No one understands Clemson’s motto, “The next game is always the biggest game because it is the next game,” better than left guard Matt Bockhorst.
With that being said, the redshirt senior is not going to act like he and his teammates are not excited to face a top 5 team in the Georgia Bulldogs to kick off the new season. The Tigers, who will also be a top 5 team when the Associated Press’ preseason poll is released later this month, play Georgia on Sept. 4 in the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff Classic from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
This will be the first meeting between the two rivals since 2014.
“I think that is something Clemson fans and Georgia fans have been waiting for ever since they played last,” Bockhorst said. “So, to be able to have this opportunity in the first weekend of the season, and the spectacle that it will be, is very exciting.”
Clemson is the overwhelming favored to win the ACC Championship and make the College Football Playoff for a seventh straight year, while the Bulldogs are predicted to be Alabama’s biggest challenger in the SEC. The winner of this game will have an inside track at one of the four CFP spots.
“It is great to play a team like Georgia because it tests our oil quick,” Bockhorst said. “It is not a tune up game. We are going to see right off the bat where we stand. Given the fact that we have a lot of young guys stepping into critical roles, I think it is going to be a good experience.
“Regardless of the outcomes, and obviously, we want to win, and we are going to prepare to win, but regardless, I think, it is going to leave us with a good barometer on where we stand.”
Clemson and Georgia kick off at 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised by ABC as the Primetime Game of the Week. It will also be the featured game on ESPN’s College GameDay Show, the premier pregame show in college football.
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