Swinney 'Excited' for Matchup with 'National Championship' Caliber Opponent
CLEMSON—Clemson will kick off its 2021 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 4 with one of the nation's most anticipated games of the season, as the No. 3/2 Tigers face the No. 5/5 Georgia Bulldogs in a neutral-site rivalry renewal. Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
For head coach Dabo Swinney it is not the opponent that makes this week big, it is the fact that it is the first of 12 opportunities that his Tigers have to take the field.
"Game week is always exciting. Every single week. And again, everything builds this, you only get 12 opportunities that they give you...whatever comes after that, you know, as a result of what you do on those 12 days, you know, if you go all the way the national championship, that's 15 days, and the other 350, you spend prepared and dreaming, planning, and working toward, and building towards these moments so it's exciting to finally have the opportunity to go play," Swinney said. "I can't wait to see us play I'm excited to see where we are, you know, just coming out from what gaps and where are we and what we got to do to get better.
Even for a series that previously featured contests that propelled the schools to national championships in consecutive years in 1980 (Georgia) and 1981 (Clemson), from a rankings standpoint, the regional rivalry has never been grander. Clemson and Georgia have met with both schools in the AP Top 10 only once: No. 8 Clemson's 38-35 victory against No. 5 Georgia in 2013.
Saturday's matchup will represent the first time the two schools will meet with both programs in the AP Top 5.
Including games against No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Ohio State to end last season, the opener against No. 5 Georgia will be Clemson's third straight contest against an AP Top 5 opponent. The stretch marks Clemson's first time in school history facing three consecutive AP Top 5 opponents.
"You know, huge, huge challenge, obviously, in Georgia," Swinney said. "I think this is the fourth time in the last 20 years I guess since 2000, that there's been a top five matchup as an opener. So these are rare, rare, rare moments that you have games like this so really difficult challenge, right out of the gate, play in a team that's, that's good enough to win the whole thing. So, we're excited about it. Look forward to it.
With a No. 5 ranking in both the AP and Coaches Polls, this 2021 Georgia squad will tie for the second highest-ranked opponent Clemson has faced in a season opener in school history. Prior to 2021, Clemson's highest-ranked season opener according to the AP Poll came in 1963, when Head Coach Frank Howard's Tigers fell on the road to No. 4 Oklahoma, 31-14.
"You know, easy to see why they are a lot of people pick them to win the national championship, really don't have any weaknesses, you know, as a football team," Swinney said. "They're a lot like us and, you know, this is a tough matchup. There's a lot to learn about your team.
"Really, really talented. And you got to go out on the field and tackle at an incredibly high level, to be successful. And, you know, margin for error is very small, so it's a huge challenge but again it's exciting to look forward to it. For us it's, it's just to start our first goal...We can't do anything other than when the opener. All we can do, and we'll go from there so we're excited about just getting it going and watching these guys play somebody else other than the Tigers."
