SMQ: Why Florida State vs Alabama football was the most meaningless game of 2017

1. No. 5 Georgia at No. 8 Clemson (2013)

Four years ago, No. 8 Clemson hosted No. 5 Georgia in the last meeting between teams in the single digits of the preseason AP Top 25. The two teams traded punches, tied 21-21 at halftime. A field goal in the third quarter broke the deadlock, Tajh Boyd stretched the lead for Clemson to 38-28 in the fourth quarter, and a late Georgia touchdown wasn’t enough to come back on the road.

Boyd threw for 270 yards and three scores, and added another 42 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Aaron Murray completed 20 of 29 for 323 yards, but he threw an interception without tossing any scores.

What happened next for both teams?

The Tigers climbed four spots to No. 4 in the first AP poll of the regular season. Georgia dropped six spaces to No. 11 after losing as the higher-ranked squad. Ultimately, though, the game meant next to nothing for either squad in the long run.

Clemson climbed to No. 3 in the nation before falling at home to No. 5 Florida State in mid-October. Ultimately the win over Georgia couldn’t save the Tigers, as that mid-October plunge to the Seminoles prevented Clemson from winning the ACC.

Georgia, meanwhile, climbed back up to No. 6 in the polls after falling out of the top 10. The Bulldogs promptly lost back-to-back games against Missouri and Vanderbilt to fall out of the SEC East race.

What did it mean by the end of the year?

By the end of the year, Georgia was unranked with an 8-4 record. They were bowl eligible but had no realistic shot at making one of the four BCS games, much less the BCS championship game. The Bulldogs finished third in the SEC East, and ended up losing in the Gator Bowl to No. 23 Nebraska. Every year there seems to be one team that was overrated heading into the year, and in 2013 it was Georgia. The loss to Clemson was just the first sign of a bigger issue.

For Clemson, the win over Georgia had little impact as an individual moment. The Tigers went on to win nine more games, finishing the regular season 10-2. After Duke lost the ACC championship game to Florida State, Clemson was selected to replace the BCS title-bound Seminoles as the league representative in the Orange Bowl. They surprised No. 7 Ohio State to finish the year… No. 8 in the final AP Top 25 after the bowl games, right where they started the season.