Clemson Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs Keep Fans in Suspense with New Depth Charts

The Clemson Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs are preparing for their season opener against one another in Atlanta on Saturday.

Clemson running back Phil Mafah (7) during Clemson football practice at Jervey Meadows in Clemson, S.C. Wednesday August 7, 2024. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

Monday is the start of game week in college football. With the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs preparing to face the No. 14 Clemson Tigers at noon on Saturday in Atlanta, it’s one of the biggest games on the Week 1 schedule.

For weeks, fans and reporters have been following the respective teams and trying to deduce who might start at key positions and, perhaps just as importantly, which players are backups at key positions.

That’s what the depth chart is for. Most teams release a depth chart in advance of the game, usually as part of their game notes. It’s something reporters rely on and something that fans love to talk about.

Well, Clemson and Georgia did release their depth charts on Monday. Those depth charts didn’t exactly answer any questions, though. Reporters that follow the Tigers, including Jon Blau at the Post and Courier, posted those depth charts for everyone to see.

Here are your depth charts for Clemson-Georgia. pic.twitter.com/acvl6grf8o

— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) August 26, 2024

So, yes, that really didn’t answer any questions.

Clemson appears to be waiting until gameday to show off its depth chart. Georgia referred media to the Bulldogs’ game notes for help. Their game notes didn’t have a depth chart.

So, there’s a little gamesmanship going on here. And, to be fair to both coaching staffs, this is really the only time either can use the depth chart as a surprise on gameday.

Chapel Fowler, who covers Clemson for The State, noted that Georgia coach Kirby Smart doesn’t typically release a depth charge before the first game.

So, for now, Smart and Tigers coach Dabo Swinney will try and keep each other guessing. Their last meeting was in 2021 and Georgia won that game. Naturally, there is game film from last year to lean on. But, clearly, both teams have made myriad adjustments on both sides of the football.

It’s a series that Georgia has long dominated, including a 28-game stretch from 1907-73 in which the Bulldogs went 24-2-2 over the Tigers. Georgia has a 43-18-4 record in a rivalry that dates back to 1897.

Clemson is coming off a 9-4 season that saw it win its final five games of last season, including a bowl victory. But the Tigers missed the College Football Playoff for the third straight season, an eternity for a program that made six appearances in the CFP in the former four-team playoff, including two national championships.

Georgia has lost two games in three years, with one of those losses coming in the SEC title game to Alabama and one that kept it out of the CFP for the third straight season. The Bulldogs won the 2021 and 2022 national titles and are the favorites to take the title this season.