Clemson football will take on former rival, UGA, to kick off the season in Charlotte the first weekend of September. With both teams among the favored to play for the 2021 national title, there will be lots of lead-up talk to this game and just how important it is to both programs.
No one has accomplished less with more than UGA head coach Kirby Smart and yet somehow he is routinely named among the best coaches in the country – along with Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney and Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
No one is saying that Smart can’t coach, but UGA has just one College Football Playoff appearance during his time in Athens despite having a Top 3 recruiting class nearly every season.
The Dawgs are going to be confident with JT Daniels at quarterback as they head into fall camp and get ready for Clemson. Both teams are going to mirror each other at several positions – they will feel great at quarterback and defensive line but are going to struggle on the offensive line and with secondary play.
G-Day made it obvious that Clemson football will be better everywhere else.
As confident as both teams feel with their quarterbacks and defensive line talent and depth and as much as both teams will struggle up front on offense and on the back end of their defenses, Clemson football will have the upper hand everywhere else.
The Tigers are deeper and more talented at receiver, tight-end running back, linebacker, and special teams; they also have a better coaching staff.
UGA will be without their best receiver George Pickens as he tore his ACL a month ago. Receivers Jermaine Burton, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, and Dominick Blaylock are all expected to be ready by fall camp but have suffered some type of knee or ankle injury over the last six months.
Clemson football will feature seven receivers who will all play on Sundays when their collegiate careers are over.
UGA has rightfully earned the moniker of “Running Back U” but the Tigers will come into the fall kickoff with six running backs that are talented and will each add their own dimension to Tony Elliott’s offense. Running back coach CJ Spiller will have a tough time deciding on the pecking order but having that much talent assures the rushing attack will be fresh for four quarters.
With four and a half months left before kickoff, we all will have to pace ourselves as we look to compare and precisely predict how this game turns out but one thing was clear after watching both teams spring scrimmages – Clemson football is far better than UGA at this point and the score will reflect that UGA is once again nothing more than pretenders instead of contenders.