Clemson-Georgia opener provides chance to change narrative

Dabo Swinney had plenty to smile about in Clemson's last game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a 41-10 win over Georgia Tech in 2022.

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Monday, August 26 2024

Dabo Swinney has spent the entire offseason balancing his message on the opener.

The stakes are high for both No. 14 Clemson and No. 1 Georgia on Saturday (noon/ABC). One of the first authentic games of week one is a top-15 matchup between two rivals. Swinney sees the opportunity presented to the Tigers—if they pull off the upset, a message will be sent nationally.

He also knows it is just one game in what could be an extended season if 2024 follows its intended course.

"It is big to win any game out of the gate," Swinney said. "You are talking about the No. 1 team in the nation. It is the team that has lost only two games in three years. It would be huge for our players, and you get a lot of wind in our sails early on for our fans. You gotta celebrate it and move on quickly. They aren't going to give us a national championship trophy because of one game."

The last time Clemson and Georgia played in 2021, a fork in the road put each program on drastically different paths.

In a defensive battle, former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei's pass was picked off by a Bulldog defender to swing momentum. In a stalemate where neither offense could find any footing, Christopher Smith's pick-six made the difference in a 10-3 slugfest.

It looked like one play that defined that specific game at the moment, but its scope became much bigger than that.

Before that fateful pass, Clemson was coming off its sixth playoff berth, and next to Alabama, the standard of excellence in the College Football Playoff era. The Tigers had only lost seven games since 2015, securing two national titles.

Conversely, Georgia hoped to find its way back to the postseason. Having only reached the playoff in 2018, losing in overtime to Alabama in the National Championship.

Much like Smith's pick-six changed the fate of that singular game, both programs' fortunes were flipped soon after.

Georgia has lost twice since that 2021 matchup, becoming national champions in back-to-back seasons for the first time since Nick Saban did it in 2011-12.

Ironically enough, Saban's Crimson Tide stood in the way of Georgia's first title in Indianapolis. Much like the Tigers had to do to secure its first title in decades, the Bulldogs had to avenge a prior Bama postseason defeat to win it all.

In the one season that Georgia didn't find itself in the CFP, they performed to convince the world they should. Against Florida State in the Orange Bowl, the Bulldogs thrashed the Seminoles 63-3, sending a clear message in Miami.

While Georgia has become the team of the 2020s, Clemson has spent the years since that matchup in Charlotte on the outside looking in. In three years, Clemson has lost three more games than it did in the seven years before the first Georgia matchup in 2021.

Sure, the Tigers won back the ACC in 2022 and bowl games in 2021 and 2023, but it wasn't to the standard previously established.

Three years later, these two programs meet again, and both are looking for a spot at the postseason table.

In 2021, this matchup proved to have more of an impact than any box score could indicate. Why shouldn't this matchup be another window of opportunity?

Much like there was a fork in the road for these programs in 2021, there very well be another set of paths in Atlanta.

For Clemson, a win would legitimize talk of progress in the offseason and set up the Tigers' path to the postseason on a good start.

A win for the Bulldogs would remind the country who's been at the top for quite some time and that the rest of the football world needs to pay attention.

When these two programs meet, significant things take shape. This matchup in Mercedes-Benz should be no different.