Dabo Swinney certainly understands the significance and importance of the Clemson-Georgia rivalry and what it means to the respective fan bases.
In fact, he clearly remembers hearing about it more than a decade ago when he became the Tigers’ head coach.
“I can remember when I got the job in ’08, ’09, people were talking about playing Georgia in 2013,” Swinney recalled during his press conference on Tuesday. “I remember that, vividly. It was like, I don’t even know if I’m going to be the head coach or alive in (2013), I’m just trying to survive ’09, and people are asking me about playing Georgia in 2013. So, it’s a big deal. It means a lot.”
This Saturday’s top-five matchup between the third-ranked Tigers and No. 5 Bulldogs in the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff Classic at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte will mark the first meeting between the two schools, located 70 miles apart from each other, since 2014.
Swinney said Tuesday he would love to see Clemson and Georgia play more frequently because of the tradition and history of the series and proximity between the two schools.
“It just makes sense,” he said. “You’re right down the road from each other. We’ve played big opponents for 12 years since I’ve been the head coach here. That’s kind of what we’ve done. We’ve gone all the way out to A&M, we’ve gone to Auburn, we’ve done a couple of Kickoff Classic-type things now. So, it brings a lot of excitement to it. Certainly the fans love it, anytime you play a quality opponent like we’ve played over the years.”
From 1977-87 no rivalry in the country was more intense or competitive than the Clemson-Georgia Series. In those 11 years, the two teams battled to a 5-5-1 record, which started with a one-point Clemson victory in 1977 in Athens and ended with a one-point Clemson victory in 1987 in Clemson.
“Clemson-Georgia is not just a quality game and quality opponent – there’s a tradition there and a history that I think both sides have a lot of respect for,” Swinney said. “There’s been a lot of unbelievable moments in the Clemson-Georgia game over the years.”
Swinney added that games like the highly anticipated affair between the Tigers and Bulldogs on Saturday — the first time in the history of the rivalry that both teams come in ranked in the top 5 — are what makes college football special.
“Proximity, fan bases living on top of each other in most states, Clemson people, Georgia people … So, I think that just adds to the excitement,” Swinney said. “It’s what makes college football fun is rivalries like this.”
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