Clemson Football: Why Tigers vs. UGA should not happen
The talk of many Clemson football circles has rested on the Tigers scheduling more games with Georgia. Here’s why that shouldn’t happen.
Clemson football fans want Georgia and it’s easy to see why.
A Clemson-Georgia game would be one of the most prominent match ups of the season. The schools are less than a two hour drive from one another and the two programs have put on some classics throughout the years.
Many Tiger fans have even gone so far to say that they’d like to see the Bulldogs on the schedule every single season.
While that would be great and create many moments like this one above, here’s why the two teams should not schedule one another.
Rivalry or Playoff appearance?
I’m all for seeing Clemson play Georgia. I absolutely loved the atmosphere from the game in 2013. I love watching the replays of the old games from the 80s and 90s.
While that may be awesome, we live in a different era now. The College Football Playoff era, to be exact.
The goal each season for Clemson football is to make the College Football Playoff. There are only four spots available and it’s already been proven that if the Tigers go 11-1 and win the ACC, they will be in the playoff.
Why would you want to jeopardize that?
The fact of the matter is that there are four premiere football programs in the country: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and then Georgia. Oklahoma and a few others could follow that group, but those four teams will be making up the gist of the playoff year-in and year-out for seasons to come until someone comes along and unseats them.
The question here is: Why would you schedule one of those other three programs and put a significant hurdle in the way of you reaching the College Football Playoff? To me, it just doesn’t make sense.
Think about it this way…
Here are two scenarios.
Clemson goes 11-1 with a loss to a Pittsburgh-type team. They win the ACC. They didn’t have UGA scheduled, but played a solid program, say a Notre Dame or some team like that in the non-conference.
The second scenario is that Clemson loses to UGA and a Pittsburgh-type team. They still win the ACC, but are 10-2.
Why team is more likely to get into the playoff?
It’s clear that the 11-1 Tigers are going. The 10-2 team, however, may be left out depending on what happens around the nation.
You’re making it harder on yourself to make the playoff.
Sure, it would feel great to beat the Bulldogs, but I want you to think of it this way. If Clemson and Georgia matched up on the field 10 times, how many would the Tigers win? Lets say that you feel Clemson would win 7, a 70 percent win percentage.
That still leaves three that the Bulldogs would win.
See, my point is this: When we talk about the excitement of playing teams, we only think about when we beat them. Georgia is no slouch. They are trending upwards and are recruiting at a crazy high level. I’m not saying that Clemson isn’t the better team or program, but why would you play a Bulldogs team that you beat 70 percent of the time when you could schedule Florida or Tennessee and beat them 90 percent of the time?
When I look at it, it doesn’t make sense for either program. Georgia would be essentially adding another Alabama to its schedule. They play in the SEC East, possibly the easiest division in the Power 5. Why would they want to have to travel to Death Valley and lose a game right off the bat? As a matter of fact, I think it makes even less sense for them.
Closing out, I’m not saying that Clemson and Georgia should close the books on each other. There’s a really good chance that they will match up in the playoff. But I do think that football programs have to have a different mindset now, especially the teams at the top like Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State.
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You can call it “scheduling down” or whatever you want to, but I call it “playing the odds.” I want to see Clemson football in the College Football Playoff every single season and that means I want the clearest path as possible. Unfortunately for the Clemson-Georgia rivalry, that means Athens wouldn’t really be on the list.
I may be wrong and we’ll continue to take a look at this, but those are just my immediate thoughts when I’m asked about scheduling Georgia for every season.