How big is the Clemson Tigers’ contest against the Georgia Bulldogs to open the 2024 college football season? Big enough that 247Sports ranked it as the top non-conference game on the 2024 schedule.
In his list of the “top 10 college football rivalry games that will define the 2024 season,” 247Sports’ Grant Hughes ranks Clemson-Georgia ahead of the Tigers’ annual matchup with Florida State, scheduled for October 5 in Tallahassee.
Clemson will be heavy underdogs when it heads to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium to face a Georgia team that has been a consensus No. 1 or No. 2 in various way-too-early/post-spring Top 25 rankings. The Bulldogs went 12-0 in the regular season last year in their bid to become college football’s first three-peat national champion since Minnesota in 1934-36.
Georgia fell to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, 27-24, sending the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff in Nick Saban’s final season. The Bulldogs settled for the Orange Bowl, where they soundly defeated ACC champion Florida State, 63-3.
Kirby Smart’s team returns key starters this season in quarterback Carson Beck, receiver Dillon Bell, defensive back Malaki Starks, EDGE Mykel Williams and others.
Per Hughes:
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta is the setting for another exciting Week 1 matchup between the ACC and SEC. The Tigers are looking to re-establish themselves as national powers, and who better to do it against than Kirby Smart and Co.? The Bulldogs lost 20 players to the transfer portal this offseason and have a lot of roster shuffling to do before Week 1.
For Clemson, the Tigers suffered four losses for the first time since 2011 after getting off to a dismal 4-4 start last season. They rallied to win their final five games — including a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback against Kentucky in the Gator Bowl — and finish 9-4.
The Tigers boast a plethora of returning starters as well, most notably on defense. Linebacker Barrett Carter, defensive linemen T.J. Parker, Peter Woods and DeMonte Capehart are set to return, as are defensive backs R.J. Mickens and Khalil Barnes. On offense, quarterback Cade Klubik returns, as does running back Phil Mafah, receiver Tyler Brown and tight end Jake Briningstool.
Adds Hughes:
Dabo Swinney’s squad will be looking to pounce. Clemson will either enter Week 2 as a bonafide College Football Playoff contender or behind the 8-ball for a fourth-straight season. A Georgia loss would temper expectations quickly in Athens.
Clemson vs. Georgia is set for a noon EDT kickoff on August 31. The game will be nationally televised by ABC.
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