The Clemson Tigers have several marquee matchups on their 2024 schedule, and with exactly 100 days until college football officially kicks off, two of those showdowns made ESPN’s list of 10 games to watch for the upcoming season.
Florida State will face Georgia Tech in 100 days in Dublin, Ireland in what’s commonly known as “Week 0.” A week later, Clemson opens its season on August 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta against the Georgia Bulldogs in one of the most anticipated matchups of Week 1.
The Clemson-Georgia tilt ranked No. 8 in ESPN’s list of top 10 games to watch in the 2024 season. The Tigers will be big underdogs against a Georgia team that figures to be a consensus preseason No. 1.
Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs will be seeking their third national championship in four years, cementing themselves as the top dog (no pun intended) in the college football world. For its part, Clemson is hoping to improve on a 9-4 season that saw them win their final five games after a miserable 4-4 start.
Per the ESPN pool of reporters who made up the list:
“Want to identify the moment Georgia became the behemoth of college football and Clemson started its slow decline from perennial playoff contender? It might well be the opener in 2021, when the Bulldogs outlasted the Tigers 10-3 thanks to a pick-six of DJ Uiagalelei. If Clemson wants to reverse those trends, winning the 2024 opener would be an excellent start — not to mention a healthy dose of redemption.”
Speaking of redemption, Clemson-Florida State also cracked ESPN’s list at No. 5. The Tigers will head to Tallahassee on October 5 looking to avenge last year’s overtime loss to the Seminoles, who snapped a seven-game losing streak to Dabo Swinney teams.
Per ESPN:
“The 2023 season proved a return to normalcy in the ACC, with the FSU-Clemson showdown effectively determining who was top dog in the league. Both teams should be battling for a spot in the ACC championship game again this year, though the winner would probably prefer an exit from the ACC altogether.”
Putting aside whatever both schools’ hopes are pertaining to conference realignment, the Clemson-Florida State winner figures to have a direct path to the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.
And coupled with a win over Georgia, if Clemson is able to pull off such an upset, the Tigers would be back in the running as a team to be reckoned with in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
Kickoff time and broadcast info for Clemson-Florida State has yet to be announced.
Clemson-Georgia is scheduled to kick off at noon EDT in Atlanta. The game will be televised by ABC.