Clemson football: Why UGA game won’t make major impact on CFB Playoff

The Clemson football team will open up the 2021 season in Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte against the Georgia Bulldogs.

The game has already been played up as one of the top non-conference matchups that we’ve seen in the recent years of College Football and it’s absolutely going to continue to receive major hype as we head into the summer. And it should.

We’re talking about two teams who will be ranked inside the top-five and we’re talking about a rivalry that’s going to be renewed after more than a half-decade since the last matchup.

Many are already talking about the impact this game will have on the CFB Playoff and it’s easy to see why. The winner of the matchup will have an ‘inside track’ on a berth in a CFB Playoff semifinal and they’ll have one of the best wins in the nation for the entire season on the resume to carry with them throughout the season.

The matchup will certainly have an impact for Clemson football and Georgia, but it won’t be the ‘end-all, be-all’ for either team

We’re not denying that this is a major game that will have an impact on the CFB Playoff, but it’s not going to be the ‘end-all, be-all’ for either of these teams.

First, it’s pretty easy to see how Georgia could get back in the race. The committee is never going to leave the SEC Champion out of the field- even if it had two losses- and that means the Bulldogs will still have room for error so long as they win their division and then win the conference championship.

Many believe that Clemson has to go undefeated because of its perceived ‘weak’ ACC schedule, but that’s not really the case. Do you really believe that an 11-1 Clemson team with a win over a potential top-10 team from the ACC Coastal- like North Carolina- is going to get left out?

The Tigers have proven themselves to be worthy of national contention and a loss at the beginning of the season on a neutral-field with a new quarterback at the helm isn’t going to dampen their playoff hopes.

This is going to be a huge game, but there’s also no doubt that both of these teams will still have opportunities to make the CFB Playoff even with a loss. Oh, and we should also point out that a win doesn’t guarantee either team a berth either.