Clemson and Georgia Announce Neutral Site Game to Open 2021 Season
By Will Coleman
One of college football's most-storied interconference, border rivalries will be renewed to kick off the 2021 regular season.
SEC powerhouse Georgia and ACC juggernaut Clemson, separated by about 70 miles, will play in Charlotte on Sept. 4, 2021. The two schools last met on the gridiron in a home-and-away for Week 1 of the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Clemson & Georgia will play Sept. 4, 2021 in Charlotte, sources told @Stadium. It will be 1st meeting since 2014. East Carolina vs. Appalachian State, originally scheduled for Charlotte on Sept. 4, could move to Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, or another date, source said
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) February 18, 2020
Georgia and Clemson have played 64 times but the SEC's schedule expansion in the 1980s forced the Bulldogs to pick and choose their frequent non-conference opponents more sparingly. Since 1990 they've participated in just four home-and-away series with the Tigers.
Georgia's program may be superior historically, but it's Clemson that's been more dominant these last few years. The Tigers have five College Football Playoff appearances since its 2014 inception while the Bulldogs have just one. Clemson is likely attempting to silence their critics by scheduling a must-watch, neutral-site matchup given all the criticism they've gotten for playing in the weak ACC.
Clemson & Georgia in Charlotte on 9/4/21, reportedly
— Wes Blankenship (@Wes_nship) February 18, 2020
Is this moving the meter for y’all, Tigers and Dawgs fans? https://t.co/deWIcDmuuq
The renewal of this rivalry had been brewing for awhile. Head coaches Dabo Swinney and Kirby Smart have never had the chance to coach against one another until now. It was a top-10 matchup when Georgia and Clemson met in 2013, and it could easily be the same circumstances in 2021.