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Clemson football: UGA game in primetime might break records

By Andrew Boardwine

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback JT Daniels (18) drops back to throw a pass in the fourth quarter of the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. A last-minute field goal sealed a 24-21 win for the Bulldogs, leaving the Bearcats 9-1 on the season.Cincinnati Bearcats Vs Georgia Bulldogs Peach Bowl
Georgia Bulldogs quarterback JT Daniels (18) drops back to throw a pass in the fourth quarter of the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. A last-minute field goal sealed a 24-21 win for the Bulldogs, leaving the Bearcats 9-1 on the season.Cincinnati Bearcats Vs Georgia Bulldogs Peach Bowl /
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ESPN confirmed what Clemson football and Georgia Bulldogs fans have known for several months when the network announced that the 2021 season-opening game between the two regional rivals would be in primetime.

Clemson will play Georgia Saturday, Sept. 4 in Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC) at 7:30 p.m. on ABC. The game undoubtedly will be the ESPN College GameDay featured matchup of the week.

The highly-anticipated matchup is already garnering tons of attention from fans and analysts alike and we’re still months away.

Could we see this Clemson football game set records?

The most-watched regular season games in College Football history are as follows:

  • Florida State at Notre Dame (1993)- 22 million viewers
  • Michigan at Ohio State (2006)- 21 million viewers
  • Alabama at LSU (2011)- 20 million viewers
  • Alabama at Florida (2009)- 18 million viewers
  • Michigan at Ohio State (2016)- 16.8 million viewers

For some recent references: Clemson and Notre Dame- the most-watched regular season game of 2020- delivered about 10.2 million viewers on NBC. LSU and Alabama back in 2019 had 16.64 million viewers.

So, the question is simple: Could this game rank up in that kind of viewership before it’s all said and done?

This is the most-anticipated season-opener in quite some time in terms of national intrigue and it will be between two teams with extremely passionate fan bases and high hopes for the season. We’re talking about top-five matchup to kickoff the year.

Oh, and did I mention it’s the return of non-conference games after the SEC and Big Ten refused to play them last year? Oh, and we’re expected a full-capacity crowd for the first time after a full 2020 season with limited crowd attendance across the country.

In my opinion, fans are going to flock to watch that.

We’re going to see the interest and passion- the spectacle of College Football- return in a big way that night with the Tigers and Bulldogs in the spotlight. As a result, don’t be surprised if this game makes its way onto that top-five list and, who knows, perhaps even breaks records before it’s all said and done.

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