Georgia football: Greg McGarity, Dabo Swinney serious about Georgia/Clemson rivalry

Georgia football recently scheduled a game with Clemson in Charlotte for 2021. The meeting is the first of six scheduled meetings in a span of 13 seasons.

Almost two years ago, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney expressed an interest in playing Georgia more often. Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity responded the following week indicating the Bulldogs were interested in playing the Tigers as well. Two years later, the college football world can see how serious the two parties were about rekindling the old rivalry.

On Tuesday, Georgia and Clemson agreed to open their 2021 seasons against one another in Charlotte, N.C. The teams will meet in Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, ACC Championship Game and the Belk Bowl.

Swinney was the first to say he wanted to play Georgia more often back in April 2018. In fact, he answered “absolutely,” when asked if he wanted Clemson to play Georgia every year according The State.

"“I think it’d be great for both fan bases. I’ve said that for a long time. We’re going to play somebody like that every year. We go to Texas A&M this year, then they come to us. We played Auburn a bunch of times. So I think that would be great.”"

McGarity responded a week later confirming the schools were discussing possible games in the future. McGarity, who is friends with Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich, said the two often discuss playing one another in football.

"“I do think down the road you will see Clemson and Georgia playing each other. I’m not sure about the frequency of it, but I do think you’ll see us play each other in the not too distant future.”"

Prior to Tuesday, both schools had already satisfied their interests with five games scheduled between 2024 and 2033. Georgia and Clemson open the 2024 season in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Georgia travels to Clemson in 2029 and 2033, and will host in 2030 and 2032.

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This new meeting in 2021 guarantees that the Georgia vs. Clemson rivalry is back on. The Bulldogs and Tigers will never play annually again like they did from 1961-to-1987, but the days of the rivalry being dormant for long stretches of years are over. Announcements of meetings beyond 2033 should be expected at this point, whether it’s a home-and-home or a neutral site.

Barring a meeting in a bowl game this season, This will be Georgia’s first game against Clemson since defeating the Tigers 45-21 in 2014. Georgia lost to Clemson in 2013. The last meetings before that were three home-and-home series’ in 1990-91, 1994-95 and 2002-03. Georgia won five of those six games.

This will also be Georgia’s second game in the city of Charlotte ever. The Bulldogs defeated Louisville in the 2015 Belk Bowl. And, the game is Georgia’s first neutral site kickoff game outside of Atlanta.

Clemson, on the other hand, is building a tradition in the Queen City. The Tigers have a 6-0 record in ACC Championship Games played in Charlotte. Surprisingly, Clemson has only played in the Belk Bowl once, a losing effort to South Florida in 2010 when the game was called the Meineke Car Care Bowl. The Tigers haven’t played in a Belk Kickoff Game yet either.

The Georgia vs. Clemson rivalry originally formed out of proximity. The schools are only 76.3 miles apart via Interstate 85. Georgia leads the all-time series 42-18-1 and own the series records for longest winning streak (10 games) and largest margin of victory (55-0 in 1920).