Clemson football scheduling UGA proves Tigers schedule tougher than anyone

As we all know now, Clemson football will open up against the University of Georgia in Charlotte to start the 2021 college football season.

First, both Clemson football and UGA football deserve a lot of credit for making this happen, especially Clemson. 2021 was set to be the only year to not have an out of conference Power 5 opponent, not named South Carolina, between now and 2037; Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich has now changed that.

Also, what this shows is that no team in college football is as aggressive with scheduling as Clemson is. Over the last 10 seasons, Clemson has played 10 out of conference games against Power 5 programs, other than South Carolina, no other team in college football has done that.

Their 2021 opponent, University of Georgia, has scheduled just five out of conference games against Power 5 programs in the same time frame – excluding their annual rivalry game against Georgia Tech. They have played Clemson and Notre Dame twice as well as UNC a few years ago in the Georgia Dome.

Under Coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson has shown that they are not scared to go play a quality opponent at any time. They are even giving up a home game in 2021 in order to make this mega matchup happen. Not many other elite programs in college football are willing to do so.

A lot has been made up of Clemson football’s schedule, however, the parts of their schedule that they do control, they try to ensure a higher quality opponent is on the table. Whether that opponent holds up their end of the bargain is not something Clemson can control or is it something they should worry about.

In addition to South Carolina every year, here is what the next 18 years look like for Clemson out of conference against other Power 5 programs

• Notre Dame: 2020, 2022, 2023, 2027, 2028, 2031, 2034 2037
• UGA: 2021, 2024, 2029, 2030, 2032, 2033
• LSU: 2025, 2026
• Oklahoma: 2035, 2036

As you can see Dan Radakovich is doing what he can in order to make sure that Clemson stays ahead of the curve in college football and giving what the fans want – big-time matchup’s against powerhouse college football programs.

If only every team in college football wasn’t scared to schedule like Clemson is.