Georgia looks poised for another national title as the Clemson question is just beginning

ATLANTA – It was only three years ago that Clemson and Georgia squared off in four quarters in the 2021 season opener in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The teams were evenly matched, and the only touchdown came on Georgia safety Christopher Smith’s 74-yard interception return in the Bulldogs’ 10-3 win.

At the time, Georgia was a program trying to regain its footing under coach Kirby Smart and looking for its first national title since 1980. Clemson was a powerhouse, having captured two CFP championships in the previous five seasons under coach Dabo Swinney.

After the demolition of No. 1 Georgia 34-3 over No.

A win in the 2021 opener catapults the Bulldogs to a back-to-back national championship. Georgia has won 40 straight regular season games – 47-2 in the last 49 contests.

“I think the narrative out there is you’re going to roll the ball out and Georgia is just going to win,” Smart said. “They’re going to win because they have G, and they’re going to play the team. That’s not how football works.

“That’s a really good football team that we just played. The fact that we played and kept going, it shows what we’re doing in our program. -Hustle them guys, I’m going to watch the tape.

Meanwhile, Clemson was left to pick up the pieces after another bad loss. After winning at least 10 games in 12 straight seasons from 2011 to 2022, the Tigers need to win their last five contests to finish 9-4 in 2023.

If Saturday’s result is a preview of what’s to come, it could be a lot worse this season.

“The biggest thing, if you get beat like that, it’s on the head coach,” Swinney said. “That’s in me, so … That’s just complete possession is just absolute nonsense the second half. Really disappointed. But I’ve done it long enough. Sometimes you get kicked ass, and we did today. That’s not what we came here to do .”

The Tigers’ no-nonsense effort on offense will have many Clemson fans once again questioning Swinney’s stubbornness in not adding a proven playmaker through the transfer portal. At a time when College Football Playoff contenders such as Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Ole Miss, Alabama and others added significant pieces, Swinney went through another offseason without adding anyone.

“People will say whatever they want,” Swinney said. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what I say. People are going to say whatever they want. But we do what’s best for Clemson every year. say whatever you want to say, write whatever you want to write.

The result was an alarming indictment of Swinney’s philosophy: Clemson had only 188 yards of offense and failed to score a touchdown only four times in 214 games as Tigers coach. Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 18 of 29 passes for 142 yards with one interception. He looked reluctant to throw the ball downfield and was sacked twice.

Clemson’s receiver, an obvious shortcoming a few seasons ago, struggled to get separation against Georgia’s rebuilt secondary, which lost three starters to the NFL draft. The Bulldogs loaded up the box, moving star safety Malaki Starks closer to the line, and limited the Tigers to 46 yards in 23 rushing attempts.

Even Smart, who has stacked the top recruiting class like cordwood since returning to coach his alma mater, has used the transfer portal to his program’s advantage.

When the Bulldogs lost All-America tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Ladd McConkey to the NFL, Smart dipped into the transfer portal and found more weapons for quarterback Carson Beck.

“It’s a forced situation,” Smart said. “You have to use it.”

It must have stung Clemson fans on Saturday when two Georgia portal additions – Colbie Young (Miami) and Landon Humphrey (Vanderbilt) – caught touchdowns in the first game against the Bulldogs. Georgia also added end Ben Yurosek from Stanford to replace Bowers.

“I want my team to stay my team,” Smart said. “I’ve always said yes. If you could give every kid on the team that I signed, they stayed in my program for four years and couldn’t leave, I’d take it every day of the week.

“But if we’re going to lose kids, we’ve got to replace them with high-quality kids, kids with character who want to have a chance to win championships, who want to go somewhere and play, because if you don’t, you can’t survive in the SEC without the depth you need.”

Georgia’s offense got off to a slow start, especially when running the football. The Bulldogs played without another transfer, former Florida running back Trevor Etienne, who sat out the game for reasons related to his March 24 arrest on charges of DUI, reckless driving and other misdemeanors. Prosecutors dropped the DUI charge in a plea deal in July.

Roderick Robinson II, the team’s fastest returner, is also unavailable after recently undergoing surgery on his thumb.

Otherwise, Georgia’s running game struggled against Clemson’s stifling defensive defense as they took a 6-0 lead into the half. Georgia went 0-for-3 on three-pointers in the first 30 minutes.

Freshman Nate Frazier finally got the game going in the second inning. 1-yard touchdown that put the Bulldogs ahead 20-3 with 3:15 left in the third quarter. Frazier finished with 83 yards on 11 carries.

Georgia made a lot of mistakes, which is to be expected in the opener. Beck’s third sack in the red zone led to a field goal in the first quarter. An offensive pass interference broke up a 40-yard pass to Dillon Bell late in the first half. A roughing the passer penalty against linebacker Damon Wilson II helped give the Tigers their best scoring opportunity, which resulted in a 26-yard field goal.

Beck threw for 278 yards with two touchdowns on 22-for-33 passing.

Despite the mistakes, Georgia looks like a threat to win its third national championship in four seasons. With road games at No. 5 Alabama, No. 4 Texas and No. 6 Ole Miss, the Bulldogs should definitely earn a return trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Dec. 7 SEC Championship game.

Clemson hosts Appalachian State in Death Valley next week before starting ACC play against NC State on Sept. 21 with No. 10 Florida State also flopping in the opener, a 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 24. , the league looks wide open.

“I feel good about this team and the leadership of this team,” Swinney said. “Again, some people might say, ‘He’s just crazy, he just kicked his ass.’ Loss is loss, period, for anyone, anytime, anywhere, that’s for sure.

“I remember every loss. Unfortunately, sometimes you remember those more than some others. This one. It was just a flat-out kick in the ass. We only got the tail kicked for two quarters. I mean, look at the score. You go, ‘Whoa.’ “