Is Clemson the choice of the new and future Georgia football generations?
Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said following Clemson's Orange-and-White Game Saturday that he would like to see his team play Georgia every year.
“It’s a tough game because they are one of the best teams in the country, but it’s great game for the fans,” Swinney said. “I’d just as soon play them than have to go all the way somewhere else to get a game.”
Coach Kirby Smart, while not commenting directly on the Georgia Tech or Clemson series, said this spring there’s merit to playing a strong non-conference opponent late in the season.
“They’ve proven that later games in the year have more impact on who make the playoffs, so if you can get a Power 5 team late in your schedule, I’m talking the last three or four weeks, you’ve got a chance to spike and send yourself into that conversation,” Smart said.
The Georgia-Georgia Tech game is traditionally the last game of the season for the Bulldogs.
It has paled in recent years to other “Rivalry Week” games, such as Alabama-Auburn, Ohio State-Michigan, Florida-Florida State and Oklahoma-Oklahoma State.
Both Georgia and Clemson have aggressive schedule models now and moving into the future that feature two non-conference games against Power 5 opponents most years.
Georgia has faced Clemson on-and-off, dating back to 1987. The Bulldogs lead the series 42-18-4.
The Bulldogs and Tigers will meet next in 2024 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game in Atlanta. There are home-and-away series on the books for 2029-30 and 2032-33.
Georgia Tech is reflected on Georgia’s future schedules annually through 2037.
The Bulldogs and Jackets began their Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate rivalry in 1893. Georgia, which has won three of the last five, is 67-41-5 against Georgia Tech.
So who would you rather Georgia face year-after-year?
