Tigers Today: Dabo Swinney recalls Steve Spurrier phone call after 2014 Georgia loss
Dabo Swinney recalls Steve Spurrier phone call after 2014 Georgia loss
The last time Clemson played Georgia was back in 2014, a 45-21 win for the Bulldogs in Athens.
Now the two programs will clash again Saturday night in Charlotte. The top-five matchup will mark the 65th meeting between Clemson and Georgia with the Bulldogs holding a 42-18-4 lead in the series.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney remembers a phone call after the last Georgia game.
“Coach Spurrier called me after the game. … I guess he was calling to console me,” Swinney recently recalled. “I still got the voicemail. I put it in my Spurrier voicemail file. Steve Spurrier calls you, you usually want to keep those.
“He said ‘Yeah, I don’t know why we schedule these games. We play East Carolina, y’all play Furman or somebody. Everybody’s happy, we get a win. We go play these games…it’s pretty much terrible. Got our butts kicked for four quarters. Looks like y’all just got yours kicked for one quarter, but hey, we’ll bounce back – go get ‘em next week.’ “
Swinney is hoping he won’t have to rely on a phone call to make him feel better after Saturday. A win could position Clemson for another trip to the College Football Playoff.
Texans trade former Clemson star to Jets
The New York Jets are getting the help they need along the defensive line. On Sunday, they traded for defensive end Shaq Lawson from the Houston Texans.
He attended Clemson from 2013 to 2015, and in his three-year career, he tallied 123 tackles (45.5 tackles for loss) and 20 sacks. Lawson had four sacks as a freshman, tying the most by a true freshman in Clemson history, though that record was broken in 2016 by Dexter Lawrence. In Lawson’s senior year at Clemson, his 59-tackle (24.5 for loss), 12.5-sack performance made him a consensus All-American.
What to know as Clemson-Georgia game week arrives
The countdown to the Clemson season opener has reached single digits. The Tigers will play Georgia on Saturday night in Charlotte in the most anticipated nonconference game of college football’s opening weekend.
The top-five matchup marks the first meeting between the longtime rivals since 2014. But the game is much more than the rekindling of the rivalry. Clemson does not have any breathing room to open its season. The game provides a huge opportunity for either Georgia or Clemson to have a solid bullet point on its College Football Playoff resume.
Here’s what you need to know as game day approaches.
Trevor Lawrence shines in preseason finale
Trevor Lawrence showed why he was the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft on Sunday. The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback was on the field for three possessions against the Dallas Cowboys, and two resulted in touchdowns.
On the opening drive of the game, Lawrence completed all three of his passes for 62 yards. The drive ended on an impressive touchdown pass from Lawrence to Pharoh Cooper. His second score of the day came on the second drive, this time when the former Clemson quarterback found wide receiver Laviska Shenault in the corner of the end zone.
He completed 11 of his 12 pass attempts with 139 yards, two touchdowns and a 154.5 passer rating.
Breaking down key matchups for Clemson-Georgia
DawgsHQ insider Jake Reuse and ClemsonSports.com senior writer Matt Connolly held a chat with subscribers Saturday afternoon answering key questions about the matchup.
ClemsonSports.com compiled some of the highlights from the chat to preview Saturday’s season opener.
Counting down
- Clemson vs. Georgia (season opener): 5 days
- Clemson at South Carolina: 89 days