One year can make all the difference.

Last season, Brent Key finally ended Georgia Tech's long losing streak to Clemson and got a huge win for the Yellow Jackets that helped spark an 8-0 start and got them to the front of the ACC race.

This season's rivalry game does not have quite the same stakes.

Georgia Tech is 2-7 and lost four straight games, all by double digits. They are out of contention to make a bowl game and, just this week, fired four members of the coaching staff.

Clemson, on the other hand, is 6-3 and, believe it or not, has very faint hopes of making it to another ACC Championship game. This is not the national championship-contending version of Clemson, but the Tigers are still a formidable ACC opponent.

Checking in with the confidence meter this week, it is at a low of 10% heading into Saturday's game.

The 10%

This is the ACC. There is always going to be a chance for an upset, just look at the earlier result this season when the Yellow Jackets defeated Duke, who has been crushing ACC teams as of late.

Other factors that can give Georgia Tech a boost this week are Clemson's offense and the coaching changes for Georgia Tech. Earlier this week, head coach Brent Key moved on from wide receivers coach Jafar Williams, offensive line coach Allen Mogridge, defensive ends coach Kyle Pope, and defensive coordinator Jason Semore. While Georgia Tech is not going to turn into Notre Dame on the defensive side of the football because of these changes, they could be better.

Better could be all they need against Clemson's offense. The Tigers are 105th in the country in points per game, 71st in rushing offense, 116th in passing offense, and 115th in total yards per game. This is not a great unit and they have a first year starting quarterback who has had his ups and downs. Tait Reynolds currently has three touchdowns this season to four interceptions and also has totaled over 300 yards rushing.

Clemson has been winning, but not by large amounts. They skated by Syracuse without scoring a touchdown on offense last week and the Syracuse defense is not exactly a juggernaut.

The 90%

Clemson is the more talented team, they have the best unit in the game (their defense), and Georgia Tech is spiraling right now.

Since beating Duke, Georgia Tech has lost four games in a row and all have been by double digits. The last three have been especially ugly. The Yellow Jackets lost by 22 to Boston College, 23 to Pittsburgh, and 27 to Louisville. The defense has collapsed and they cannot settle on a quarterback.

For all its struggles this season against higher-level teams, Clemson has the better coaching staff and better roster, not to mention, Georgia Tech has not won in Death Valley since Paul Johnson's debut season on The Flats in 2008.

Where I land

Clemson is the significant favorite and they should win this game handily. However, the Tigers are not a formidable enough foe that I can just completely erase any upset possibility. I find it highly unlikely, but it is just about as crazy as the Yellow Jackets beating Duke a month ago.