valley, no matter how much he and his teammates had struggled this season. Justice Haynes rushed for 116 yards includi ng a 53=yard touchdown and Georgia Tech won at Clemson for the first time since 2008 with a 20-6 victory Saturday. “Yeah, it feels nice right now,” Mendoza said. “But we’ve got to move on, start working” on next week’s opponent in No. 11 Wake Forest. It hasn’t been the season Georgia Tech (3-7, 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) had anticipated. The team came in with four straight losses, all by double digits. But against the Tiger (6-4, 4-3), the Yellow Jackets dominated on the ground, rushing for 269 yards and two scores. The defense held Clemson to 228 yards and just 82 on the ground. It was a welcome result in a year gone off the rails at times. No one on the team wanted a losing record. “So we just came together,” he said. “We’re all in. No one’s coming to save us. They burned the boats. We’re on the island with the boats.” So the players had to rally around themselves and “really motivate the guys and just love each other because we’re all we have.” Grady Adamson added 87 yards rushing and a 3-yard, first-quarter TD run to start the scoring as Georgia Tech rolled up 269 yards on the ground — the fourth time this season Clemson has allowed 190-or-more yards rushing in a game. It was Haynes third game this year with 100 or more yards rushing. Georgia Tech had struggled the past month, losing four in a row all by double digits. And Clemson looked to take advantage of that as Reynolds ran for 31 yards on two carries on the team’s first drive. But he remained down after slidin g and was helped off the field. The play Reynolds was injured on was negated by a penalty. Reynolds, a freshman who’s started the past seven games, hobbled from the medical tent into the locker room and returned to the sidelines with a brace on his left knee. He did not get back in the game and was having an MRI after the game. “It took some wind out of our sails,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. Clemson’s offense, already last in the ACC in total offense, went into under-drive with three straight three-and-outs as Georgia Tech built a 13-3 lead. Haynes broke through the line early in the third quarter to put the game away with his long, scoring run. Georgia Tech coach Brent Key, an alum who played for the Yellow Jackets, understood too well the challenge of winning at Death Valley. “So to finally look up and see the stadium emptying out? That was good to see,” he said. Clemson was held to single-digit points for the first time since falling to Georgia 34-3 to start the 2024 season, a run of 35 games. “You don’t win the line of scrimmage, you don’t deserve to win,” Swinney said. “They did.” Takeaways Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets needed some hope in what looked like a difficult way to end the season. But the win at Clemson after eight consecutive losses here gives the team some good feelings heading into a difficult closing stretch against No. 11 Wake Forest followed by their state rival in No. 1 Georgia. Clemson: The Tigers without Reynolds will surely continue the hard times on offense, which already had problems in the first year under coordinator Chad Morris, who was successful here during his first stint from 2011-14 before returning this past offseason. Things have not gone as smoothly and the boos were audible when the Clemson attack misfired under backups Trent Pearman and Christopher Vizzina. Clemson quarterback injuries Both of Clemson’s starting quarterbacks this season in Reynolds and Christopher Vizzina left the game with injuries. Swinney said Reynolds was having an MRI on his leg. Vizzina went to the hospital from the locker room after a fourth-quarter hit on the sidelines. Swinney didn’t know what Vizzina’s injury was. He was unsure who might play at Duke on Friday night. Loose balls Clemson could not hold on to the ball, finishing with seven fumbles, although none of them were recovered by Georgia Tech. Swinney said the team just had troubles in that area and he and his staff would work to correct things for the team’s last few games. Up next Georgia Tech closes its home season against No. 11 Wake Forest on Saturday. Clemson heads to Duke on Friday night. Categories: Clemson, Local Sports, Sports ...read more read less