No. 1 Georgia rolls No. 14 Clemson in second half for 34-3 win

Georgia's offense is running away with it after a 40-yard touchdown pass to Vanderbilt transfer London Humphries. Carson Beck has 278 yards and two touchdown passes for the Bulldogs, who lead 27-3.

On the other hand, Cade Klubnik is yet to eclipse 100 passing yards as Georgia is suffocating the Tigers' offense. 

. with a 40-yard catch and run!

— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball)

Georgia responds quickly with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. True freshman running back Nate Frazier ran it in for the Bulldog's first rushing touchdown of the season. Georgia leads 20-3 late in the third quarter. 

Kirby Smart's squad is averaging 10.7 yards per play in the second half after recording only 4.5 per play in the slow first half. 

First collegiate TD for the freshman. |

— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball)

Georgia pieces together a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped off with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Miami transfer wide receiver Colbie Young. The Bulldogs lead 13-0 early in the third quarter. 

Carson Beck to Colbie Young. Get used to it🗣️

— PFF College (@PFF_College)

Two Peyton Woodring field goals are all that separates No. 1 Georgia and No. 14 Clemson after two quarters. 

Carson Beck, one of the Heisman favorites, is 15 of 19 for 126 yards, while Clemson's Cade Klubnik is 7 for 12 for 54 yards. Both teams have struggled on the ground with only 56 rushing yards between both teams. 

Clemson's sophomore Peter Woods has a sack and two TFLs. The Bulldogs are yet to record a sack on Klubnik.

At the break.

— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball)

 

A 30-yard field goal from Georgia's Peyton Woodring breaks the stalemate. Clemson's Peter Woods came up with a huge third-down sack to hold Georgia to just three points.

The Bulldogs lead 3-0 halfway through the second quarter.

. connects from 30 yards out.

— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball)

Georgia and Clemson have traded punts in the first four drives of the game. There have been only 57 total yards between each team's first two drives. 

Offseason changes

• 🐶 Georgia
  • The Bulldogs lost eight players to the 2024 NFL draft, including the only two-time Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers at tight end. 
  • Kirby Smart's squad returned seven of its 11 defensive starters from last season, highlighted by First Team All-American safety Malaki Starks. 
  • Returned Heisman favorite Carson Beck at quarterback, but the Bulldogs dipped into the transfer portal for a new running back, acquiring Florida transfer Trevor Etienne. 
• 🐯 Clemson
  • The Tigers lost six players to the draft, including running back Will Shipley. Shipley was one of three players in the nation to record over 1,200 all-purpose yards each season from 2021-23. 
  • Dabo Swinney's squad returned eight starters on offense, but just three on defense. However, preseason All-American linebacker Barrett Carter stayed for his senior season and should provide a spark for a young defensive core. 
  • The Tigers are still led under center by junior Cade Klubnik, but they will look to replace Shipley with 6-foot-1, 230-pound senior Phil Mafah at running back. 

Barrett Carter and Peter Woods were named Monday to the watch list for the 2024 Chuck Bednarik Award.

📰:
🏆:

— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB)

Familiar Foes

This will be the fourth time these two teams have opened the season against one another since 2013. Kirby Smart is 8-0 in season openers — and Georgia is 10-0 in the past decade. The Bulldogs' last loss in a season opener was to the Tigers, 38-35, in 2013. 

Georgia and Clemson have faced off five times since 2000, all in season openers. Clemson's only win came in 2013.

• Aug. 31, 2002: Georgia 31, Clemson 28
• Aug. 30, 2003: Georgia 30, Clemson 0
• Aug. 31, 2013: Clemson 38, Georgia 35
• Aug. 30, 2014: Georgia 45, Clemson 21
• Sept. 4, 2021: Georgia 10, Clemson 3

Let's take a look at two of those big games:

• 2021: Georgia 10, Clemson 3
  • The last time these two historic programs matched up, both defenses shined. Georgia's Christopher Smith provided the only touchdown of the season opener with a 74-yard pick-six. 
  • There were just 436 yards of total offense between both teams. This would end up being the closest regular season game the Bulldogs played all season, outscoring every remaining opponent by at least three touchdowns.

GEORGIA 74-YARD PICK-SIX TO THE 🏠

(via )

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport)

• 2013: Clemson 38, Georgia 35
  • The last time Clemson beat Georgia was a completely different game than their 2021 matchup. The two top-10 ranked teams combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense. 
  • Clemson's quarterback Tajh Boyd tallied five total touchdowns in the statement win, but the Tigers' loss to the eventual national champions, Florida State, thwarted their title hopes later in the season. 

Border rivalry of the 1980s

• Brief history 
  • These two programs sit just 70 miles apart, and the two played every season from 1973 to 1987, creating an intense rivalry between two of the top teams of the '80s. 
• 1980: Georgia 20, Clemson 16
  • These two powerhouses met up early in the 1980 season, and Georgia would squeeze out a four-point win en route to an undefeated season capped off with the national championship. 
• 1981: Clemson 13, Georgia 3
  • The following year, Clemson was more than prepared for Georgia's offense, as the Tigers forced 9 turnovers against the Bulldogs. This win sparked Clemson to make its own undefeated national championship run just one year after the Bulldogs. 
• Total
  • Every game between 1979 and 1987 was decided by a touchdown or less, including a 16-16 tie in 1983.

Here is the full AP Top 25 Poll heading into Week 1. Georgia and Clemson are in bold.

Rank	School	Points
1	Georgia (46)	1,532
2	Ohio State (15)	1,490
3	Oregon (1)	1,403
4	Texas	1,386
5	Alabama	1,260
6	Ole Miss	1,189
7	Notre Dame	1,122
8	Penn State	1,060
9	Michigan	995
10	Florida State	971
11	Missouri	927
12	Utah	887
13	LSU	804
14	Clemson	689
15	Tennessee	629
16	Oklahoma	566
17	Oklahoma State	538
18	Kansas State	526
19	Miami (FL)	492
20	Texas A&M	292
21	Arizona	237
22	Kansas	231
23	Southern Cal	172
24	North Carolina State	171
25	Iowa	140

Others receiving votes: Louisville 111, Virginia Tech 77, Boise St. 47, SMU 33, Iowa St. 33, Liberty 32, Washington 23, West Virginia 17, Memphis 16, Nebraska 16, Wisconsin 15, UTSA 6, Tulane 5, Appalachian St. 4, Kentucky 3, Auburn 2, Colorado 1.