I can see the tweets now.

“Remember when y’all said UGA was winning it all? SMH.”

“Who picked UGA to end the 1980 jokes? Couldn’t have been me.”

“Glad y’all fell for the UGA trap again.”

I’m bracing for the worst, laziest generalized takes in the event that Georgia loses to Clemson in the season-opener. That’s a reality for a sport with an 8-month offseason. A season-opening loss can feel like the sky is falling, and when you haven’t won a national title in 41 years, well, multiply that by 41.

It’s perfectly realistic to believe in Georgia as a 2021 title contender and think that Clemson will be a hair better in the opener.

Also, there’s still a wide open Playoff path even if Georgia loses this showdown. It’s OK to still think that JT Daniels and the Georgia offense will score a ton of points, even if that doesn’t happen when facing Brent Venables and his loaded defensive front, which could very well be reminiscent of that historically dominant 2018 group. Call me crazy, but the defensive coordinator making $2.5 million with 8 months to prepare might just have a few things that confuse Daniels and the UGA offensive line.

But wait. Why so negative? What about the possibility that Georgia wins the opener?

If that happens, that’s not necessarily a guarantee that the road to a title is paved in black and red. Go ask Ohio State about beating Clemson and still having to get past Nick Saban. It ain’t easy.

You know what else isn’t easy? Holding back if and when Georgia’s offense steals the show.

The Dawgs haven’t had a top-40 passing offense since Aaron Murray was there. Can you imagine if we see Daniels put up 400 yards in a 42-point effort? I know exactly what we’ll want to do. We’ll look at the rest of the schedule and realize that Daniels could do that every week en route to a Heisman Trophy. Don’t bother. I’ll just map out the rest of UGA’s 2021 slate for you.

  • Sept. 11 — vs. UAB
  • Sept. 18 — vs. South Carolina
  • Sept. 25 — at Vanderbilt
  • Oct. 2 — vs. Arkansas
  • Oct. 9 — at Auburn
  • Oct. 16 — vs. Kentucky
  • Oct. 30 — vs. Florida (in Jacksonville)
  • Nov. 6 — vs. Mizzou
  • Nov. 13 — at Tennessee
  • Nov. 20 — vs. Charleston Southern
  • Nov. 27 — at Georgia Tech

Only 2 of those teams (Auburn and Florida) had a winning record against Power 5 competition last year. Everybody knows that the slate is downhill after Sept. 4.

Still, though. We shouldn’t assume it’ll all be smooth sailing for the Georgia offense and that we’re in for some 2019 LSU-like explosion. There’s a difference between taking that next step and being an all-time offensive juggernaut.

Daniels might still have his moments where he forces a throw or he doesn’t read backside pressure and he gets stripped (it’s also worth noting that he was PFF’s highest-graded quarterback against the blitz last year). That can still be true no matter what happens against Clemson.

Can you imagine the Arik Gilbert buzz if he has a big opening game? Some will want to hand him the Biletnikoff Award by game’s end. It’s OK to think that Gilbert is immensely talented and still acknowledge that he might not be the second coming of Kyle Pitts in 2021.

Georgia, if it loses the opener, will get the 2018 Michigan treatment. The Wolverines had all this buildup for the start of the Shea Patterson era, and then went into South Bend, and it was ugly. Jim Harbaugh was blasted. It was the same old Michigan. The Wolverines then rattled off 10 wins in a row, got to No. 4 in the country and had a Playoff elimination game against Ohio State. You know how that turned out, but still. That game, against a Notre Dame team that made the Playoff, wasn’t a sign that the sky was falling. It was a sign that Notre Dame was better than Michigan.

It’s magnified even more when we’re talking about a battle of potential top-3 teams like we are with Georgia and Clemson.

Now is it fair to wonder what Clemson’s Playoff path will look like with a loss to Georgia? Absolutely. The Tigers don’t face Miami, UNC or Notre Dame in the regular season this year. A 1-loss conference champ — even a team with so much Playoff success — is by no means a given to make the field. Ask that 2018 Ohio State team that pummeled Michigan. It comes down to quality wins.

A quality win is up for grabs in Charlotte. Maybe it’ll be a key moment in Georgia’s path to a title, or maybe it’ll be a setback for a team with realistic championship expectations.

Whatever the case, let’s try to do the impossible.

Let’s enjoy the return of college football and maybe not assume 60 minutes will determine the next 4 months.