College football fans are getting an extra special treat on Saturday: they will get to watch two of the most talented football teams compete in the Aflac Kickoff Game as the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs take on the No. 14 Clemson Tigers.
Even Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is taking it all in, because it's not the norm to open the season with a playoff-caliber matchup.
"Certainly going to be a huge challenge," Swinney said. "Playing a game like this is, you only get opportunities like this in the postseason, in the playoffs, in National Championship. But this just happened to be on our schedule. So, it's a great opportunity to play the best team in the country right out of the gate. And that's what they are.
"Anybody that doesn't think they're the best team in the country, then they probably hadn't paid much attention."
Georgia head coach Smart has built something very special in Athens . Over the last eight seasons, he's led the Bulldogs to back-to-back college football championship wins, seven straight New Year's Six Bowls, two SEC championships, and six SEC Eastern Division titles for an overall 94-16 record in 110 games. Additionally, Georgia has not lost more than two games in a season since 2018.
And according to Swinney, Smart's Bulldogs should only add more to the win column this season given their returning talent on both sides of the ball with Heisman favorite Carson Beck at the helm once again.
"These guys are really, really good," Swinney said. "Kirby has done a tremendous job down there and they've got a lot of guys back. Starting on the offensive side, I mean they've got a Heisman quarterback. He's a very, very good football player. They've lost two games in three years. And part of that is they're incredibly physical. Very, very physical football team on both sides of the ball. So, you've got to be able to match that. And then by nature of scheme, you've got to win competitive plays. I think that's a big thing in a game like this.
"But starting with their quarterback, he's just a very good player. The kid is accurate. He's opportunistic with his legs. He really understands their scheme. ...I think he's a great vertical thrower. Just puts a lot of pressure on you. And then the offensive line. There's probably none better in the country. This is a really, really talented group. Very experienced. ...There's no room for error with these guys."
To see if Swinney's Tigers can pull off a big-time upset over the best team in the country, fans can catch the action at noon ET on ABC or stream with Fubo or Sling TV.
Related: Latest Georgia Bulldogs injury update means it might be walk-on Cash Jones' time to shine vs. Clemson
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