Clemson Football Cancels Future Series With Top Opponent. Here's Why

Head coach Dabo Swinney is an advocate for playing top opponents throughout the season. However, Clemson agreed to take one off of its schedule in future seasons.

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Clemson Tigers linebacker Wade Woodaz (17) reaches for an incomplete pass against Georgia Bulldogs running back Nate Frazier (3) during the third quarter of the 2024 Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Every year, it’s almost certain that the Clemson Tigers play an out-of-conference opponent in a given season. However, one of their future series will no longer be the case. 

According to the Atlanta Banner-Herald, the four-game home-and-home series between Clemson and the Georgia Bulldogs was cancelled on Monday evening. The contests were expected to span from 2029-33 with an open year between the competitions. 

Clemson and Georgia did this back in the 2021 and 2024 seasons, but it happened on neutral sites. To open the 2021 season, the Tigers played the Bulldogs at Bank of America Stadium, ending in a 10-3 loss. In 2024, the two teams travelled to Atlanta to play inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Once again, Kirby Smart’s group was victorious in a 38-3 win.  

The two were expected to meet at their respective home field this time around, though. Clemson would start it off in Memorial Stadium in 2029, then Georgia would host a year later at Sanford Stadium. After a year off in 2031, the expectation was to go back to Athens to play in 2032, while the Tigers would host in 2033 to finish out the agreement. 

However, when these two teams organized the dates to play, which were set up in 2018 and 2019, a lot was different with the landscape of college football. Of course, this is when both Clemson and Georgia were competing for national championships; now, only one school is doing so, and where it’s projected to be. 

Another factor that led to the change was the new conference schedules in the SEC and ACC, which now feature a nine-game slate against respective conference opponents. Since then, it’s caused many programs to change their out-of-conference schedules for the future. 

Clemson already has opponents ready to go, though, still playing a 12-game home-and-home series with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Oklahoma is also a school that it will play, from what we know now, with the two meeting in 2035-36. The Tigers are also coming off a home-and-home series with the LSU Tigers, with the two-game stretch ending in a sweep against Clemson. 

This cancellation has been trending for a few months, with other programs mulling their respective non-conference series of the future as well, with so many changes to the college football landscape. However, Clemson loses an iconic matchup with a campus that is only an hour away from the Upstate.

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