Relevancy Meets Rivalry When Clemson Faces Georgia in Charlotte

A look at narratives if Clemson Tigers win or if Georgia Bulldogs claim the big game Saturday to open up the 2021 season, but don't forget about rivalry stakes.

One of the great things about college football is all the narratives, some false, that the games create. 

Whether it's coaches entering the hot seat after one week or teams failing to win their most important contests or fans holding it over other fans' heads that their team hasn't won a national title since the Jimmy Carter administration, it's why we watch sports. 

So let's take a look at the biggest game in Week 1 and evaluate what all is at stake between two top-5 teams.

For starters, let's say Clemson beats Georgia, no matter the score, Saturday night in Charlotte, N.C. 

The No. 3 Tigers would: 

• Win a game they're favored to win.
• Get the bad taste of last year's Sugar Bowl blowout loss to Ohio State out of their mouths. 
• Dispose of a growing narrative that Dabo Swinney's teams aren't capable of winning big games anymore.
• Escape the most difficult game on the schedule before Labor Day. 
• Become instant locks by national pundits to make a seventh consecutive College Football Playoff. 
• Establish confidence that a team with several new parts, especially on offense, needs early in the season. 
• Put their quarterback, D.J. Uiagalelei, potentially in the top spot among Heisman Trophy candidates.

If No. 5 Georgia finds itself the winner after 60 minutes, the Bulldogs would:

• Win a big game in the Kirby Smart era, something, fair or not, that has been questioned about his program. 
• Instantly become a media darling and a strong pick to run the table with the schedule in front of them.
• Become the primary contender to knocking off Alabama, something Smart hasn't done since leaving the Crimson Tide defense to be the head coach in Athens.
• Carry the SEC banner in a win over an ACC team. 
• Establish confidence that a team with several new parts, especially on defense, needs early in the season.
• Likely win a game without a ton of key players, especially on offense, giving fans hope that a healthier version is going to be unstoppable. 
• Put their quarterback, J.T. Daniels, potentially in the top spot among Heisman Trophy candidates.

Those are pretty good national narrative lists that will have everyone talking. If you want to know what happens for each side in a loss, just reverse the context. It won't be pretty, but this is what big early-season games do. They're supposed to be separators, although that could be argued in this era.

The loser isn't out of the national relevancy hunt.  

However, one accomplishment you might've noticed that isn't on that list is winning a rivalry game. Back when Clemson and Georiga played every season, that mattered more than anything. After all, you couldn't necessarily control what AP poll voters did. There was no playoff, therefore no qualifiers. 

The 1980s, the last decade this was a semi-regular occurrence, was a simpler time in college football. Some would argue better, but cash has become king, and that's fine. 

Hopefully, this game lives up to the hype. Hopefully, no one overreacts to a win or a loss (yeah, right). And hopefully, a long-standing rivalry gets some needed juice between two teams that haven't played since 2014. 

As much fun as a playoff-caliber game like this is to watch, relishing in a rivalry win or pulling yourself out of the depths of despair is where college football got its start.

Rivalry stakes still matter, and those can be great or tough to live with this fall. 

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