Final Thoughts as Georgia Takes on Clemson

With Georgia having some questions due to injuries suffered throughout camp, the season opener serves as a prove it game.

Georgia is just hours away from kicking off the 2021 season in Charlotte, North Carolina, against the number three ranked Clemson Tigers. This rare week one matchup was the home to ESPN's College GameDay site in Charlotte, most famously showcasing Lee Corso's headgear pick in which he chose the Bulldogs. 

A game of this magnitude means the stakes are even higher on both sides. Two playoff hopefuls will do battle in the first week of the season and will likely shape their destiny for the rest of the year, and based on the comments from both coaches this morning, both teams know what this matchup means and will likely rise to the occasion. 

Georgia comes into this game with more questions than many would like to due to injuries suffered throughout fall camp. Following a grueling offseason that saw multiple receivers miss time, most significantly, George Pickens who will miss the majority of the season with an ACL tear. At the same time, tight end Darnell Washington's status is doubtful following a minor foot fracture near the end of fall camp.

Georgia's shortage of experienced receivers creates an intriguing matchup with Clemson's experienced defense, featuring nine starters from a year ago.  Clemson secondary is one of the oldest in college football, and they boast one of the best front fours. 

Thus putting offensive coordinator Todd Monken in a play-callers bind trying to figure out how to attack the Tiger's highly-rated defense. Georgia returns a host of running backs, two being seniors, Zamir White and James Cook; those two experienced backs bring different skillsets to the position and allow Georgia to balance their approach. 

Based on what we saw from Clemson a year ago, Georgia may be able to open up the Clemson defense by getting east and west and playing fast. Clemson has the talent up front to stop Georgia's typical inside run game, but where they could struggle is with runs outside of the tackles trying to get the playmakers out in space. 

With a young receiving core reeling from some injuries, Monken could resort to a heavy dose of the run game to try and ease the offense into the game. 

Defensively for Georgia, it's going to be quite a tough task. D.J. Uiagalelei started in just two games a year ago as a freshman. In those two games, the Tigers utilized Run-Pass Options (RPOs), trying to get the ball out of Uiagalelei's hands and into their playmakers. 

The return of Justyn Ross at receiver will be one that could cause the young Bulldogs secondary trouble. Ross is expected to see more time out of the slot this year, which they could use him to create some mismatches with the defense. 

Much like Clemson, the Dawgs front seven is among the best in college football and will be key in making the Tigers offense one-dimensional by taking away the Clemson run game that struggled in 2020.

Both sides have much to prove in week one that will give a preview of what is to come in 2021.

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