Clemson, Georgia to kick off 2021 football season with Charlotte game
Clemson and Georgia were set to renew their football rivalry in 2024. That wasn’t soon enough.
The Tigers and Bulldogs will meet to kick off the 2021 season at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, the schools announced Tuesday. Clemson is removing Wyoming from its schedule to make room for Georgia, while the Bulldogs added the Tigers in place of a previously-scheduled opening game with San Jose State.
“Thank you to Georgia and the Charlotte Sports Foundation for helping make this game a reality,” Clemson Athletics Director Dan Radakovich said in a statement. “Kicking off the 2021 season with this matchup will be a tremendous showcase for both universities and our fans. UGA is a great football program and we know that Charlotte will provide a first-class experience for everyone involved.”
In addition to Georgia, Clemson’s 2021 nonconference slate includes games against S.C. State, UConn and South Carolina.
The Bulldogs will face UAB, Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech out of conference, in addition to the season-opener against Clemson.
“This is another great opportunity to schedule a national non-conference game with a top level opponent,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in a statement. “Playing a regular season game in Charlotte will give our fans the opportunity for a completely new experience in a great city and top-level stadium. I know our coaches and players will be excited for the challenge to kick off the season in this kind of environment.”
The game between Appalachian State and East Carolina that was already scheduled for Sept. 4, 2021, at Bank of America Stadium will be played two days earlier on Thursday, according to information released by Georgia.
Clemson and Georgia will meet to open the season two of the next five years. In addition to the newly added 2021 game, they’re scheduled to play in Atlanta to open 2024. The two college football powers will also meet in Clemson in 2029, in Athens in 2030, in Athens in 2032 and at Clemson in 2033.
Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said in 2018 that he would “absolutely” be in favor of Clemson and Georgia facing off every year.
“I think it’d be great for both fan bases,” Swinney said. “I’ve said that for a long time. We’re going to play somebody like that every year. We (went) to Texas A&M (in 2018), then they (came) to us. We played Auburn a bunch of times. So I think that would be great.”
Clemson reached the College Football Playoff for the fifth consecutive year in 2019 before falling to LSU in the national title game. Georgia finshed 12-2 this past season, ending its year with a victory over Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. The two programs are expected to be in the mix for the College Football Playoff again in 2020.
Clemson future schedules
Clemson now has a Power 5 opponent, in addition to its rival South Carolina, on the schedule for every year through 2037:
2020: at Notre Dame
2021: vs. Georgia (in Charlotte)
2022: at Notre Dame
2023: vs. Notre Dame
2024: vs. Georgia (in Atlanta)
2025: vs. LSU
2026: at LSU
2027: vs. Notre Dame
2028: at Notre Dame
2029: vs. Georgia
2030: at Georgia
2031: vs. Notre Dame
2032: at Georgia
2033: vs. Georgia
2034: at Notre Dame
2035: Oklahoma
2036: at Oklahoma
2037: vs. Notre Dame
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 1:47 PM.
