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College Football: Top 15 rivalry games we’d like to see return in 2020

By David Glancy

COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 24: Jeff Fuller #8 of the Texas A&M Aggies attempts to catch a pass against Carrington Byndom #23 of the Texas Longhorns in the first half of a game at Kyle Field on November 24, 2011 in College Station, Texas. The pass was incomplete. (Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images)
COLLEGE STATION, TX - NOVEMBER 24: Jeff Fuller #8 of the Texas A&M Aggies attempts to catch a pass against Carrington Byndom #23 of the Texas Longhorns in the first half of a game at Kyle Field on November 24, 2011 in College Station, Texas. The pass was incomplete. (Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images) /
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ATHENS, GA – AUGUST 30: Quarterback Cole Stoudt #18 of the Clemson Tigers is pressured by Jordan Jenkins #59 of the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on August 30, 2014 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA – AUGUST 30: Quarterback Cole Stoudt #18 of the Clemson Tigers is pressured by Jordan Jenkins #59 of the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on August 30, 2014 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

2. Clemson vs. Georgia

Games played: 64
Series record: Georgia leads 48-18-4
Last played: 2014
Next meeting: 2021

Like the Auburn-Clemson rivalry, the Georgia-Clemson game may not stack up as well as some of college football’s other great rivalries, but a 2020 matchup could be the most intriguing regular season game.

Separated by just 70 miles and the Georgia-South Carolina border, these two schools have played intermittently since 1897. The Bulldogs won the first three games in the series, but unlike some of the origins of other rivalries, the Georgia-Clemson game was relatively even with a 10-9-1 Georgia split from the original series that ran from 1897-1916.

The rivalry would become an on-again, off-again game from 1919 through 1955 until it became an annual matchup again lasting from 1962-1987 with two breaks in 1966 and 1972.

Unlike the original series, Georgia would own Clemson, 26-7-3 from1919-1987 with the Tigers winning the final two games in the annual series running through 1987. The early season rivalry would be then be renewed for one-off home-and-home series the following three decades, with the most recent chapter ending following the 2014 season.

While Georgia again led the home-and-home series of the rivalry with a 6-2 lead over Clemson, it is undeniable that Clemson has surpassed Georgia as a modern power, appearing in four title games and winning two during the college football playoff era.

Each school currently competes for the nation’s top recruits and contends annually for one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff. They came close to playing against each other for the first time in a bowl game in the 2018 playoff before Alabama knocked the Tigers out in the semifinal before then defeating Georgia for the national title.

While the two could meet again in a 2020 bowl game, the rivalry is set to renew again when the Bulldogs and Tigers will open their 2021 seasons in a neutral site game in Charlotte, N.C.

Both teams are anticipating a deep run into the 2020 season with playoff spots once again on the line and the 2021 matchup could be the difference between which program makes the 2022 playoff. While each program will likely be featuring new stars in 2021, there is plenty of talent on each roster and both look to be led by Dabo Swinney and Kirby Smart.

While the 2021 game will be a one-time, neutral site matchup, Georgia and Clemson have scheduled upcoming home-and-home series in 2029-30 and 2032-33.

While coaches, players, and rankings will all change before that chapter in this rivalry, it’s hard to these two won’t still be near the top and even harder to imagine how the past decade of college football would look if these two continued to meet in the beginning of each season.

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