CLEMSON — Clemson and Georgia have won four of the last seven national championships with the Tigers winning two in 2016 and 2018, while Georgia won national championships in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.
By the way, Clemson played for the national title in 2015 and 2019, as well, while the Bulldogs lost to Alabama in the 2017 title game. With that said, either Georgia or Clemson have played for the national championship seven times in the last eight seasons.
It’s almost like the glory days of the rivalry when either Clemson or Georgia were playing for a national championship for three straight years from 1980-’82. The Bulldogs won the 1980 National Championship, while Clemson won it all in 1981.
What are the chances this year’s winner could be playing in the title game?
Probably, pretty good.
However, they need to play each other first, which they will do Saturday in the season opener for both teams.
No. 14 Clemson at No. 1 Georgia
Kickoff: Saturday, noon
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
TV: ABC
Spread: Georgia -12.5
Over/Under: 48.5
Series: Georgia leads 43-18-4
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Georgia is the No. 1 team in the country and is a two-touchdown favorite. A loss to Clemson would not be the end of the world, but it will mean the Bulldogs will likely have to go 10-1 the rest of the way to put themselves in position to make the College Football Playoffs.
Clemson’s reputation is at stake. No one believes in the Tigers outside of the Allen Reeves Football Complex in Clemson. If Clemson is not competitive, then the result will give to the perceived notion that Dabo Swinney and the Clemson program is slipping, and its better days are behind them. It will also allow the naysayers who say, “Swinney’s inability to adjust and use the transfer portal has led to the Tigers’ downfall,” to continue to attack the Clemson program.
KEY MATCHUP
At the end of last year, Clemson road running back Phil Mafah to a five-game win streak. Mafah averaged over 22 carries a game. The Tigers would love to give the football to Mafah 22 times, but Georgia is not going to allow it. Look for Georgia to load up against the run and attack the Tigers right up the A-gap with their linebackers. Ryan Linthicum is making his first start, and Georgia knows that, and it will test the Clemson senior time and time again. If Linthicum can hold up, then the Tigers might be able to run Mafah and quarterback Cade Klubnik late in the game and wear down that powerful Georgia defensive line.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik begins his second season as the Tigers’ starter. The junior finished the season strong in 2023, while leading Clemson on a five-game win streak. He threw for 2,844 yards last season, while completing 290 of 454 passes (63.9 percent). He threw 19 touchdowns to nine interceptions. However, he also lost five fumbles and was sacked way too many times.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck returns after posting a 13-1 record in his first year as the Bulldogs’ starting QB in 2023. He ranked third in all of FBS with 3,941 passing yards. A Manning Award finalist, he finished 5-1 versus top-20 opponents. Against ranked teams, he posted 73.9 Completion Percentage (125-169) for 1,693 yards, 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
THIS AND THAT
Georgia has won 39 straight regular season games. The last time the Bulldogs lost a game in the regular season came on November 7, 2020, when Florida beat them 44-28.
FINAL ANALYSIS
I think Clemson has something to prove, and usually when that is the case the Tigers deliver. Clemson has heard the entire off-season how Georgia is going to blast their doors off and run them out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Tigers are a proud program, who are just five years removed from a national championship. Clemson matches up with Georgia in a lot of areas and the Tigers will keep things close. However, as Swinney likes to say, “Georgia has a lot of dudes.” It’s those dudes that will get the Bulldogs over the top in the end, but this is a much closer game than the experts think.
PREDICTION
Georgia 27, Clemson 17
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