Kirk Herbstreit says the more physical team will win Clemson-Georgia game

Herbstreit (right) says the more physical team will win the game.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Sep 02 08:00:06 GMT-04:00 2021

Kirk Herbstreit will be on the call for Saturday’s primetime matchup between Clemson and Georgia, and on Wednesday, he offered up his keys to the game.

The Tigers and Bulldogs kick off the season at 7:30 pm (ABC) Saturday in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. Herbstreit will provide color analysis, teaming with play-by-play announcer Chris Fowler and sideline reporter Holly Rowe.

Herbstreit told the media that the team that plays with more physicality will win.

"Anytime you get two powerhouses together like that without a game or two to warm up before a meeting, who's done a better job in August of hitting each other and going through camp in a very physical way is probably the team that will come out of here with a win," Herbstreit said.

He then went on to handicap quarterbacks JT Daniels of Georgia and DJ Uiagalelei of Clemson.

"And then these two quarterbacks-- it's not so much who makes the play. I think it's who avoids the disastrous play, the pick-6,” Herbstreit said. “Trying to make something happen Week 1, trying to live up to a certain expectation of your position and your name, and you force a ball and it gets intercepted."

Playing another top-five team in the opener is a challenge for both programs.

"I've always looked at August football and I'm watching all these NFL preseason games, and even my kids going through high school football and preseason games to work out the kinks," Herbstreit said. "Camp becomes vitally important in college: what you're doing, how your scrimmages are going, how physical you are, how much you try to make those scrimmages feel like a game. I think the challenge is the speed of the game-- it's not like you're breaking in The Citadel or a team where you can gradually get better. Here you have to hit midseason form. You're jumping into the deep end of the pool and you have to hope your guys understand how fast this game will move. And if you've not a done a good job of scrimmaging and getting that tempo and speed in practice, then you're going to be caught."

He then said that Georgia’s defense will have to make Clemson’s offense one-dimensional.

"Georgia's defense has to be themselves, which is tough to run on. Always one of the toughest teams to run on in the country,” Herbstreit said. “If that plays out and you make Clemson one-dimensional, that's a huge advantage for (Georgia)'s defense. The concern I have is the corner play. There is not a lot of depth for Georgia on the back end right now, especially at cornerback. Stop the run first, try to get DJ Uiagalelei in obvious passing downs and mix up those coverages as much you can to try to create hesitation and doubt, and then you get turnovers. To me, that's the key to the game for Georgia.”

On the opposite side, Herbstreit wonders about the cast supporting Daniels.

"How good (his skill players) are around him will tell you how good JT Daniels is. I believe having a second year in this system with Todd Monken and a normal offseason will allow these guys to take a big jump,” Herbstreit said. “But I will say this: what a tough start. You have an offensive line with some injuries, a center... and here comes Clemson. And Clemson's front four is back to being what Clemson's front four normally is."