Subscribe
Follow Us
Some close losses can antagonize a coach or a player for a lifetime. But every once in a while, a loss is so thorough that all one can do is shake their head and move on. That's the best way to think of the No. 14 ranked Clemson Tigers 3-34 loss to No. 1 ranked Georgia football to open the 2024 college football season. In reflecting on the tough loss to the Bulldogs, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was contrite when speaking to the press.
“When you play a team like Georgia, you get exposed. That's what happened in the second half.”
It was the biggest loss to start the season in Swinney's Clemson tenure as coach, which began in 2009. This loss marked only the fourth game in which Clemson did not score a touchdown under Swinney.
“They didn't hand out a national championship trophy tonight. We didn't lose the ACC tonight,” Swinney said. “We got our butts kicked in one game, and we got a long way to go. Let's go play it out and see what happens.”
The Tigers finished 9-4 last year and hoped to average 2023's good, but not great finish. This season, Georgia football seeks its third College Football Playoff National Championship in four years.
Georgia football, Kirby Smart and the road a third College Football Playoff
Smart noted his use of the transfer portal via Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, as Swinney does not partake in bringing in new transfers.
“If you give me every kid I sign, they stay at my program for four years and they can’t leave, I would take that every day of the week,” he said. “But if we’re going to lose kids, we’ve got to replace them. … It’s a forced situation. You have to use it.”
Losing to Georgia should signal to Swinney that there is a simple and steep talent gap between Georgia football and Clemson football and it likely has a lot to do with using the transfer portal. The Tigers were able to resurrect their 2023 season after a 4-4 start, but every year, other teams get better with all the methods and tools available to them.
An extended College Football Playoff can create a buffer for teams like Clemson to have a bad start but finish strong.
Smart took the opportunity to call out his detractors after the win.
“What you know on the inside is a lot more than what people can paint pictures in the outside,” Smart said. “People use it in negative recruiting and then throw it out there. It comes back to bite them, too.”
Five allegedly poorly behaved players were arrested this offseason, another dismissed from the team, and another was suspended for the season opener. Holding the program accountable for that seems valid.
Georgia football continues its run toward a College Football Playoff national title in a home matchup against Tennessee Tech on Saturday, September 7, at 2:00 p.m. EST.
