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Clemson has experienced plenty of lofty success over the past decade. In fact, many would consider this to be the golden age of Tigers football, complete with 2 national championships in 2016 and ’18 and its overall dominance of the ACC.
But since 2014, when Clemson has played Georgia, things have not gone well for the Tigers. And the misery continued in Saturday afternoon’s 34-3 season-opening loss to the top-ranked Bulldogs in Atlanta. Once again, the 14th-ranked Tigers lost, once again they lost badly, and once again they failed to even score a touchdown. All 3 meetings with Georgia since 2014 have been season openers, so the Bulldogs have given the Tigers rude introductions to their seasons in all 3 instances.
Since managing 21 points in a 45-21 loss at Georgia in 2014, with all 3 touchdowns coming in the 1st half, it’s been nothing but field goals for Clemson against the Bulldogs. The Tigers’ last touchdown against Georgia came midway through the 2nd quarter of that game 10 years ago, in a game quarterbacked by Deshaun Watson, who’s been in the NFL for 8 years now.
Thats how bad it’s been for Clemson. The Tigers failed to score a touchdown — or even a point — in the last 9 drives of that 2014 game. Then in a 10-3 loss to Georgia to begin the 2021 season, Clemson didn’t score a touchdown in 11 drives.
On Saturday, it was another 11 drives without a touchdown for the Tigers against the mighty Bulldogs, with Clemson managing only a 3rd-quarter field goal.
In all, Clemson has put up 2 measly field goals in its past 31 drives against Georgia. Yikes.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
