Arguably the most important recreation of Week1 in school soccer pits powerhouse applications Clemson and Georgia in opposition to one another in Atlanta. It is a top-15 showdown that might have sizable implications for the expanded 12-team Faculty Soccer Playoff afterward within the 2024 season.
This Saturday, starting at midday, the No. 1 Bulldogs and the No. 14 Tigers will do battle inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a non-conference contest that’s technically a neutral-site recreation.
Southeastern Convention member Georgia and Atlantic Coast Convention college Clemson have mixed to seize 4 of the final eight CFP nationwide championships, and Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney stated that he’d wish to face off with the Bulldogs on an annual foundation.
“I imply, truthfully, I want we performed Georgia yearly, simply because it’d save some huge cash for everyone, particularly our followers,” Swinney stated on Tuesday throughout his weekly press convention. “As a result of, I imply, we have needed to exit to (Texas) A&M. I feel we go to LSU in a pair years. I imply, we have tried to all the time play 10 you-better-bring-your-A-game sort video games, plus a prime Group of 5 sort of group, which clearly this yr we have got that with about pretty much as good as you could find in (Appalachian State).”
He referred to as Clemson’s recreation versus Georgia “an enormous problem” and a “nice alternative to play the very best group within the nation, proper out of the gate.” Swinney added, “These colleges are shut. There’s custom. It is a arduous recreation. This can be a powerful, powerful recreation, however there’s a whole lot of nice historical past with Clemson-Georgia.”
Of their all-time sequence collectively, Georgia sports activities a 43-18-4 report versus Clemson. The final time that they squared off, in September 2021, the Bulldogs beat the Tigers, 10-3, in Charlotte, N.C. Nevertheless, these juggernauts in school soccer have solely gone toe-to-toe on 5 events since 2000.
Each Clemson and Georgia have nationwide championship aspirations within the 2024 season. The ACC’s preseason media ballot projected the Tigers to complete at No. 2 within the league standings whereas Georgia was the favourite to assert the SEC title.
Clemson’s potential highway to an ACC crown opened up a bit final weekend in Dublin when preseason ACC favourite Florida State, ranked No. 10 within the nation, fell to Georgia Tech on a last-second discipline objective.
With the CFP having grown from 4 individuals to a dozen for this season, taking a loss and even two will not essentially remove groups like Clemson or Georgia from touchdown an invitation.
On the similar time, grabbing a big-time non-conference win this early within the 2024 season will show large for both resume.
This weekend, there are a number of different attractive non-conference video games. No. 7 Notre Dame travels to No. 20 Texas A&M on Saturday. No. 23 Southern California, a brand new member of the Huge Ten Convention, will play No. 13 LSU in Las Vegas. However no recreation in Week 1, at the least on paper, is greater than Clemson versus Georgia in Atlanta.
Marquee non-conference encounters on the onset of a season should not solely entertaining for followers, however they’re additionally vital for the game to generate buzz and entice new viewers past these two energetic and big fan bases.
As Swinney famous, Clemson enjoying Georgia would sometimes happen within the CFP. He is embracing the possibility to battle the Bulldogs, and he’d like this rivalry to proceed extra constantly sooner or later.
“I feel it is good for our followers and it is good for school soccer,” Swinney stated.
