The Georgia Bulldogs will be at Clemson on Saturday in one of the three SEC vs. ACC matchups scheduled for the opening weekend.
This was at one time one of the great rivalries in the South. The two teams have met 62 times, with the Bulldogs holding a 41-17-4 advantage, including a 30-0 Georgia win at Clemson in 2003, the last time they met.
The game will feature two of the nation’s best quarterbacks in Georgia’s Aaron Murray and Clemson’s Tajh Boyd. Over the past two seasons, Murray’s record is 22-6 as a starter. Boyd is right behind him with a 21-6 record.
“If you like quarterback play, I imagine a lot of people will really enjoy this game,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt. “You’ve got two guys that are very accomplished and have played a bunch of games. They’ve won big games, and they’ve lost some big games, too. They have complete control of their offensive systems. It should be interesting, and if you’re looking for a subplot, that’s a pretty good one.”
It’s hard to imagine that this game would need any subplots but they are there in abundance. Beside the quarterback matchup, there is the powerful Clemson offense (sixth in the country in scoring in 2012) against a young Georgia defense that returns only three starters. Clemson’s outstanding junior receiver Sammy Watkins will be a major challenge for the Bulldogs’ secondary, which is led by junior corner Damian Swann.
“It’s just going to be interesting to see how quickly these guys can get their feet under them and start playing with some confidence,” Richt said of his defense. “I’m not saying they won’t start out that way, but young people tend to be more apt to react to what happens early in the game. If things are going great, they feel great. If things aren’t going well, they start feeling bad.”
It could be up to the Georgia offense to take control of the game and keep Boyd and Watkins on the sidelines where they can’t do any damage. And Murray is the man that pulls the trigger on that offense.
Murray has started every Bulldog game for the past three seasons and has led his team to two SEC East titles. He is the NCAA active leader with 95 career touchdown passes and has thrown for 10,091 yards in his career. But Murray is not the only weapon in Richt’s arsenal. There is a deep and talented offensive line and the sophomore running back tandem of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, who combined for 2,144 yards and 25 touchdowns a year ago.
“We’ve got to be balanced in what we do. We have confidence that we can run the ball as well as we can throw it and vice versa,” said Richt. “When I say balance, I use it in terms of not necessarily 50-50 passes to runs, but balance to me is the ability to take advantage of a team that is trying to double-cover receivers and run the ball well enough to get them out of that or vice versa.
“If people are trying to pack the box and stop the run, can we throw well enough or are we balanced enough to take advantage of throwing the ball? I think we are that type of an offensive team. If we do a good job of mixing the plays like (offensive coordinator) Mike (Bobo) does and keeping them off balance, hopefully that will be a big key.
“If they can somehow get in the habit of getting us into certain passing downs or certain run downs, they’ll have a better chance of defending us.”
Richt is a tough coach to beat in season openers. Despite dropping two of his last four openers, he owns a 10-2 career record. Georgia came close to reaching the BCS Championship Game last season and they have designs on being there this year.
Beating Clemson would be a strong first step.