ESPN’s College GameDay’s crew will kick off the college season August 31st, from Death Valley in order to follow a highly anticipated matchup between two powerhouses: The Clemson Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs. This game is absolutely huge and features several of college footballs most elusive players. The loser will have a huge mountain to overcome as both these teams are expected to have outstanding seasons in their respective conferences. My early prediction: A great contest to start the year, however the Bulldogs boast too much fire power to be upset despite playing on the road. Georgia 30 Clemson 21
Dawg Sports Reports:
This game, to put it mildly, is a big deal. Georgia and Clemson, who squared off against one another in all 20 of the seasons between 1897 and 1916, then again in 24 of the 26 seasons between 1962 and 1987, are taking the gridiron against one another for the first time since 2003. That decade-long interruption marks the longest gap between series meetings in the history of the rivalry; previously, neither team had ever in its history gone more than seven years without facing the other.
Despite the lengthy layoff, the timing of the upcoming August 31 clash could not be better. Last year, the two teams went a combined 23-4, both finished in the top ten of the coaches’ poll, and each won a bowl game. The Tigers’ Tajh Boyd finished 2012 as the ACC’s top-rated passer, and the Bulldogs’ Aaron Murray was second only to Alabama’s A.J. McCarron as the most efficient quarterback in the SEC nation. With both clubs entering the autumn as projectedconferencefrontrunners with probable top ten rankings, it is no wonder that ABC elected to make this a nationally-televised night game. (The Red and Black, for the record, are 6-0 all-time in night games against the Orange and Purple.) In light of all that, it is not surprising what Clemson’s Coach Swinney had to say about the season-opening showdown:
[Dawgsports, ESPN]
