This ESPN analyst doesn’t think there’s a better non-conference matchup in 2024 than the marquee tilt featuring Clemson and Georgia.
On his Always College Football show, ESPN’s Greg McElroy ranked the 10 best non-conference games of the upcoming season, and the ACC-SEC showdown between the Tigers and Bulldogs came in at No. 1 on McElroy’s list.
The two teams will open the season in the national spotlight when they square off in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Aflac Kickoff Game on Saturday, Aug. 31 (12 p.m., ABC).
McElroy explained why he sees it as the best non-conference game this year, which marks the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff format.
“I think Georgia-Clemson is a battle between two teams that will find themselves very much in the playoff conversation at the end of the season,” he said. “Georgia, because I think they’re a shoo-in, and Clemson, because even if they don’t win the ACC – which I think they have a real chance of being able to do – even if they don’t win the ACC, as far as an at-large is concerned, because of this game against Georgia, I think they’re going to have a really good argument that can be made on their behalf.”
Clemson will attempt to earn its first win against Georgia since 2013 in a matchup of regional rivals that have accounted for four of the last eight national championships. In the series’ 17 installments since 1980, the winner of this contest went on to win the national championship three times.
The Tigers (9-4, 4-4 ACC in 2023) are looking to return to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2020 following six straight playoff appearances from 2015-20.
McElroy weighed in on Clemson’s personnel this year, and he isn’t quite buying a particular narrative out there about Dabo Swinney’s team, which carries momentum into 2024 after finishing last season on a five-game winning streak.
“So, I look at Clemson, and people have kind of knocked Clemson, saying they’re not what they used to be. I’m going to push back on that just a little bit,” McElroy said. “Now, I’ve had my own hesitations with Clemson in the past. I have, and partly because I think when you have young players in some cases playing against veterans, because Dabo Swinney has not chosen to utilize the portal as much as some of the teams he’s facing off against, they’re oftentimes operating at a disadvantage. Well, last year they were young, and they really finished strong. They finished really, really strong down the stretch.
“And if you look at some of their personnel, some of the guys that made the biggest impact for them last year, they were true feshmen, most of which were on the defensive side of the football. And I look at their run game and how their run game seemed to improve as the season went along, as they leaned a little bit more heavily on Phil Mafah. The big question is whether or not Cade Klubnik can elevate his play to a point which he can be one of the more dangerous players in the sport, because that has not happened just yet. It’s been really, really inconsistent. Maybe this is the year that the light goes on. It happened for Bo Nix. Remember, Bo Nix, when he was at Auburn, kind of underwhelming. And when he got to Oregon, he was a different guy. Guess who’s skill set is a lot like Bo Nix’s? Cade Klubnik. So, maybe this is the year for him.”
Meanwhile, Georgia (13-1, 8-1 SEC in 2023) missed the playoff last season after winning back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022.
McElroy gave his thoughts on Kirby Smart’s squad, and while McElroy expects the Bulldogs to be one of the nation’s elite teams again this season, he believes “there are more questions on Georgia’s roster than people realize.”
“Doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be really good. They’re going to be excellent,” McElroy said. “This is a team that is no worse than No. 2 in college football coming into the season. There is no team, outside of Ohio State, that has more capable bodies on their roster. They are legit.
“Carson Beck is the real deal. I think the wide receivers have a chance to be among the best in the SEC. I think the offensive line has a chance to be one of the best in the SEC. Defensive line, should expect them to be a little bit better, a little bit more consistent than they were last year. I think the linebackers have a chance to be elite, and there are some pieces that need to be replaced in the secondary, but they’ve recruited so well at that position, it’s just not a position I’m going to be losing a lot of sleep over.”
You can see McElroy’s top 10 non-conference games in 2024 below and hear his commentary on each game in the following video:
10. Miami at Florida — Week 1
9. Alabama at Wisconsin — Week 3
8. Colorado at Nebraska — Week 2
7. LSU vs. USC (Las Vegas) — Week 1
6. Florida State at Notre Dame — Week 11
5. Penn State at West Virginia — Week 1
4. Notre Dame at Texas A&M — Week 1
3. Notre Dame at USC — Week 14
2. Texas at Michigan — Week 2
1. Clemson vs. Georgia (Atlanta) — Week 1
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