CLEMSON — Listen, I know not everyone agrees with me on this and I understand why.

The last time Clemson and Georgia played in a football game, the Bulldogs beat the Tigers by 31 points. The only thing worse than that is losing to LSU by 41 points.

I understand, especially in this day of college football, there is no need for Clemson to open its season against Georgia anymore or play them at all for that matter, which is exactly what is happening.

However, Clemson and Georgia need to play in football every year. As Dabo Swinney said in his Tuesday press conference, “I hate it.” This is just another avenue in which the fans end up losing.

Now hear me out.

The reason Clemson and Georgia need to play is the same reason Clemson and South Carolina play every year. It is a true geographical rivalry. The campus are a 75-mile drive apart. Clemson is 30 minutes from the Georgia border. Georgia is less than an hour from the South Carolina border.

It literally is a true border war in football.

Georgia and Clemson, for decades, have recruited the same players from the same high schools. Clemson recruits against Georgia more than it does the Gamecocks for the same players.

Think about it this way. Georgia thinks of Clemson more as a rival than it does South Carolina, who it plays every year for the most part. Of course, Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech are the Bulldogs’ biggest rivals, but Clemson is right behind the Yellow Jackets.

There was a time when Clemson was a bigger rival to Georgia than Georgia Tech was – see the 11-Year War from 1977-1987 for an example.

It’s also a rivalry because the two fan bases can’t stand each other. I mean Clemson fans despise Georgia fans and the Bulldog fans feel the same way.

I can give you an example of that destain from this past summer at the Athens (Georgia) Regional in softball. There was a family sitting on the edge of the stands as I made my way up to the press box for Clemson’s game against College of Charleston in Game 3 of the tournament.

The Tigers were playing the College of Charleston in an elimination game. I had noticed from the day before the man was wearing Georgia colors, but this time he was wearing a College of Charleston T-shirt.

Coincidence?

I do not think so.

That is just an example of how much these two fanbases dislike each other.

Next year, Clemson will begin a 12-year series with Notre Dame in football. Sure, especially if Clemson can get back to playing elite football again, it will be an interesting series.

However, let’s be honest. Clemson and Notre Dame are never going to be rivals, and never like Clemson-Georgia.

Clemson and Georgia are regional rivals. These kinds of rivalries made college football so much fun back in the day. Clemson-Georgia rivalries are why fans fell in love with college football.

I understand why they are doing it – 10 FBS games, nine conference games, etc., etc. We get it.

However, as we have done in so many other areas of the sport, we have lost our way. Instead of Clemson playing Georgia, Auburn and Tennessee in non-conference battles where college football is a way of life, the Tigers have to travel to California, Boston, Syracuse, Pittsburgh or Indiana to play a game that no one cares about.

What are we thinking?